choreography
Americannoun
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choreographies
plural
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the art of composing ballets and other dances and planning and arranging the movements, steps, and patterns of dancers.
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the technique of representing the various movements in dancing by a system of notation.
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the arrangement or manipulation of actions leading up to an event.
the choreography of a surprise birthday party.
noun
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the composition of dance steps and sequences for ballet and stage dancing
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the steps and sequences of a ballet or dance
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the notation representing such steps
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the art of dancing
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of choreography
1780–90; < Greek chore- (stem of choreía chorea ) + -o- + -graphy
Explanation
Use the noun choreography to describe the plan for how dancers will move on a stage during a show, play, or dance. You might particularly love the choreography in the movie West Side Story. You can use the word choreography to mean "dance" or "ballet," but its specific meaning is the notation a choreographer makes on paper as she plans out the complex movements and steps made by dancers. Choreography is particularly important in musical theater, ballet, opera, and dance recitals. The Greek roots of choreography are khoreia, "dance," and graphein, "to write."
Vocabulary lists containing choreography
Dance - Introductory
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Dance - Middle School and High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Morais said co-ordinating the choreography for the fight scenes was "funny".
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
At El Nopal, a regional Mexican chain my family has frequented for years, the opening minutes of dinner follow a familiar choreography.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026
"It's the same dancer with a different choreography," she says.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 5, 2026
Urbanie Lucero’s choreography and movement direction maintain the production’s graceful poise.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
“They’ve been working on the choreography for months. I actually knew they were planning this.”
From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli
The 15-minute orchestral piece has inspired seven different choreographies, but is most widely associated with the version created by Bejart, which remains the best known.
From Barron's ● Feb. 25, 2026
While supporters have mobilised independently of the club and fund their choreographies, banners and pyro displays, Hammarby's 'one-club' philosophy has certainly helped.
From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2024
A lot of the conversations that we’re having are always so much about labor, or the choreographies of labor and what kind of work can get built in those spaces.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2024
Local club teams such as Casablanca’s Wydad AC, Raja CA and Rabat’s AS FAR have die-hard fans known for vibrant chants and colorful choreographies.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 13, 2022
She is too discriminating for the mechanical big drops and woo-hoo euphoria of mainstream E.D.M., too artisanal for the slick choreographies, songwriting factories and carefully calibrated career moves of the industrial-pop complex.
From New York Times ● Sep. 17, 2020
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