Formations guide

Formations is for planning the formations of a group choreo or a show: where everyone stands, which way they face, how long each formation lasts and how many beats it takes to get to the next one.

The stage is a grid of 1 m² squares (you can change the size), each dancer is a dot with their initials and a point showing which way they face, and the formations sit in a strip like slides. Hit Play and you see it all animated and counted: the eight, the count and the formation you're on.

Your shows are saved to your account: you have them on any phone or computer. The first time you come in from a browser you don't need to sign up (the visit is free until you close the tab); to come back and to get the PDF, create your account for free and get 1 month of Pro.

1. Start a new one

   When you open Formations you see your list of shows (from inside a show, My shows takes you back). Press New show.

2. Give it a name and people

   Type the Show name and, under Dancers, one name per line (or separated by commas). Leave it empty and you start with 6 numbered dancers.

   

3. Pick their colour

   In Dancers' colour you pick the colour everyone starts with (you can change it per formation later).

4. Create it

   Press Create the show. It opens with a first formation: everyone in a line, 16 beats long, on a stage of 10 × 8 squares.

In the list, each show appears with its thumbnail, how many dancers and formations it has, and the Open and Duplicate buttons (to try another version without touching the good one). The bin deletes it after you confirm on the card itself.

Inside the show, the Dancers panel (on Free it shows how many of your 20 you've used) lets you rename people, remove someone with the bin, Add dancer or Paste a list of names. Newcomers appear at the front, on the left, in every formation.

The stage is shown from the audience: the yellow edge is the audience side, labelled AUDIENCE outside it. The dashed line down the middle marks centre stage, and each grid square is a square of floor.

1. Set the size

   In the Stage panel, change Columns and Rows with − and + (or by typing the number), and under Each square pick 0.5, 1, 1.5 or 2 m. Below it tells you the size («10 × 8 m stage»). When you change it, everything is rescaled so nobody ends up off the edge.

   

2. Snapping

   With Snap to grid (under Grid and paths, on by default) dancers land on the corners and centres of the squares, every half square. Turn it off to place them freehand.

3. Change the point of view

   Flip view turns the stage 180°: you see it the way the dancer does, with the audience at the top and right and left swapped. Handy for explaining it to the group face to face.

With Pro, under Where the audience is you can put it at the Front, Back, Left or Right (for L-shaped stages or studio rehearsals).

Below the stage is the formation strip. Each one has its number (its order), a name if you like and its length in beats («16b»). Tap one to open and edit it.

1. Add a formation

   New formation copies the one you have open and puts it right after, with a 4-beat transition. That way you only move whoever changes.

2. Give it beats and a transition

   In the Formation N panel: Name (optional), Beats (how long it lasts, 1 to 256) and Transition (the beats it takes to get here from the previous one, 0 to 64). At the bottom, Note for the group.

   

3. Watch how they get there

   Between two slides there's a pill with the transition («▶ 4b»): tap it to see just that change animated. Watch the transition in the panel does the same.

4. Remove one you don't need

   Delete (in the formation panel) removes it. The first one has no transition: it's the starting point.

Selection always works the same way, in the formation you have open:

1. Tap to select

   Tap a dancer to select them (they get a yellow ring). Tap another and they're added. Tap a selected dancer without moving them and they're removed.

2. Grab several at once

   Drag on an empty part of the stage: you draw a box and everyone inside is selected. Hold Shift (or Ctrl) to add them to the ones you already had.

   

3. Move the group

   Drag one of the selected dancers and the whole group moves together, snapping every half square.

4. All or none

   In the Position panel: All selects everyone and None clears the selection. The panel header tells you how many you have («3 selected»).

Whatever you apply (shapes, focus and colour) goes to the selected dancers, or to everyone if nobody is selected.

With Pro you get shapes to place people in one tap: Line, Two lines, V, Inverted V, Diagonal, Circle, Semicircle, Block and Wedge. Dancers are spread from left to right according to where they were, so nobody crosses over for no reason. On Free they show a padlock.

Each dancer has, in each formation, a direction they face and a colour.

1. Focus

   Under Position → Focus there's a rose of 8 arrows: tap the way the selected dancers face. The point on their dot shows it on stage. Right and left are the dancer's own, not yours: each arrow says so when you hover over it («Audience, to their right»).

2. Colour

   Under Colour, tap a colour in the palette or the last button (Another colour) to pick any colour. Useful for marking canons, groups or who does what.

   

3. In all of them at once

   Tick In every formation if you want the focus or colour you pick to apply to every formation, not just the open one.

During transitions, focus turns the shortest way round and the colour changes halfway.

Under Grid and paths → Paths there are two checkboxes: From the previous (on by default) draws where each dancer comes from, with a small circle at their previous spot; To the next draws an arrow to where they go. You see the selected dancers' paths, or everyone's if nobody is selected.

The dashed strip around the stage is offstage: leave anyone who isn't in that formation there. They show faded, and in the transition they walk on or off from there.

With Pro, in the Stage panel → Entrances and exits, press + Entrance or + Exit and tap the stage (or the offstage area) where it is; you can drag it afterwards. They show up in the list with their bin.

1. Hit Play

   Play starts at the formation you have open and runs to the end; the ⟲ button next to it (From the start) starts at the first one. The counter appears top right of the stage: the formation (or «Transition → 3»), the Eight and the count. The slide that's playing is highlighted in yellow.

   

2. Set the tempo

   Under Music and tempo, the tempo goes from 50 to 200 BPM: with − and + or by typing the number.

3. Add a beat

   Under «Or play a My Base beat» you'll see the beats you've saved in My Base. Pick one and it plays in full, with all its eights, at the show's tempo. No beat leaves it counted in silence. If you don't have any beats yet, there's a button to My Base.

4. Or your own song (Pro)

   Upload song and then Tap the tempo: the song plays and you tap along 8 times; your first tap is the «1». The song stays in that browser (it doesn't go to your account); Remove takes it out.

PDF lays out one page per formation: its number and name, the beats, the transition, the stage with each dancer's name and the note. The UTOPIC logo and utopicdance.com/apps/formations always go at the top.

Your browser's print dialog opens: choose Save as PDF to keep it on your phone or send it to the group. It uses whichever view you have on (from the audience or flipped). You need your account to get it.

At the top, the 2D / 3D switch changes to the 3D view: the stage with its grid and each dancer as a figure in their colour, with their name above and an arrow showing their focus. Drag to orbit the camera and use the wheel or a pinch to zoom.

Below it there are three fixed cameras: From the audience, Side and From above. Play shows in 3D too. On Free, the 3D button shows a padlock.

On a phone, the stage goes on top, the formation strip below it (swipe it with your finger) and the panels after that, folded. Tap to select and drag with your finger to move; the stage doesn't scroll while you drag.

If you'll use it often, the Install button on the app page adds it to your home screen with its own icon.

What each plan gives you in Formations.

The Pro price, monthly or yearly, is on the plans page. It's the same subscription for every app. See the plans →