Planned and arranged in detail, usually referring to a sequence of movements or events that has been carefully designed beforehand.
From Greek 'choreia' (choral dancing) and 'graphia' (writing). Choreography originally meant writing down dance movements, but now means creating or designing any complex sequence.
Choreography is literally 'dance-writing'—it shows how people in Renaissance Europe started thinking of dance as a language that could be recorded and preserved, just like text. This invention changed how art could be shared across time and space.
Choreography credited to men (Balanchine, Cunningham) disproportionately; women choreographers' contributions historically effaced, bodies used but names erased from credit.
When referencing choreography, credit the choreographer by name and gender-neutral title; highlight women's creative contributions explicitly.
Women choreographers (Alvin Ailey, Pina Bausch and her peers) revolutionized modern dance; center their names and legacies in discussions of movement.
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