Look for inspiration for choreography everywhere. Though music often sparks ideas for choreography (and you should listen to a lot of a wide variety of music), it is only one source. Just as often, the idea comes first. Ideas for choreography can spring from a story or from something that has happened in your or someone else's life. It can just as easily come from life: observing people on the metro or in a coffee shop, travel, newspapers, a poem, a painting or even a shape. Allow yourself to be open to all possibilities.
When you get ideas for choreography, write them down. Keep a record of your ideas for the future.
It is easy to fall into the trap of making choreography too complicated or to put too much technique into a piece. Don't get too busy creating movement. Often the choreography will be more meaningful, and powerful, if it is simple. Step back, listen to the music, and let your body move with it to bring you the simplicity and directness that results in clear and meaningful communication with the audience.
Even though you are the choreographer, you are working in collaboration with your dancers. From the beginning, include them in your choreographic vision. You must know what they are good at and what their abilities are, so you can help them reach their potential. This means you have to turn the focus away from yourself and truly see the artists in front of you.
Also, you can get ideas from your dancers. They can be playing around with a movement and something very special will happen. Take advantage of these creative gifts.
Don't try to force choreography that isn't working. Either make a change immediately, or if an idea isn't forthcoming, step away from that piece for a while. Start developing the next section. Often when you move forward you will realize why the difficult part isn't making sense and make appropriate changes. Remember, choreography is a process. You will constantly refine, discard and go back to take a new look at your work.
Some choreographers prefer to do most of their work alone. They'll flesh out their idea, imagine the dancers performing the steps and formations, and draw the structure or form of the variation. Then, they will teach it to the dancers. Other choreographers develop some basic movements, which they share with the dancers, then see what the dancers do with them. This provides the true impetus for their choreography, which they then meld together into a dance. Try both methods to see which you prefer.
As a choreographer, you must be clear about who the characters in a story dance are and what emotions they should convey to the audience. Then, you must coach your dancers to help them develop their characters. Talk through the story and the characters' feelings. You can also have artists dance a particular emotion, such as anger or happiness, to help them learn to express the emotion through their bodies.
As the work develops, you may find a character isn't strong enough or he needs to show more emotion for the audience to understand the character and storyline. In some cases, you may need to add an additional character for the story to make sense.
During the choreographic process, get feedback from others. Bring in colleagues and friends to view the dance. As outsiders, they can tell you if the choreography makes sense and if its message is clear. They can also point out things you have missed. On the other hand, outsiders will also let you know what is working well, so you can add more of that element into the choreography. Those who are not from the dance world make especially helpful critics.
Take every opportunity to choreograph and have your work performed. Volunteer to choreograph for local groups such as community theaters, schools, charities, fairs, churches and youth programs. Also, videotape pieces you have choreographed. You can send these tapes to small companies looking for guest choreographers as well as post them on YouTube. Another possibility is to choreograph for local dance schools. Some have choreographic programs you can join. Finally, take advantage of choreographic competitions. You'll get your work in front of people in the business and learn from others.