choreographer

American  

[kawr-ee-og-ruh-fer, kohr-] / ˌkɔr iˈɒg rə fər, ˌkoʊr- /

noun

choreographers plural

1. a person who creates dance compositions and plans and arranges dance movements and patterns for dances and especially for ballets.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• choreographers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of choreographer

First recorded in 1885–90; choreograph(y) + -er ¹

Explanation

A choreographer is a person who creates a dance, designing every move that the dancers make. The choreographer of a preschool performance will usually have the little dancers do simple movements, spins, and kicks. Choreographer is from choreography and its Greek roots, khoreia, "dance," and graphein, "to write." Choreographers are like composers, but instead of creating music, they compose movements, writing out notations that symbolize how dancers will move. It was a choreographer's job to plan out the Jets-Sharks fight in West Side Story — and the dance moves in your favorite music videos.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

choreographer choreographers

The choreographer marked the nation’s semiquincentennial and his troupe’s 45th anniversary with a program at the Joyce Theater of repertory classics and a New York premiere all centered on American music.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

For choreographer Madeline Hollander, the parade offers a chance to take dance out of the theater and into the streets.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026

According to one choreographer to the stars, the best move is "often the first thing that comes out".

From BBC ● May 29, 2026

Otherwise, this is another hunt-and-retrieve narrative for the bounty hunter voiced by Pedro Pascal, physically embodied in armor by Brendan Wayne and, in combat, by fight choreographer Lateef Crowder.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026

The director of her violin band was the Italian-born choreographer, composer, conductor and violinist Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

The raids also affected small businesses orbiting around quinceañeras: makers of embossed invitations, sellers of tiaras and crowns, choreographers, caterers, florists and more.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2026

Favreau was keen to invite outside choreographers "to highlight the company's technical and artistic qualities and show it could do more than just Bejart".

From Barron's ● Feb. 25, 2026

In a sport where coaches and choreographers often call the shots for young athletes, Liu entered the Olympic stage with programs she didn’t like and clothes she didn’t pick.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 5, 2026

The choreographers of the dances for these men, all women, have been chosen to explore, according to promotional materials, “male identity through classical and contemporary movement.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 20, 2026

To this end she recruited Italian dancers, choreographers and a band of violinists, playing on the very instruments she had ordered for her son from Cremona.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall