SKIP TO CONTENT

choreographer

/kɔriˈɑgrəfər/
/kɔriˈɒgrəfə/
IPA guide

Other forms: choreographers

A choreographer is a person who creates a dance, designing every move that the dancers make. The choreographer of a preschool performance will usually have the little dancers do simple movements, spins, and kicks.

Choreographer is from choreography and its Greek roots, khoreia, "dance," and graphein, "to write." Choreographers are like composers, but instead of creating music, they compose movements, writing out notations that symbolize how dancers will move. It was a choreographer's job to plan out the Jets-Sharks fight in West Side Story — and the dance moves in your favorite music videos.

Definitions of choreographer
  1. noun
    someone who creates new dances
    see moresee less
    examples:
    Alvin Ailey
    United States choreographer noted for his use of African elements (born in 1931)
    Alicia Alonso
    Cuban dancer and choreographer (born in 1921)
    Sir Frederick Ashton
    British choreographer (1906-1988)
    Fred Astaire
    United States dancer and cinema actor noted for his original and graceful tap dancing (1899-1987)
    George Balanchine
    United States dancer and choreographer (born in Russia) noted for his abstract and formal works (1904-1983)
    Mikhail Baryshnikov
    Russian dancer and choreographer who migrated to the United States (born in 1948)
    Merce Cunningham
    United States dancer and choreographer (born in 1922)
    Agnes George de Mille
    United States dancer and choreographer who introduced formal dance to a wide audience (1905-1993)
    Martha Graham
    United States dancer and choreographer whose work was noted for its austerity and technical rigor (1893-1991)
    Lev Ivanov
    Russian choreographer (1834-1905)
    Judith Jamison
    United States dancer and choreographer (born in 1944)
    Robert Joffrey
    United States choreographer (1930-1988)
    Eugene Curran Kelly
    United States dancer who performed in many musical films (1912-1996)
    Rudolph Laban
    Hungarian choreographer who developed Labanotation (1879-1958)
    Leonide Fedorovitch Massine
    French choreographer and ballet dancer (born in Russia) (1895-1979)
    Jerome Robbins
    United States choreographer who brought human emotion to classical ballet and spirited reality to Broadway musicals (1918-1998)
    Ted Shawn
    United States dancer and choreographer who collaborated with Ruth Saint Denis (1891-1972)
    Ruth Saint Denis
    United States dancer and choreographer who collaborated with Ted Shawn (1877-1968)
    Twyla Tharp
    innovative United States dancer and choreographer (born in 1941)
    Antony Tudor
    United States dancer and choreographer (born in England) (1909-1987)
    type of:
    creator
    a person who grows or makes or invents things
Cite this entry
Style:
MLA
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago

Copy citation
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘choreographer'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
Word Family