Choreographing and teaching a musical is a huge undertaking; A lot of time is spent creating movement and then you are tasked with teaching said choreography, possibly over a span of two to three months. That’s a lot of content to remember all crammed into one noggin, especially when a whole cast then relies on you to answer any of their choreographic questions as the process goes on. This is why the role of dance captain was invented! Before I get into this further, let’s define a what a dance captain is:
Dance Captain:
a member of a company (ensemble/dancers/performers) who is responsible for overseeing and maintaining the artistic standards of all choreography and musical staging within a production.
The specific job description of a dance captain will vary depending on the level your working at, but in general the main responsibilities stay the same: they are the person (or people) responsible for uploading the content you created into their brain once taught and work alongside you to answer the cast’s questions, as well as help maintain the quality of the show’s movement.
From personal experience, my dance captains are my second brain; they remember the things I forget once taught and are a great resource to have on choreography cleaning days. In general, a show can have 1-4 different dance captains. One or all of them usually need to be present at every choreography or movement rehearsal, even if they are not specifically in that number.
Since the role can be a huge undertaking for a student, especially at a high school level where many students are involved in 500 things, I have found having multiple helps lessen their load while also giving more people the experience of taking on a great responsibility. My most recent experience with four dance captains was amazing. Without me being involved in the conversations, they worked out who would be at which rehearsals based on what worked best with their schedules, who was responsible for remembering which song or group’s choreography, and always kept each other updated on any changes, etc. They were a dream team.
How to pick your dance captain(s)
When working with a new group of people, I tend to look for those who pick up the choreography the quickest and seem to display a sense of responsibility even within the audition process. While it’s nice to have dance captains right away, I have also allowed myself a few dance rehearsals to observe specific students before offering them the role. Once you’ve worked at a school or theatre multiple years, finding your dance captain(s) gets a little easier since you are more familiar with who you’re working with.
It’s also important to find people who you’d be able to trust possibly running rehearsals as well. As has been mentioned many times throughout our blogs and videos, using rehearsal time efficiently is key to the smoothness of the musical process. In a world of so many student conflicts, scheduling “fill-in” rehearsals where a dance captain or two can lead a rehearsal filling in those who missed while you continue to push forward is a huge asset to have in the rehearsal process.
Additionally, once you get to cleaning choreography, it’s really great to be able to divide and conquer multiple little sections all at once to be able to work on really minute details in a time-efficient way.
So how does a dance captain work in a rehearsal room?
Generally, the dance captain is learning the choreography alongside the rest of the cast, they just have the extra responsibility of notating and remembering everyone else’s movement on top of their own. In terms of hierarchy, the dance captains are a second set of eyes for the choreographer, as well as a second voice. I make it clear to the rest of the cast that, even though they are usually peers, any notes coming from the dance captain(s) are on behalf of me/the choreographer; they have full ability to correct a cast member’s movement whether I’m in the room and specifically addressing that section or not. Of course, if a bigger issue ever arises the choreographer should intervene, but more often than not dance captains tend to remember things better than the choreographers - I say this as both a choreographer and dance captain myself… It never hurts to have an extra brain and set of eyes!
Relinquishing your duties
Tech rehearsals are really the last time you might be around to share any notes or input on the choreography. Once the show is up and running, the final role of your dance captain is maintenance. They have the responsibility of making sure everything looks the same and is performed at the highest potential throughout the run.
Having a dance captain may not always be desired or even an option, but when the opportunity is there… take it! The extra help can relieve a lot of stress and brain power usage that comes with the role of choreographer and allow you a more enjoyable experience.
If you haven't yet, please check out our resource library. We have great, helpful content in our blogs and some free, downloadable tools for you to use as you are learning to direct a musical.... or choreograph a musical.
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