Choreography

The choreography is art to compose of the Danse S and the Ballet S, mainly for the scene, by means of not and of figures.

The first used the term choreography is the Maître to dance Raoul-Auger Feuillet in his treaty published in 1700: Choreography, or art to describe the dance by characters, figures and signs conclusive . The term indicated then the system of notation of the dance which it had developed.

Until the Encyclopédistes and the Dictionary of the dance of Charles Compan (1787), the choreography means art to write the dance. In 1810, Noverre still speaks about it as about a discipline which “deadens the genius” of the type-setter of ballet.

It is only at the beginning of the 19th century that the term starts to apply to the creator of ballet, with that which “invents” figures and steps of dance. It is Carlo Blasis which makes of it the first the use, in 1820, but without much success. One speaks more readily about ““type-setter” or Ballet master”, the dancers soloists being accustomed to regulating themselves their variations.

In 1935, Serge Lifar publishes his Manifeste of the choreographer , in whom he asserts a place of originator to him, just like the Director of theater. A few years later, he recommends to call the author of ballet a choreautor , in order to leave the terms choreography and choreographer their ambiguity.

At that time, George Balanchine introduces the word choreographer into the medium of the Musical comedy and the American Cinéma, instead of the dance director .

Today, the Contemporary dance rests the question of the author vis-a-vis collective creations, and one regards more and more the trades of choreographer and interpreter as different and complementary, one being able to go without the other. Only or with his interpreters, the choreographer organizes the space and structure the movements by means of a personal vocabulary drawn in the infinite variety of the kinetic capacities of the human body, with an aim of communicating an idea, a feeling, an emotion, a situation.

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