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Choreography (literally "dance-writing" from the Greek words "???e?a" (circular dance, see chorea
Chorea (dance)

'Chorea' is a circle dance accompanied by singing , known in ancient Greece. Homer refers to this dance in his epic poem, the Iliad.Cognates of the name used to describe circle dances exist in a number of other countries: Khorovod , Hora , Hora in Ukraine, also Khorovod, Horo , Oro or Horo ....
) and "??af?" (writing), also known as "dance composition"), is the art of making structures in which movement occurs. The term composition
Dance composition

The term dance composition is used to describe the practice and teaching of choreography and the navigation or connection of choreographic structures....
 may also refer to the navigation
Navigation (disambiguation)

selfref|For navigational boxes, see...
 or connection of these movement structures. The resulting movement structure may also be referred to as the choreography. People who create choreographies are called choreographers
List of choreographers

This is a list of choreographers ...
.

Origin
The term choreography first appeared in the American English dictionary in the 1950s.






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Choreography (literally "dance-writing" from the Greek words "???e?a" (circular dance, see chorea
Chorea (dance)

'Chorea' is a circle dance accompanied by singing , known in ancient Greece. Homer refers to this dance in his epic poem, the Iliad.Cognates of the name used to describe circle dances exist in a number of other countries: Khorovod , Hora , Hora in Ukraine, also Khorovod, Horo , Oro or Horo ....
) and "??af?" (writing), also known as "dance composition"), is the art of making structures in which movement occurs. The term composition
Dance composition

The term dance composition is used to describe the practice and teaching of choreography and the navigation or connection of choreographic structures....
 may also refer to the navigation
Navigation (disambiguation)

selfref|For navigational boxes, see...
 or connection of these movement structures. The resulting movement structure may also be referred to as the choreography. People who create choreographies are called choreographers
List of choreographers

This is a list of choreographers ...
.

Origin


The term choreography first appeared in the American English dictionary in the 1950s. Prior to this, movie credits normally stated "Ensembles Staged by", "Dances", "Dance Director", "Dances Staged by", "Musical Numbers Directed by", or "Musical Numbers Staged and Directed by". Choreographers often improvise to find what works best musically.

Settings

Although used mainly for dance
Dance

Dance is an art form that generally refers to Motion of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of Emotional expression, social social interaction or presented in a spirituality or performance setting....
, choreography is also used in many sports like:

  • Stage combat
    Stage combat

    Stage combat is a specialized technique in theatre designed to create the illusion of physical combat without causing harm to the performers. It is employed in live stage plays as well as operatic and ballet productions....
     (action or fight choreography)
  • Gymnastics
    Gymnastics

    Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility and coordination. Artistic Gymnastics is the best known and most popular of the gymnastics sports governed by the F?d?ration Internationale de Gymnastique ....
  • Ice skating
    Ice skating

    Ice skating is moving on ice by use of ice skates. It can be done for a variety of reasons, including leisure, traveling, and various sports. Ice skating occurs both on specially prepared Ice rink and outdoor tracks, as well as on naturally occurring bodies of frozen water such as lakes and rivers....
  • Cheerleading
    Cheerleading

    Cheerleading is a sport that uses organized routines that range from 1 minute to 3 minutes made from elements of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and List of cheerleading stunts to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games and matches and/or compete at cheerleading competitions....
  • Show Choir
    Show choir

    A show choir is a group of people who combine choral singing with dance movements, sometimes within the context of a specific idea or story. ...
    s
  • Marching bands
  • Cinematography
    Cinematography

    Cinematography , is the making of Stage lighting and camera choices when recording photographic s for the film. It is closely related to the art of photography....
  • Synchronized swimming
    Synchronized swimming

    Synchronised swimming is a hybrid form of swimming, dance and gymnastics, consisting of swimmers performing a synchronised routine of elaborate moves in the water, accompanied by music....
  • Synchronized skating
    Synchronized skating

    Synchronized skating or synchronised skating, a large and fast-growing discipline, consists of 8-20 sportspersons ice skating on ice at one time moving as one flowing unit at high speeds....


And many other activities involving human movement.

Language and notation


Choreographic techniques


One choreographic technique is improvisation.

Improvisation


  • Dance improvisation
    Dance improvisation

    Dance improvisation is the creation of Improvisation movement and is sometimes associated with 20th century concert dance but is not exclusive to that genre....
  • Contact improvisation
    Contact improvisation

    Contact improvisation is a dance technique in which points of physical contact provide the starting point for exploration through movement improvisation....
  • Body mapping


See also

  • Ballet
    Ballet

    Ballet is a formalized type of performative dance, the origins of which date lay in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century France courts, and which was further developed in England, Italy, and Russia as a concert dance form....
  • Ballet master
    Ballet Master

    'Ballet Master' is the term used for an employee of a ballet company who is responsible for the level of competence of the dancers in their company....
  • Contemporary dance
    Contemporary dance

    Contemporary dance is the name given to a group of 20th century concert dance concert dance forms. It is a collection of systems and methods developed from modern dance and postmodern dance, even though contemporary dance is not a specific dance technique....
  • Dance notation
    Dance notation

    Dance notation is the symbolic representation of dance movement, it is analogous to movement notation but can be limited to representing human movement and specific forms of dance such as Tap dance....
  • Improvisation
    Improvisation

    Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings....
  • List of choreographers
    List of choreographers

    This is a list of choreographers ...
  • Modern Dance
    Modern dance

    File:Two dancers.jpgModern dance is a dance form developed in the early 20th century. Although the term Modern dance has also been applied to a category of 20th Century ballroom dances, Modern dance as a term usually refers to 20th century concert dance....
  • Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers
    Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers

    The Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers is an independent national Trade union established in 1959, representing theatre director and choreography, working on Broadway theatre and on National tours, Off-Broadway, and in various resident, Regional theatre in the United States, Summer stock theatre and Dinner theater throughout the U...
Category:Ballet choreographers
Category:Choreographers


Further reading


  • Blom, L, A. and Tarin Chaplin, L. (1989) The Intimate Act of Choreography. Dance Books. ISBN 0-8229-5342-0
  • Ellfeldt, L. (1998) A Primer for Choreographers . Waveland Press. ISBN 0-88133-350-6
  • Minton, S, C. (1997) Choreography: A Basic Approach Using Improvisation. Human Kinetics . ISBN 0-88011-529-7
  • Tufnell, M. and Vaughan, D. (1999) Body Space Image : Notes Toward Improvisation and Performance. Princeton Book Co. ISBN 1-85273-041-2
  • Smith-Autard, J, M. (2000) Dance Composition. Routledge. ISBN 0-87830-118-6


External links

  • a dance web site about choreography and the performing arts
  • Find out how to become a choreographer with BBC Blast.
  • is an online forum about the emerging aesthetics of choreography
  • An interview with choreographer Natalie Marrone, 4/6/07