How I Work Through a Choreographers’ Block

By Mariah Rollwagen

All creatives go through ups and downs in their craft and most every artist will tell you they go through phases of creative blocks. What are some things you can do to promote creativity and work through a creative block? I ask myself this question often; I have to choreograph and plan classes every week for my students and often feel like my creative juices are running on empty. Here are a few ways I get myself out of choreographers’ block:

Photo By Sydney Jackson

Take Dance Classes Often: This one seems obvious, but learning from other teachers brings an array of new ideas and helps you avoid a creative block by adding to your movement vocabulary. Moving and thinking in new ways can break through the repetition you feel in your own choreography and can help to break that block.

Finding New Music: Many choreographers rely heavily on musical influence to create their choreography; I am one of those people that is heavily influenced by music. Finding a new artist or song that resonates with me helps me to create in new ways.

Watching Other Dancers: This works in much of the same way as taking other teachers’ classes; any exposure to new movements and styles will provide you with a larger dance vocabulary and help you develop new ideas.

Taking a Break: The pressure of knowing the block is present may drive it further. Taking a break and trying again in a new space or a new time can help to alleviate the creative block.

Here are some other ways that artists overcome their creative blocks