Choreography Challenge for Kids

A phone or speaker for playing the chosen song

Open floor space for practicing and performing

Optional: a phone or tablet for recording the final performance

Let your child choose a song they love. It should have a clear beat and energy that makes them want to move.

Listen to the song once all the way through together. Just feel the music — no dancing yet.

Break the song into sections: verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, final chorus. Most pop songs follow this structure.

Start with the chorus since it repeats. Create 2-3 signature moves that feel right with the music. Practice until solid.

Add different moves for the verses — simpler is fine. The chorus is the star of any choreography.

Run through the whole song with the choreography from start to finish. Note any tricky transitions between sections.

Perform the finished routine for family members, or record it on video for your child to watch back and refine.

Let your child lead the creative decisions. You can suggest moves, but their choreography should feel like theirs.

If they get stuck, try mirroring — you create a move, they mirror it, then they modify it into something they like better.

Four-count moves work best with most music: step-step-clap-turn, or jump-arms up-arms down-spin. Counting to 4 is the foundation of choreography.

Recording and watching back is incredibly valuable. Kids notice things about their own movement that they can't feel while dancing.

This is legitimate choreography practice — the same process professional dancers use. Sequence, rehearse, perform.