The Choreography Project

Audiences learn about characters most directly through the spoken word - what the character says, and what is said about that character by others. But those who create these characters have other 'languages' they use to tell us who these men and women are. Character Studies has begun a series of special projects that will explore and explain these other methods of telling these characters' stories.

Dance is another language used to tell us something about characters in musical theatre. Working with the music created by the composer and the lyrics written by the librettist, the choreographer must then translate that series of sounds and words into a series of movements. What does the waltz in "The King and I" tell us about Anna's progress with the King of Siam? How does that differ from the waltz that Annie Oakley dances with Frank Butler in "Annie Get Your Gun?" Unlike spoken text, choreography may change from production to production, so we will first look at the original version, to learn how that premiere collaboration laid the groundwork for others. We can then look at how other choreographers interpreted the dance music, and because of that, these characters.