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Choreography: the art and craft of designing movement

Choreography is the creative process of composing and arranging body movement for performance. This article explains its forms, history, methods, uses and related specializations.

Author: Leandro Alegsa Creation date: November 13, 2022 Last updated: May 31, 2026

en.wikipedia.org · CC BY-SA 4.0

Overview

Choreography is the practice of creating sequences of movement for dancers, performers and athletes. A choreographer conceives patterns, timing and spatial relationships so that individual actions form a coherent whole. The term has been used in English since the late 18th century to describe the composition of dances and, by extension, collaborative movement for stage, screen and sports. Skilled choreography balances artistic intention, musicality and the physical abilities of the performers to communicate mood, story or abstract form. For a basic introduction to dance-making see dance resources and for examples of professional choreographers consult featured works.

Elements and methods

Choreography involves several interrelated elements. These commonly include:

Movement vocabulary: the set of steps, gestures or lifts used by a piece.
Timing and rhythm: how movement aligns with music or silence.
Formation and space: patterns and pathways across the stage or performance area.
Dynamics and quality: the energy and texture of motion (e.g., smooth, sharp).
Relationship and partnering: interactions among performers.

Choreographers work from music, a theme, a text or an abstract concept. They may create by improvising with performers, mapping movement on paper, or using notation systems. Notation and recording tools help preserve ideas; historic and contemporary methods range from early dance notation to video archives and digital score systems. Choreographers also function as teachers and rehearsal directors, guiding performers to realize the intended movement and expression. See training and rehearsal materials at professional training and stagecraft guidance at ballet resources.

History and development

The role of choreographers has evolved alongside theatrical forms. In classical ballet and court dances, choreography established codified steps and formal patterns; in modern and contemporary dance it became a vehicle for experimentation with form, gesture and social themes. Over the 20th and 21st centuries, choreographers expanded into musical theatre, film and television, where movement must integrate with camera work and narrative. Documentation of choreography has grown more sophisticated, from printed scores to synchronized video and digital models. Broad overviews of historical practice are available via stage history and scholarly summaries at dance studies.

Applications and notable forms

Choreography appears in many settings beyond concert dance. Examples include:

Ice skating and ice dance, where routines are designed to match music and skating skills; see resources for rink choreography at ice performance and ice dance guides.
Musical theatre and stage spectacles, which combine singing, acting and movement; production notes often reference stage shows.
Film and television, where choreographers adapt blocking for camera angles and continuity; many productions credit movement coaches and choreographers—refer to screen choreography.
Fight choreography and stunt design, a specialized discipline that stages safe, believable combat and falls for stage and screen; introductory material is available at fight design and biographies of practitioners at notable choreographers.
Competitive ballroom and social dance, where choreographers tailor routines to rules and judging criteria; see competition guidelines at ballroom competition.

Distinctions and professional practice

Choreographers may be independent artists, company directors or employed by theatre, film or sports organizations. Some specialize in narrative choreography (telling a story), others in abstract movement or commercial work such as advertising and pop concerts. Collaborative practice is common: choreographers work with composers, costume and lighting designers, directors and choreographic assistants. The profession mixes creative authorship with practical responsibility for safety, rehearsal scheduling and adaptation to varied performers and venues; for guidance on production collaboration see production roles and creative teamwork.

Recording and transmission remain important issues: notation, video and archival projects help preserve choreography, while workshops and teaching spread specific techniques. For additional resources and overviews, consult general directories and educational portals at dance education.

History

The term choreography originally described the notation of the movements of the chorus in Greek drama and was later expanded to describe any form of recording dance movements.

For Jean Georges Noverre (1727-1810), a "chorégraphe" was still the one who wanted to record dance movements in writing, and this was meant rather disparagingly. At the same time, a ballet repertoire was developing that was transferable to other ballet companies, but without written records. The teaching dance master therefore wrote these ballets directly into the bodies, as it were. This process is still called choreography today: the composition of movements in dance, and in a broader sense also any staging of movement sequences. The written recording of dance movements, on the other hand, is today called dance notation. In the practical re-recording of older works, however, dance notation hardly plays a role. Despite the common existence today of video recordings of earlier performances, choreographies are usually passed on by former dancers/assistants in a process of showing and learning. In terms of communication theory, choreography is thus one of the few forms of communication in which transmission is still of central importance in contemporary practice. Since the avant-garde currents around 1900, stage dance has freed itself from the demand for action that had distinguished it from social dance since the 18th century. Since then, dance can once again be completely abstract, in pure form without concrete content, as can be found, for example, in George Balanchine's work. Contemporary dance does not primarily distinguish between narrative, associative and abstract productions. Very often, however, dance theatre has a content which may be conceived as an original work by the choreographer, as is often the case with expressive dance and modern dance, or which goes back to a literary model, such as the choreographies based on stage plays by John Cranko (Romeo and Juliet, Stuttgart 1962) and Tom Schilling (Undine, Berlin 1972; Schwarze Vögel, Berlin 1974; Ein neuer Sommernachtstraum, Berlin 1984). Modern dance was able to develop into a groundbreaking and diverse art form in both parts of Germany until reunification.

Relationship to music

The choreographer either chooses an accompanying music that matches his ideas or is inspired in his work by a specific musical work. The latter can be found, among others, with John Neumeier (Mahler's Third Symphony and Bach's St. Matthew Passion) and Uwe Scholz (Haydn's Creation).

A third possibility is to collaborate with a composer who writes new music specifically for a particular dance piece. This can also be found with Neumeier (Odyssey - ballet, with the Greek composer George Couroupos), as well as with Bernd Schindowski (Epic of Gilgamesh - with Stefan Heucke), Frederick Ashton (Undine - with Hans Werner Henze), Sergei Pavlovich Djagilew (The Firebird - ballet, with Igor Stravinsky) and Michel Fokine.

At the same time, the dissociation from music in the form of dancing to noise collages or spoken texts has always played a role, already in expressive dance, then also in contemporary dance. Even complete silence is used again and again in choreographies because of its strong emotional significance as a means of evoking awe, promoting both tension and relaxation, and thus as a counterpart to music.

Questions and Answers

Q: What is choreography?

A: Choreography is the art of making dances, which tells dancers how they should dance and move.

Q: When was the word "choreography" first used?

A: The word "choreography" was first used in the late 18th century to mean the art of composing dance.

Q: Who is a choreographer?

A: A choreographer is a person who does choreography, or the art of making dances. They make dances based on music or a synopsis and may also act as trainers for professional dancers in ballet, stage shows and competitive ballroom dance.

Q: How do choreographers record their ideas?

A: Choreographers may record their ideas in dance notation or on videos.

Q: Where else is choreography used?

A: Choreography is also used in other types of performances, such as in ice skating and ice dancing, where the choreographer designs the moves the skates does. In theater, movies, and television, a choreographer is also used to design fight scenes.

Q: What is a fight choreographer?

A: A fight choreographer is a person who designs fight scenes in theater, movies, and television. For example, Bob Anderson designed many of the sword fight scenes in the Lord of the Rings movies as well as some of the Star Wars movies.

Q: What does a fight choreographer do?

A: A fight choreographer designs fight scenes in theater, movies, and television. They determine the movements, timing, and execution of the fights while also ensuring the safety of the actors involved.

Author

AlegsaOnline.com - Choreography - Leandro Alegsa

Creation date: November 13, 2022
Last updated: May 31, 2026

URL: https://en.alegsaonline.com/art/19982