THE TERM CHOREOGRAPHY CAME FROM TWO GREEK

WORDS: KHOREIA WHICH MEANS DANCE AND GRAPHIA

WHICH MEANS NOTATION AND WRITING. HENCE, IT SIMPLY
MEANS “DANCE WRITING”.
 CHOREOGRAPHY IS THE ART OF DESIGNING
DANCES. IT INVOLVES ARRANGING THE
MOVEMENTS AND STEP PATTERNS OF
DANCERS. CHOREOGRAPHY DEMONSTRATES
THE LANGUAGE OF MOVEMENTS.
TYPES OF CHOREOGRAPHY

•IMPROVISATION – IS WHERE DANCERS GET A GENERAL

GUIDELINE ON WHAT TO DO, BUT SOME MOVEMENTS CAN
BE INTERPRETED BY THEMSELVES.
• PLANNED CHOREOGRAPHY- IS DICTATED TO THE
DANCERS IN SPECIFIC DETAILS. THIS TYPE OF
CHOREOGRAPHY IS MOSTLY USED IN ALL KINDS OF
DANCE STYLES FROM BALLET TO STREET DANCE.
BASIC ELEMENTS OF CHOREOGRAPHY

• SHAPES- REFERS TO THE LINES THAT THE BODY FORMS LIKE

STRAIGHT OR CURVED, SYMMETRICAL OR ASYMMETRICAL.
•ACTIONS/MOVEMENTS- REFERS TO THE MOTIONS OF THE
DANCER’S BODY. LOCOMOTOR OR NON-LOCOMOTOR
MOVEMENTS MAY BE USED SUCH AS STEP, WALK OR RUN.
• TIME- REFERS TO THE RHYTHM, TEMPO AND UNISON OF
MOVEMENTS.
• SPACE- REFERS TO THE POSITION THAT THE BODY
OCCUPIES.
•FORMATION- REFERS TO WHERE THE DANCER’S BODY IS
IN RELATION TO OTHER DANCERS AS WELL AS THE
SPACE THAT GROUPS OF DANCERS OCCUPY.
• FOCUS- REFERS TO WHERE THE DANCERS IS LOOKING AT.
EXAMPLES ARE FRONT, BACK, SIDES, CORNERS UP AND
DOWN.
• DIRECTION- REFERS TO WHERE THE DANCERS IS MOVING.
EXAMPLES ARE SIDEWAYS, FORWARD, BACKWARD,
DIAGONALLY, UPWARD AND DOWNWARD.
• LEVEL- REFERS TO WHERE THE DANCER’S BODY IS IN
THE AIR AS WELL AS THE VERTICAL SPACE THE
DANCER’S BODY OCCUPIES LIKE HIGH, MEDIUM AND
LOW.
DANCE
PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS DANCED. DANCE IS THE
MOVEMENT OF THE BODY IN A RHYTHMIC WAY, USUALLY TO
MUSIC FOR THE PURPOSE OF EXPRESSING AN IDEA OR
EMOTION, RELEASING ENERGY, OR SIMPLY TAKING DELIGHT
IN THE MOVEMENT ITSELF.
LIKE ART, DANCE COMES IN VARIOUS
FORMS LIKE:
• HIPHOP
(DATES BACK IN 1960’S AND 1970’S). THIS FORM OF DANCE
GAVE RISE TO VARIOUS DANCING STYLES SUCH AS UPROCK,
BREAKING, LOCKING, ROBOTING, BOOGALOO AND POPPING.
•UPROCK AND BREAKING BEGAN IN NEW YORK CITY
THROUGH BLACK AND LATINO AMERICANS WHILE FUNK
STYLES LIKE LOCKING, ROBOTING, BOOGALOO AND POPPING
STARTED IN CALIFORNIA THROUGH BLACK AMERICANS.
ALLOF THEM ARE DIFFERENT IN STYLES BUT THEY ALL BEGAN
IN STREETS AND ARE IMPROVISATIONAL IN NATURE.
DIFFERENT STYLES OF HIPHOP
• UPROCK- INCLUDE VARIOUS STEPS SUCH AS FOOT
SHUFFLES, SPINS, TURNS, FREESTYLE MOVEMENTS,
SUDDEN BODY MOVEMENTS CALLED JERKS AND HAND
GESTURES CALLED BURNS.
• BREAKING- CONSISTS OF FOUR BASIC ELEMENTS:
TOPROCK, DOWNROCK, FREEZE AND POWER MOVES.

TOPROCK REFERS TO THE UPRIGHT DANCING AND

SHUFFLES. DOWNROCK PERTAINS TO FOOTWORK DANCING
PERFORMED ON THE FLOOR.
 FREEZE ARE CERTAIN POSES THAT BREAKERS
THROW INTO THEIR DANCE SETS TO ADD PAUSE TO
THEIR BEATS AND FINISH THEIR ROUTINES. POWER
MOVES COMPOSED OF CIRCULAR MOTIONS WHERE
THE DANCERS WILL SPIN ON THE FLOOR OR IN THE
AIR.
• LOCKING- INVOLVES GENERALLY LARGE AND
EXAGGERATED MOVEMENTS, AND USUALLY VERY
RHYTHMIC AND TIGHTLY SYNCHRONIZED WITH MUSIC.
• ROBOTING- REFERS TO A STYLE OF DANCE WHICH
ATTEMPTS A DANCING ROBOT OR MANNEQUIN.
• BOOGALOO- REFERS TO A FLUID STYLE OF DANCING WHICH
USES EVERY BODY PARTS AND CREATEA ANGLES AND SMOOTH
MOVEMENTS TO MAKE EVERYTHING FLOW ALL TOGETHER.
• POPPING- REQUIRES CONTINUOUS CONTRACTIONS OF THE
MUSCLES TO THE BEAT IN ORDER TO PRODUCE A JERKY OR
SNAPPING EFFECTS OR BOUNCY STYLES.