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

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Etymology

Origin of choreographer

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

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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

But much of that theatricality was learned in Edinburgh a decade earlier from choreographer Lindsay Kemp.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

One of these was a one-off piece by resident choreographer and artistic adviser Justin Peck.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

Stage director Mary Birnbaum and choreographer Rohit Gijare incorporate traditional Indian dance with Western elements.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

This time around, they brought in Eddie Torres Jr. as their associate choreographer to add authentic Latin flair.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 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

A documentary highlights the Chicago dance company’s efforts to support emerging choreographers and win over untapped audiences.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

Houston Thomas, for instance, grew up on Chicago’s South Side, was a student in the Joffrey Ballet’s Outreach Program and, as the film explains, is one of the five young choreographers contributing to “Winning Works.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

When assigning sections, Millepied used a curatorial eye to give the choreographers portions of music he knew they’d be able to experiment with and make the most of.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026

"I remember saying: 'Hey, choreographers, we're the new DJs, trust us, just give us your music, I promise we'll spread it'."

From BBC ● May 29, 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

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