The art of designing and arranging the movements and patterns of dances, or the sequence of movements created for a dance.
From Greek 'choros' (dance) plus 'graphia' (writing), literally meaning 'dance-writing.' The term emerged in the 17th century as choreography became a documented discipline.
Choreography literally means 'writing dance'—but what's wild is that before modern notation systems, dances could only be preserved through human memory and repetition, making choreographers like oral poets whose medium was movement instead of words.
Root discipline with deep gender bias: choreography as a creative profession was historically reserved for men or denied authorship to women. Dance itself was feminized (often sexualized), but choreographic authority was masculine.
Use neutrally, but actively credit women choreographers when discussing dance history or contemporary work. Recognize women's foundational role in all dance forms.
Women choreographers across African diaspora, Asian classical forms, and Western modern dance created the vocabulary we study; systematic institutional bias erased their names. Correction is ongoing.
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