Who here has choreographed their own routine?

I just started putting together a routine. Its my first routine Im doing ever, I havent tried pre made routines. But I heard a song that I thought could be perfect for a good, sexy, routine.

At first I was completely clueless on where to start. Still am finding it really hard to figure out how to put it together.

So I thought maybe this would be a good place to share tips on creating your own routine.

I just finished a freestyle workshop so this isn't exactly it, but the instructor talked about creating a road map if you don't want to jump into a song clueless.
So basically create 5 points to hit and then you can fill in the rest with either freestyle or choreo.
1. Beginning Pose/Movement - essentially what gets you into the movement and feel of the song
2. A small combo - likely very easy spin combo, something you feel super secure with to ease yourself in
3. Larger or more difficult combo
4. Your hero move - the big exciting move you can do that you feel really confident in
5. Ending pose/movement

So basically when you have those 5 points its just about connecting them and placing them at the appropriate moment.
Here's the link to a post where I talk about it and my freestyle performance - I'll be posting it in the videos post too
http://polegeek.blogspot.com/2013/05/freestyle-workshop-series-and-my-1st.html

Is this for competitions/shows? If my instructor thinks you've choreographed your routine, she will pick the music for you next time! :laugh:

My studio has an anniversary party each year with student performances every June. I performed last year and will be doing it again this June. Last year was my very first time creating my own routine with the help of my instructor critiquing me. What I do when thinking of a routine, I find a song that has a great beat and that I can instantly picture myself dancing to.

Then I print out lyrics to the song, and before I even begin to physically dance to it, I map out key moves I want to do in my head- mental preparation sort of. I'm a VERY anal person so I need to write things down. I find it really helps me to think of the routine in my head first before I even try to freestyle.

My friend Carolyn (who was the Hong Kong pole fitness champ 2010) gave me a note-worthy piece of advice if you're performing in front of others-

People always remember the beginning and ending of a routine the most. Make them both equally as exciting and people will less likely get 'bored' with your routine. Piece them together with some awesome floorwork/transitions or whatever else you wanted to do in between and you can't go wrong.