Etymology and history of choreography
– The word ‘choreography’ comes from the Greek words for ‘dance-writing.’
– The term first appeared in the American English dictionary in the 1950s.
– Before this, stage and movie credits used phrases like ‘ensembles staged by’ to credit choreographers.
– In Renaissance Italy, dance masters created movements for social dances.
– The word ‘choreography’ later shifted to its current use as the composition of dance movements.
Dance choreography techniques
– Choreography can be created through improvisation or planned choreography.
– Improvisation provides dancers with generalized directives for movement.
– Planned choreography dictates motion and form in detail.
– Common techniques in choreography for multiple dancers include mirroring, retrograde, canon, levels, and shadowing.
– Movements can be characterized by dynamics such as fast, slow, hard, soft, long, and short.
Applications of choreography today
– Choreography imposes order on performances in terms of space, time, and the human body.
– It is used in various fields such as dance, opera, cheerleading, theater, and synchronized swimming.
– Choreography is also utilized in cinematography, ice skating, gymnastics, fashion shows, and video game production.
– It plays a role in show choir, cardistry, and animated art.
– Choreography is a fundamental aspect of many performing arts disciplines.
Choreography competitions
– The International Choreographic Competition Hannover is the longest-running choreography competition in the world.
– It has been organized by the Ballett Gesellschaft Hannover e.V. since around 1982.
– The competition has specific entry conditions, including being under 40 years of age and professionally trained.
– Other international choreography competitions include the Beijing International Ballet and Choreography Competition and the Moscow Ballet Competition and Contest for Choreographers.
– These competitions showcase and recognize talent in the field of choreography.
Influential choreographers
– George Balanchine, Jean-Georges Noverre, and Marius Petipa were influential ballet choreographers.
– Isadora Duncan and Michel Fokine brought a more naturalistic style to modern dance choreography.
– Merce Cunningham and Martha Graham were influential in abstract dance choreography.
– Alvin Ailey spanned various dance styles, including ballet, jazz, and modern dance.
– Sir Frederick Ashton and Jerome Robbins created representational works in dance choreography.
Note: The subtopic on Copyright Protection of Choreography has been excluded from the groups as it is a separate and distinct topic. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choreography
Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who creates choreographies by practising the art of choreography, a process known as choreographing. It most commonly refers to dance choreography.
In dance, choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. Dance choreography is sometimes called dance composition. Aspects of dance choreography include the compositional use of organic unity, rhythmic or non-rhythmic articulation, theme and variation, and repetition. The choreographic process may employ improvisation for the purpose of developing innovative movement ideas. In general, choreography is used to design dances that are intended to be performed as concert dance.
The art of choreography involves the specification of human movement and form in terms of space, shape, time and energy, typically within an emotional or non-literal context. Movement language is taken from the dance techniques of ballet, contemporary dance, jazz dance, hip hop dance, folk dance, techno, K-pop, religious dance, pedestrian movement, or combinations of these.
