When choreographing a new work, finding the perfect title can be tricky. A title holds the power of a first impression. But the right words to capture the essence of a nonverbal piece of art can be elusive. Dance Magazine asked six choreographers about how they go about titling their works—and how they know when […]

As a choreographer, recognition brings opportunity. However, making a name for yourself comes with certain drawbacks. When audiences and funders have particular expectations, taking your work in a new direction is more than just an artistic risk: It can mean losing favor with the people you need to sustain your work. How can a choreographer […]

George Balanchine’s statement “See the music, hear the dance” is often quoted as a way of appreciating the architecture of his choreography, manifested from the score. The mathematics of music transmutes into movement in the flesh. But we often take for granted the geometric shapes that comprise ballet’s architecture and what they represent. It seems […]

Madeline Hollander is redefining the language of ballet one unconventional venue at a time. From museums to art institutes to parks and other outdoor venues, she creates original choreography inspired by her cultural observations—often ones that she makes in the ballet studio. Growing up, she trained under Yvonne Mounsey at the heralded Westside School of […]

In 2007, Oregon Ballet Theatre asked Nicolo Fonte to choreograph a ballet to Maurice Ravel’s Boléro. “I said, ‘No way. I’m not going near it,’ ” recalls Fonte. “I don’t want to compete with the Béjart version, ice skaters or the movie 10. No, no, no!” But Fonte’s husband encouraged him to “just listen and […]

In Welcome to Barrio Ataxia, commissioned for Seattle’s Whim W’Him in 2018, contemporary choreographer Omar Román De Jesús explored bipolar disorder. He offers advice on how to mindfully broach mental illness in choreography. Do your research. Dig deep and use your connections with those who are coping with mental illness, so you can be both […]

Choreography may be the most social art. A composer can write music alone at her piano; a painter has his paints. But dance requires human bodies sharing space and physical contact, neither of which is possible at the moment. And yet the imagination is a powerful tool. As the choreographer Jessica Lang recently told a […]

What would it take for you to leave home? This is the question choreographer Beth Corning asks in THE TIPPING POINT in order to turn the global refugee crisis inward on the U.S. “It’s a wake-up call to the numbing onslaught of changes in the world around us,” she says. (Originally scheduled to premiere next […]