The Skill Gap of Technique Being Replaced by Choreography Copying - Blog 12

Here is silent crisis in the dance community today,  the widening skill gap created by replacing technique training with choreography copying. Students are learning faster than ever, but improving slower than ever. And it’s because class culture has shifted from training to simply replicating.

Most dancers now enter class expecting a nice “Instagram-ready” choreography. They want steps that look cool, pick up fast and feel instantly performable. Technique drills? Foundations? Style vocabulary? “Too boring.” “Too tough.” “Too slow.” But ironically, those are the things that actually make you a better dancer.

You will hear dancers complain, “My dancing isn’t improving,” while they avoid the very spaces that require patience and intentional practice. They pick classes based on songs, aesthetics and camera setups, not teachers who can actually help them grow. And choreographers who teach real technique; systematic warm-ups, conditioning, style fundamentals often struggle to get registrations. Their classes get cancelled. Their work goes unseen.

                                            

This was how a class I attended recently looked like. These are the phones students placed in front of the mirrors to get their dance captured for Instagram. It is serious and saddening how ugly the competition of virality is getting. 

But here’s the truth, technique is what gives a choreography life. Without foundations, your movement becomes hollow, inconsistent and dependent on imitation. You can learn 50 routines but still not know how to use your body in its truest potential.

The industry will always have both: viral choreographers and technical trainers. But as students, we need to choose wisely. Choreo will give you moments. Technique will give you a career.

And the dancers who train right now, even if it's slower, harder and less glamorous will be the ones who stand out when trends fade.

Shreya Roy Choudhury