Every couple comes to their first lesson with a song already picked, and I never talk anyone out of a song they love. But there are a handful of practical things worth checking before it's locked in, not because the song is "wrong", but because knowing these up front saves you weeks of choreography headaches later.

Length: shorter is almost always better

Most pop and ballad recordings run three and a half to four and a half minutes. That is a long time to hold a room's attention and an even longer time for two nervous dancers to stay in character. Unless you're going for a full Showstopper-style routine, I usually recommend editing the track down to somewhere between 90 seconds and two minutes: enough to feel complete, not so long that it becomes a marathon. A DJ or a simple audio editor can fade the track at the right point; we'll help you find where.

Tempo consistency

Songs that speed up, slow down, or sit in a loose, rubato ballad style (common in a lot of modern acoustic covers) are genuinely harder to choreograph to a fixed step pattern, because the steps have to keep shifting with the music instead of settling into a repeatable rhythm. It's not a dealbreaker. It just means we build the routine in sections rather than one continuous pattern, so we know exactly where each tempo shift lands.

Key changes and structural surprises

A big key change midway through a song is a favourite songwriting trick, and it can genuinely catch a routine off guard if we haven't planned for it. The emotional lift is worth keeping, but we'll usually mark it with a change in the choreography (a turn, a change of hold, a shift in energy) so it feels intentional rather than something you're just trying to survive.

Time signature

Traditional waltz-style songs in 3/4 time suit classic waltz steps naturally. Most modern pop sits in 4/4, which opens up more style options. See our style guide for what tends to suit which kind of song. Occasionally a song sits in an odd count that doesn't divide neatly into eights, which just means we build turn patterns around the actual phrasing rather than forcing a standard count onto it.

Sentimental value versus danceability

Sometimes the song that means the most to you isn't the easiest one to dance to, and that's completely fine. A common solution is to walk out, share a slow first minute to "your" song, and then transition into an edited, more dance-friendly section, or a second song entirely, for the choreographed part. You get the sentimental moment and a routine that actually works on the floor.

A quick checklist before your consultation

Bring your song, even just an idea of a few songs, to your free consultation, and we'll talk through all of this together before any choreography begins.