Start with a count, not a grid
Before you open any software or draw anything, count your dancers. Everything about formation design flows from that number.
For small groups (2–5), you have maximum flexibility — you can use any shape and still look clean. For medium groups (6–12), visual hierarchy becomes critical — you need to think about who is at the center, who is on the wings, and how the audience reads the overall shape. For large groups (13+), geometry is your friend — triangles, chevrons, and lines scale better than organic clusters.
Map the stage, not the floor
Always design formations from the audience's perspective, not from above. What looks symmetrical on paper can look off-center on stage depending on where the audience is seated.
Use a simple landscape rectangle as your canvas if your audience faces the front. Use a portrait rectangle if your stage thrusts forward or if the audience wraps around. In Coryo's formation editor, you set the stage orientation before you start placing dancers — this keeps your canvas proportionally accurate from the beginning.
Identify your key moments first
Listen to the song and mark 3–5 moments where a formation change would have visual impact: the first chorus, a key breakdown, a bridge, the final chorus. These are your formation anchors.
Don't try to plan every beat — plan those 3–5 anchors first, then fill in transitions. This gives you a skeleton that's musically grounded, and prevents over-choreographing (too many formation changes for the team to memorize).
Space dancers evenly — and then break it intentionally
Even spacing is the default. Arm's length plus a buffer (roughly 1.5–2 meters between each dancer) gives everyone room to move without collisions.
But intentional uneven spacing creates visual interest — two dancers close together with a gap before the next group creates a cluster effect that can emphasize a lyric or musical moment. Use it deliberately, not accidentally.
Plan transitions as paths, not teleports
Each dancer needs a path from their current position to their next formation position. The most common mistake is designing beautiful start and end formations without checking whether the transitions cross paths and cause collisions.
Map each dancer's route. If two paths cross, stagger the timing — one dancer moves early and clears before the other crosses. In Coryo, the timeline shows each dancer's movement and lets you preview the full transition animated before you bring it to rehearsal.