choreography

[kawr-ee-og-ruh-fee, kohr-]

noun

1. the art of composing ballets and other dances and planning and arranging the movements, steps, and patterns of dancers.

2. the technique of representing the various movements in dancing by a system of notation.

3. the arrangement or manipulation of actions leading up to an event.

   the choreography of a surprise birthday party.

choreography

/ ˌkɒrɪəˈɡræfɪk, ˌkɒrɪˈɒɡrəfɪ, kɒˈrɛɡrəfɪ, ˌkɒrəˈɡræfɪk /

noun

1. the composition of dance steps and sequences for ballet and stage dancing

2. the steps and sequences of a ballet or dance

3. the notation representing such steps

4. the art of dancing

choreography

1. The art of arranging dance movements for performance.

Other Word Forms

• choreographer noun
• choreographically adverb
• choreographic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of choreography¹

1780–90; < Greek chore- (stem of choreía chorea ) + -o- + -graphy

Word History and Origins

Origin of choreography¹

C18: from Greek khoreia dance + _-graphy

Example Sentences

Under the auspices of Saint Heron — the multidisciplinary institution she started in 2013 — the Grammy-winning artist and curator has fearlessly dove into the worlds of music, choreography, design, architecture, visual art and more.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“The choreography back here is more intense in a way than the choreography on stage,” Davis says.

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Instead, Hope Boykin’s choreography added a dark intensity to Bernstein’s brightness.

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"Can you imagine if he's out there, every single week, doing this very dangerous, very high-pressure, high-intensity sport and I'm like: 'I wonder what my choreography should be?'"

Read more on BBC

Opera advertises Robbins’ choreography as an attraction, and the dancing thrills as advertised, it is very 1957.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• dance