Choreography is not a list of moves, it is the art of arranging movement in time and space so that it means something to a watcher. A social dancer improvises a conversation in the moment. A choreographer composes one in advance, shapes it, edits it, and hands it to bodies.
Build each phrase around a single idea and give it a shape. A beginning that sets it up, a middle that develops it, an ending that resolves or launches the next. Repetition makes it readable, variation keeps it alive, and pauses are as deliberate as the motion.
The link between two phrases is where amateur choreography falls apart and where the professional shows their hand. Choreograph the transitions as carefully as the phrases.
Then cut what does not serve the idea, however clever it was to invent.
Building a dance phrase is a craft of its own, next to social dancing.
Choreography is not a list of moves, step by step
A SEQUENCE IS NOT A PIECE.
Choreography arranges movement so that it means something to a watcher.
A social dancer improvises a conversation. A choreographer composes one.
Build the phrase around a single idea. A beginning, a development, an ending.
Repetition makes it readable. Variation keeps it alive.
Pauses are as deliberate as the motion. A phrase that never rests blurs its own accents.
The link between two phrases is where amateur work falls apart.
Does your piece say one thing, or many half things?
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This lesson comes from the book
The teacher's guide · page 277
The student’s book takes dancers from the first foundations to real
feeling. The teacher’s guide gives instructors the structure to pass it on.
Both in English, French and Spanish, on Amazon and Apple Books.
