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.[1]
Not to be confused with Chorography. For other uses, see Choreography (disambiguation).
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.
Dances are designed by applying one or both of these fundamental choreographic methods:
Several underlying techniques are commonly used in choreography for two or more dancers:
Movements may be characterized by dynamics, such as fast, slow, hard, soft, long, and short.
Choreography today[edit]
Today, the main rules for choreography are that it must impose some kind of order on the performance, within the three dimensions of space as well the fourth dimension of time and the capabilities of the human body.[2]
In the performing arts, choreography applies to human movement and form. In dance, choreography is also known as dance choreography or dance composition. Choreography is also used in a variety of other fields, including opera,
cheerleading, theatre, marching band, synchronized swimming, cinematography, ice skating,[7] gymnastics, fashion shows, show choir, cardistry, video game production, and animated art.
The International Choreographic Competition Hannover, Hanover, Germany, is the longest-running choreography competition in the world (started c. 1982), organised by the Ballett Gesellschaft Hannover e.V.[9] It took place online during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, returning to the stage at the Theater am Aegi in 2022. Gregor Zöllig, head choreographer of dance at the Staatstheater Braunschweig was appointed artistic director of the competition in 2020. The main conditions of entry are that entrants must be under 40 years of age, and professionally trained.[10] The competition has been run in collaboration with the Tanja Liedtke Foundation since her death in 2008, and from 2021 a new production prize has been awarded by the foundation, to complement the five other production awards. The 2021 and 2022 awards were presented by Marco Goecke, then director of ballet at the Staatstheater Hannover.[11][12]
There are a number of other international choreography competitions, mostly focused on modern dance. These include:[13]
The International Online Dance Competition (IODC) was introduced in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a Grand Prix worth US$1,000.[15]
Copyright Protection of Choreography[edit]
Section 102(a)(4) of the Copyright Act provides protection in “choreographic works” that were created after January 1, 1978, and are fixed in a tangible medium of expression.[16] Under copyright law, choreography is “the composition and arrangement of a related series of dance movements and patterns organized into a coherent whole.”[17] Choreography consisting of ordinary motor activities, social dances, commonplace movements or gestures, or athletic movements may lack a sufficient amount of authorship to qualify for copyright protection.[18]
A recent lawsuit was brought by professional dancer and choreographer Kyle Hanagami, who sued Epic Games, alleging that the video game developer copied a portion of Hanagami’s copyrighted dance moves in the popular game Fortnite.[19] Hanagami published a YouTube video in 2017 featuring a dance he choreographed to the song "How Long" by Charlie Puth, and Hanagami claimed that Fortnight's "It's Complicated" "emote" copied a portion of his "How High" choreography.[19] Hanagami's asserted claims for direct and contributory copyright infringement and unfair competition.[20] Fortnite-maker Epic Games ultimately won dismissal of the copyright claims after the district court concluded that his two-second, four-beat sequence of dance steps was not protectable under copyright law.[20]
