Farnham Academy Press

TEACHING MUSICAL THEATRE CHOREOGRAPHY

Musical theatre choreography has indisputably evolved over the years and, in many cases, choreographers develop methods of working and philosophical approaches that should be documented but rarely are. Textual information is limited, and what has been written is generally more practical than theoretical and is minimal compared to those books written for choreographers of modern and contemporary dance. By pointing out the similarities and dissimilarities between concert dance genres and theatre dance, and identifying the specialized demands of crafting artistic and script-serving theatre dance and staging, this text differentiates musical theatre choreography as a separate and bona fide art form and suggests that 1) universities recognize it as such by offering training possibilities for future musical theatre choreographers, and 2) established choreographers of musicals begin to write down their own artistic processes to give young choreographers wanting to work in the field some tools to use and a place to begin. Through reflective accounts, various choreographic objectives are examined in each chapter of Part One with descriptions of how the author has encountered, analyzed, and then accomplished them in her own work. At the end of each chapter, assignments are suggested for student choreographers.

In Part Two, the author offers an overview of the scope of literature that has been published on both topics, modern dance composition and musical theatre choreography. At the same time, she concisely traces the history of modern dance pedagogy, aligning it with concurrent trends happening within the American musical theatre. This book is a valuable resource for teachers designing an undergraduate or graduate course in musical theatre choreography and staging, as well as for professional directors and choreographers who want to think more deeply about their work.