Contemporary choreography at work: a new method of recording the choreographic process

This study proposes and develops a new method of recording the working processes of choreographers. Whilst conventional recording methods, such as notes and video / audio-taping, have been employed in previous similar research, a search for a recording method unique to this part of the choreographic process has been overlooked. Consequently, the methods used by choreographers to create dances within the context of rehearsals, have remained under-explored. Proceeding empirically and employing the precepts of ethnography as a guide, this investigation examines the working methods of six professional choreographers in rehearsal. The six choreographers are Robert North, Richard Alston, Micha Berghese, Ian Spink, Edgar Newman and Emlyn Claid. The study is characterized by datagathering procedures which both derive and evolve from the day-to-day observation of rehearsals. From the initial stage of recording in which notes and diagrams are employed as data-gathering tools, a range of choreographic activities are isolated, codified, classified and finally systemized into a tabulated format for use during rehearsals. This chart serves to eliminate the need for both notes and the more intrusive recording tools such as cameras and tape recorders, and allows the researcher to capture not only every choreographic activity but also a sense of the progression of the creative process. The thesis describes the evolution of research procedure and the modification of focus which occurred during the course of the investigation, the systemization of observation and recording, the development of the new recording method from its initial forays into codification through eight versions of the recording chart, and documents and analysis the notes and the changes implemented during the development of the chart. The new recording method is intended to form the basis for further research into the choreographic process, but might be used, as it stands, as an aid in the teaching of choreography students