Mastering the Art of Prescreening for Choreographer with Essential Questions for Successful Employment Selection

What is your experience level as a professional choreographer?

A choreographer's experience significantly influences the depth and breadth of their work. An extensive background in choreography tends to reflect a wide range of successful projects, sometimes across different genres of dance. Request for specifics such as the types of projects completed, their duration and the challenges met.

Have you worked on projects similar to this one before?

Prior experience with similar projects is a crucial aspect to consider. Previous projects that align with your current one not only provide an assurance of competence but also reduce the orientation and training time required.

What genres of dance are you specialized in?

Every choreographer has their strength and weakness, and this question will help you figure out if their style meshes with your project needs. Understanding their areas of specialization can help you evaluate if they will be successful in delivering the expected results.

Could you provide references from some of your previous clients?

A reference check can provide critical insight into the prospective choreographer's reliability, professionalism, and skillset. By speaking to past clients, you get a glimpse of their effectiveness, creativity, and delivery.

Do you generally create new routines or do you adapt existing ones?

Understanding a choreographer's approach to their work will give you an idea of their creative process. It will highlight whether they're flexible enough to adapt existing routines or whether they prefer creating new, innovative movements for each project.

How do you handle creative differences with your clients?

Creative differences are bound to occur in any project. How a choreographer chooses to handle such differences will determine whether the project will be a success or not.

How do you handle last-minute changes or requests?

Many elements can change even in the eleventh hour in any creative process. How flexible and adaptive is the choreographer in such scenarios?

Could you describe your process for creating a new dance piece?

Listening to a potential choreographer describe their creative process can give you an idea of how they will approach your project. This discussion reveals their creative philosophy.

Can you share some of your previous work?

Seeing samples of their previous work can give a solid idea about the choreographer's skill and style, thus making the selection process easier.

Are you comfortable with choreographing for the type of performance we’re doing?

This question can help gauge the choreographer's versatility and adaptability by figuring out their comfort levels with various performance types.

Are you experienced in working with dancers of varying skill levels?

This assesses a choreographer's ability to adapt their choreography to suit dancers of varying skill and experience levels. A significant part of a choreographer's job is to bring the best out of their dancers, regardless of experience level.

Do you have any professional training or certification in choreography?

While not always necessary, formal training or certification can be a strong indicator of a choreographer's competence and commitment to the craft.

How would you manage the rehearsal schedule?

Effective management of rehearsals is indicative of a choreographer's ability to stay organized, keep on schedule, and productively use the available resources.

What strategies do you use to ensure the dance aligns with the music, theme and overall concept?

Choreography is not just about designing dance steps. It's about aligning movement with music and themes to create a cohesive performance. Understanding the choreographer's approach towards achieving this can help you envision how your project will turn out.

Do you work with any assistants or collaborators?

Working with assistants or collaborators could impact how a project progresses. Some choreographers collaborate with others for different perspectives in creating a piece, while others prefer working alone.

Do you have experience in choreographing for large or small groups?

Choreographing for large groups can be vastly different than choreographing for small groups. It requires a different set of skills and techniques. Depending on the nature of your project, understanding this will be highly crucial.

How do you handle feedback and revisions to your work?

Receiving and incorporating feedback is part of the creative process. A choreographer's willingness to make revisions gives an insight into their responsiveness towards constructive criticism.

Do you have any experience with staging or directing performances?

Staging or directing experience can be a valuable asset in a choreographer, as this skill helps in defining the performance's visual look, feel, and flow.

What is your preferred style of communication with your clients?

Establishing robust and clear communication is critical in ensuring a smooth collaborative process. Find out if their communication style aligns with yours.

What is your schedule like, and how would it fit with our timeline?

Finally, you should learn about the choreographer's availability and if they can accommodate the timeline for your project. It ensures that the project won't undergo any unnecessary delays due to scheduling conflicts.