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Dance: Choreographic Forms in

There are several choreographic forms that provide structure for dance composition. Sequential forms like AB, ABA, and rondo form progress themes in a specific order. Contrapuntal forms like ground bass and canon weave multiple themes together. Episodic forms tell a story through connected episodes. Other forms include natural structures based on life cycles, collage combining unrelated phrases, tableau using simultaneous movement, and chance arranging phrases randomly. Selecting a form that best expresses the dance idea is fundamental to composition.

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999 views

Dance: Choreographic Forms in

There are several choreographic forms that provide structure for dance composition. Sequential forms like AB, ABA, and rondo form progress themes in a specific order. Contrapuntal forms like ground bass and canon weave multiple themes together. Episodic forms tell a story through connected episodes. Other forms include natural structures based on life cycles, collage combining unrelated phrases, tableau using simultaneous movement, and chance arranging phrases randomly. Selecting a form that best expresses the dance idea is fundamental to composition.

Uploaded by

ROCELYN IMPERIAL
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CHOREOGRAPHIC

FORMS IN
DANCE
What are the various
choreographic forms
in dance?
Selecting the structure which best
expresses the dance idea is fundamental
(Rickett-Young, 1996).

Dance and music


- These two closely resemble in so many
ways.
- It is not surprising that they follow similar
forms.

The shape of a dance or a piece of


choreography is based on common
musical forms (Minton, 2007).
These compositional forms are traditional frameworks
which have set patterns categorized as:

1 Sequential Forms

2 Contrapuntal Forms

3 Episodic Forms

4 Other Compositional Forms


1 Sequential Forms
These forms contain themes/motif
which progress in a specific order. They
are arranged accordingly.
a. AB (two-part) form
The simplest of the sequential forms and is similar to a verse and a
chorus of a song.
It is a binary form with two contrasting sections consisting of a beginning
section (A) followed by a second section (B). Each section contains elements that
contrast in tone or quality. Examples of which are light and dark, huge and tiny,
love and hate.

Commonly used in:


many folk dances and songs
b. ABA (three-part) form
Composed of introductory theme (A), a contrasting theme (B), and a
restatement of the original theme (A).

(A) is the unifying theme and the center of interest, then;


(B) gives contrast.
The original (A) returns as an either exact repetition or in an easily recognizable
variation or development.

Most popular songs use this form where there is chorus (A), a verse (B),
and a repetition of the chorus (A) which is often somewhat elaborated to
highlight the idea of the song (Rickett-Young, 1996).
c. Rondo form (ABACA)
In this form, the unifying theme (A) returns after each contrasting theme.

(A) appears after every contrasting section at least three times but
it can itself be varied (Richett-Young, 1996). It can be describes as
ABACADAEAFA development of movement idea (Minton, 2007).

(A) is constantly repeated every after each section.

(B), (C), (D), (E), (F) these sections are the contrasting themes
d. Theme and Variations form

Motif
a series of movements to which variations are added throughout the
development of the entire choreography

• The motif/theme can be a single phrase or several movement phrases


placed together in a sequence (Minton, 2007).

The order of the movements is kept the same all throughout the
variations. It can take the form of subtle adjustments in dynamics, space,
style,mood, and tempo (Rickett-Young,1996).
NOTE:

Although most of these forms contain


contrasting parts, the sections should be
similar enough to suit the character of the
entire dance.

Skillful transitions - needed between each


section to maintain unity and continuity in the
dance.
2 Contrapuntal Forms

Here, several themes are woven together in


choreography to form a complex structure. The
main theme is seen against itself or against one
or more other themes (Rickett-Young, 1996).
a. Ground Bass - is best done in a group working either in contrast
to each other or against a soloist.
Single theme starts the dance and is repeated all the way through the
dance while other contrasting themes are simultaneously performed with it.

Repeated theme - can be performed by a group


Other theme with more complex combination of movements – can
be performed by a soloist or a smaller group (Minton, 2007).

It can also be performed in a circle wherein the dancers in a


circle perform the repeated theme while the soloist or smaller group in
the center performs the contrasting theme.
b. Round or Canon
- consists of two or more movement phrases or theme

Main movement phrases - imitated exactly and completely by the


successive movements, but done on staggered manner
(McGreevy-Nichols et al 2005).

For instance, the first dancer performs the theme, the second
dancer enters at the end of the first half-phrase, the third enters at
the start of the second phrase, and the fourth enters on the last half
of the second phrase. The round ends in the same order as the last
dancer finishes off the movement or theme (Rickett-Young, 1996).
c. Fugue or Accumulation
- a choreographic form that is constructed by adding on different
movement or dance phrases in every repetition of the main
movement theme (McGreevy-Nichols et al. 2005).

The movement phrases or the motif can be developed by:


• reversing
• augmenting or;
• Inverting
• diminishing throughout the dance
d. Suite
Sections of the dance:
Beginning Middle End

use different tempos and qualities

Commonly, it has a moderate beginning, a slow middle section,


and a fast and lively end section (Minton, 2007).
3 Episodic Form

- not musical forms, instead, they are found


in literature. They tell a story through
connected and progressive sections called
episodes.
Narrative form
- an episodic form that tells a story or conveys an idea and the
sequence of the story determines the structure of the dance
(McGreevy-Nichols et al. 2005).

As in all good soap operas, each section or chapter reveals more of


the plot and has its own interest, variations, and contrast. Classical ballet
often uses this form (Rickett-Young, 1996).
4 Other Compositional Forms
a. Natural structures
- mostly come from natural structures such as the seasons, life
cycles, and everyday life experiences. All these present rich materials for
organic dance structure.

b. Collage
- consists of “a series of movement phrases that are often
unrelated but have been brought together to create a single dance with
a beginning, a middle, and an end” (McGreevy-Nichols et al. 2005). The
overall form remains a whole even though the content may be illogical
(Rickett-Young, 1996).
c. Tableau
– different movement phrases are performed by different dancers
simultaneously in the same space. The dancers may execute a tableau at a
different location on the stage and connect transitional movements for each
scene to produce a progression of moving snapshots (Minton, 2007).

d. Chance
– the movement phrases are performed in random order and spatial
placing. Every time the dance is performed, it is done in different order and
therefore has a different appearance (McGreevy-Nichols et al., 2005)
Originally, the dance phrases were arranged by tossing coins to
decide on choices and the order of performance, hence, coming from the
word by chance.
CHOREOGRAPHIC
FORMS IN
DANCE

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