Choreography History

Every dance is carefully calculated. Everyone looks the same, every move exactly on time, the music synchronized with us. Us dancers try to make it look easy on stage, but what really goes on during the construction of these dances? Choreography began around 6000 BC and it continues to change everyday. By looking at the history of choreography, choreographers that have shaped the dance world, and choreography as a job, we can better understand the art of dance. Choreography is what makes a dance have structure and uniform. The word choreography comes from the Greek root for ‘dance’ and ‘write’. During the 17th/18th century choreography meant the the written record of dance, but during the 19th and 20th century the meaning of of choreography

Gage Balanchine change the face of ballet forever. His works are still being performed today. George was born on January 22, 1904 and died April 30th, 1983. HIs father was a composer so george had a big understanding of music. In 1914 he enrolled into Mariinsky Theatre 's ballet school. He graduated 7 years later in 1921. He then attended Petrograd State Conservatory of Music, he left after three years. In 1922, George married 15 year old ballet student, Tamara Gevergeyeva. In 1925, George joined Serge Diaghilev’s Ballet Russe and took over as choreographer. After the collapse of Serge’s Ballet Russe, George created a 50-year partnership with Lincoln Kirstein. Together they made The School of American Ballet in 1934. In 1935 the professional company American Ballet became the Metropolitan Opera’s ballet until 1936. In 1946 Lincoln and George founded the New York CIty Ballet (George). The New York City Ballet is still performing George’s ballets today. He created over 150 ballet pieces including “The Nutcracker”. He served as the artistic director until his death at age 79 (George). Without Martha Graham, modern dance would have never have been created.Martha Graham was born on May 11th, 1894 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Martha was inspired by her father who was a doctor that specialized in nervous disorders. He believed the body could express its inner senses, this intrested Martha. In 1910,

It takes a special type of person who has a passion for dance. I conducted a survey with 5 choreographers asking what it takes to do this kind of profession. Four out of the five of the participants started dancing at the age of 3, the one remaining person started when she was four. When asked how the begin a piece, all five of them responded with the music. A teacher that wishes to remain anonymous said, “My favorite way to work is to let the music inspire the dance and then work out the other details.” Music is one of the most important components of a dance, without it all of the dancers would be on their own counts and every one would look different. Madison Mulnix from Sacred Ground Dance says, “Choreography comes to me similarly to a dream. When I first see it in my mind, it is kind of blurry, vague, and a little hard to piece together. The art of choreographing it is what I call "uncovering" the dance that I can already see in my mind. I will try out the movement in the mirror and see what looks good and keep creating movement based off of that.”. Four out of the five instructors want to be a choreographer for the rest of their life. Elaina Alspach from Dance Integrity is a dance major at Texas Woman 's University and she plans to make choreography her career. However, many of these choreographers do not want to own their own studio. Madison Mulnix, the owner/ director of Sacred Ground Dance, says ,”I own my own studio. But I will