Choreographic Studies

Terminology
Upstage, Downstage, Stage Right, Stage Left
Locomotor - travelling movements that propel a dancer through the space of the stage. (chassé, running, jumping, chaînés)
Non-Locomotor - movements that do not propel the dancer around the stage. (gestures, arm movements, dropping, rising)

 
 
BASIC ELEMENTS OF CHOREOGRAPHY
 
SHAPES – the lines the dancer’s body forms 
    straight curved 
    angular twisted 
    symmetrical asymmetrical 
    on-balance off-balance 
 
ACTIONS/MOVEMENTS – the locomotor and nonlocomotor
motions of the dancer’s body 
 
    step walk run 
    hop jump leap 
    twist turn bend 
    crawl roll slither 
    pull push gestures 
    stretch swing shake 
    rise fall 
 
TIME
o Rhythm – beat even uneven syncopated accented
 
o Tempo – speed fast/sudden slow/sustained accelerating decelerating
 
o Unison/Canon – moving together or asynchronously 

SPACE
o Placement – where the dancer’s body is on-stage; the horizontal space the dancer’s body occupies 
    downstage left, downstage, downstage right 
 
    stage left, center stage, stage right 
 
    upstage left, upstage, upstage right
 
 
o Formation – where the dancer’s body is in relation to other dancers; the space that groups of dancers occupy 
    lines (straight, diagonal, curved, circular) 
    blocks (square, rectangle) 
    staggered lines
 
o Focus – where the dancer is looking 
    front, back 
    sides, corners 
    up, down
 
o Direction/Pathway – where the dancer is moving 
    forward backward 
    sideways diagonally 
    upward downward
 
o Level – where the dancer’s body is in the air; the vertical space the dancer’s body occupies 
    high 
    medium 
    low 

ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS
o Force – the power with which a dancer performs a movement
ƒ light to strong
o Flow – the energy a dancer uses to perform a movement
ƒ bound/controlled to free/uncontrolled 
 
ELEMENTS THAT ADD COMPLEXITY
o repetition – recurring steps or patterns
o contrast – opposition in steps or patterns
o transitions – movement connecting steps
o sequence – flow of steps from one to another and the order in which they are arranged
o relationships
ƒ between people/characters
ƒ partnering
ƒ leading/following