“Choreography” is the art of composing dances to express a
theme, story, or emotion. Choreographers must begin with the
most basic movements and build on them to create a complex
performance. This process involves a series of steps. First,
dancers begin with simple movements, then combine them into
phrases. Various phrases are then united until they culminate
into a dance. If a choreographer is talented and the dancers are
skilled, the audience is unaware of the many compositional
elements that made up the finished performance. The word
“choreographer” comes from Greek words for “dance writer.”
Although notation to write down the basic elements of dance
compositions remains imperfect and is not standardized — there
are currently many competing systems of dance notation — “dance
writers” still have to teach in person. Click the buttons on the
left to view each compositional element.