What goes into making a floor routine?

The floor exercise is an event where a gymnast gets to display her power, artistry, and ability to perform for a crowd, all in just 90 seconds! It's exhilarating for fans to watch and certainty a pleasure for the gymnast to perform! So what exactly goes into making a world class floor routine? We caught up with 5 former/current elite gymnasts to figure out how they go about learning a new floor routine and how long is takes them to pick up on the choreography!

Elizabeth Price

"My favorite floor routine so far is the one I have now because I like the poses and the choreography. It was picked out for me and choreographed by national team dance instructor, Antonia! It took me about 2 to 2 1/2 hours to learn my current routine, but it could be longer depending on how hard the choreography is and how easily I grasp it."

Kamerin Moore

:)

                          

"I love every floor routine I've ever had because they were all perfect for my age at the time I had them. I'd have to say my favorite one was the first one I had to the song "splish splash" because it was so upbeat and the song was hilarious. Plus it was my first floor routine so I was so excited to have it! It takes about 4 hours for me to learn a floor routine and although I do get to pick out my own music, it has to be approved by my coaches. The choreography is all done by Dominic and I've never tried to give my opinion on it because everything he choreographs is amazing without any help from myself."

Samantha Peszek

         

"I don't necessarily have a favorite floor routine, but I like the fact that my floor routines have changed throughout the years. It keeps things interesting for me and for everyone watching. It is also fun to experiment with a new style. I started off in level 7 with the Wizard of Oz and moved to the "big band" type of stuff in levels 8-10. Then I went to a little bit more serious music for elite. My last few years competing elite was a type of tango and I really liked it! Now, in college I had Guns n' Roses last year and Shakira this year, so my favorite floor routine is not one routine, but the fact that I could play around with so many different ones! It doesn't take too long to learn a floor routine, it can be as fast as a few hours, but I do think it takes a lot longer to polish and put some emotion to it. It also takes a lot of work to keep the dance aspect of the routine while adding tumbling. I always had a say in my music/choreography. I think something all my routines had in common was they were fun, and I tried to send that message when I was performing them."

Briley Casanova

             
"I would say my favorite floor routine is the one I just got over the summer. Every year I love my routines even more than the last year, so this year's routine is my favorite! The choreography is a little more "fun" which is a little bit of a departure from my normal style, but it has a little more "flair" than my earlier routines. Also, I definitely have a say in the music choice and choreography. My coach/choreographer (Cecile Landi) is a great person to work with when we create routines. She trusts me, and I trust her. We make a great team in the creative process of developing floor routines. We really listen to each other and speak up if an idea for a pose or dance movie comes to one of us. Usually we can get a routine done in one private lesson in about 2 hours. That's pretty fast in my opinion!"

Peng Peng Lee

                         
"My favorite one was the one I competed at national championships in 2008. I absolutely loved that routine because it was fun and the dance was awesome. I could smile and enjoy myself while I performed. When learning new a routine, I think it depends how hard the choreography is. It normally will take me a weekend to fully learn a routine but to master and be comfortable with the movements takes me about a month. I have a little bit of a say in my floor music but normally it is chosen for me. "


Read our other question posts with elite gymnasts:

What's the hardest skill in gymnastics?

How do you balance elite gymnastics and school?

What's the difference between elite and college gymnastics?

What are you thinking during your routine?

What's in your gym bag?