Choreography as Mediated through Compositional Tools for Movement

Choreography is the art of crafting movement, developed through a long history of techniques. Like other compositional processes, choreography is a complex creative process that explores a variety of formal procedures that can result in unique artistic creations. Current computational systems for assisting choreography tend to be idiosyncratic, with emphasis on different feature sets of the compositional process (including movement, structure or expression). In this paper we examine existing technological systems for supporting choreography and group them by their purpose: reflection, generation, real-time interaction, and annotation. We then analyze these system features using Laban Movement Analysis, a comprehensive language for movement description, representation, expression and performance. Our paper articulates the relative benefits of these systems based on experiential aspects of choreography, and posits future directions of intelligent systems for supporting and partnering with choreography.