Motionwear || Gymnastics Blog

Thoughts on Choreographing Gymnastics Routines

Posted on 26. Feb, 2009 by Kathe Jones in Gyms & Coaches

Choreography can be a major hurdle for young gymnasts, particularly for those who don’t have access to local choreographers with strong experience doing gymnastics routines (trust me, they’re hard to find). Not only do choreographed routines have to be unique and, well, good, they have to meet current routine requirements.

In the end, gymnasts wind up with poorly-choreographed routines or having to go to the same choreographer as every other gymnast in the area. Guess what happens? They can all end up with strikingly similar routines. And when it comes to scoring, you want to stand out. Sure, they can spend the money to fly a choreographer into the gym, but it’s expensive.

Same Routines, Same Leotards?
It’s the same with gymnastics wear. There’s one store in town selling leotards and everyone’s at the meet wearing the same, generic piece. There’s nothing wrong with it, but a unique physical appearance can often tip the judging scales ever so slightly.

MotionWear does a lot of custom leotards for gymnasts or teams who want to differentiate themselves from the crowd or maybe want to match their leotard to the theme of their gymnastics routine.

Is Online and Video Choreography the Future?
And as more gymnasts turn towards custom leotards ordered online or by phone, even more opt for the same kind of service when it comes to choreography.

I recently stumbled across a site offering custom, original routines sold as a step-by-step instructional video that can then be resold by the gymnast after they’ve used it for 1-3 years and are done with the routine. How much do these custom routines go for? The product info page said between $177 and $630.

So, I was wondering…
What do you think? Is it possible to learn a whole routine online and via video? Could this be the end of on-site choreography? And is that a good thing or a bad thing?

I’d love to hear from coaches and choreographers on this topic, so please post your thoughts in the comments.

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Tags: choreography, coaching, routines