‘Instead of Dance, It’s Choreography': The Peculiar Future of Dance

Judy Haynes (Vera-Ellen) and Phil Davis (Danny Kaye) dance to “The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing," in “White Christmas.” Paramount

“The theater, the theater. What’s happened to the theater? Especially where dancing is concerned.” So begins Irving Berlin’s “Choreography” number in the 1954 classic film “White Christmas.” As avant-garde music plays in the background, popular Hollywood entertainer Danny Kaye, flanked by a troupe of expressionless dancers in modernist attire, moves weirdly around a set that looks like something straight out of a modern art museum.

In the midst of Golden Era songs and routines such as “Blue Skies,” “Mandy,” and “The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing,” this number seems dropped out of a much later era, at least until Vera-Ellen enters in a vibrant pink dress and livens things up with some fancy taps. While the song sounds oddly prophetic for the time, the contemporary dance movement was becoming increasingly popular in the mid-1950s. This number brilliantly pokes fun at the new style while exemplifying the joy and beauty of the old ways.

Phil Davis (Danny Kaye) and a dance troupe move to "Choreography," in "White Christmas." Paramount

In today’s dance world, the transition to modern style referred to in the song is even more apparent. The lyrics speak more of the popular dance genre, but the world of classical ballet is now also being swiftly overtaken by contemporary dance, which stems from the style shown in this routine. By looking through the lens of this classic Hollywood number, we can get a clear picture of the ballet world’s present state.

‘Chaps’ Who Choreographed

The first verse of the song tells us, “Chaps who did taps aren’t tapping anymore, they’re doing choreography.” It’s the choreographers behind the ballet steps that have seen the most dramatic transformation.

Marius Petipa, 1890. Public Domain

Marius Petipa, one of the greatest and most famous choreographers in the ballet world, believed that ballets should be about dancing first and story second. He illustrated this in his most famous ballets, “Swan Lake” and “Sleeping Beauty,” which, while having fascinating stories, feature lengthy dance sections that do nothing to further the plot. As time has gone on, ballets have split into two definite groups: those that have no story and exist purely for the sake of the dancing, and those that sacrifice the beauty of movement for the ideas or emotions of the plot.

In addition, the very style of ballet has begun to shift. More and more, the new ballets being written tend toward contemporary styling and positions. Christopher Wheeldon, one of today’s leading choreographers, struck a near-perfect balance between classical ballet and modern quirkiness in his whimsical “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.” However, in his other works, such as “Like Water for Chocolate” and "The Winter’s Tale,” the style of movement is so bizarre that it scarcely even resembles ballet.

Chicks Who Wore Kicks

Next, Berlin writes, “Chicks who did kicks aren’t kicking anymore, they’re doing choreography.” In ballet, while the “chicks” are still sending their legs sky-high, the famous “kicks” (slang for dance shoes) they wore in days past are becoming increasingly rare.

The symbol of ballet is the pointe shoe. The dainty satin slippers, pink tights, and frilly tutu of the ballerina are what come to mind when the art form is mentioned. However, in more recent pieces, “technique slippers” or “flat shoes” have become just as much the norm for ballerinas as the signature toe shoe. Pink tights are often abandoned in favor of skin-toned hosiery or, even more commonly, bare legs. Gone, too, are the tulle and satin costumes, in favor of thin, plain dresses.

Modern pointe shoes. Public Domain

In new works that are considered ballets and not contemporary or modern pieces, at least the leading female characters usually retain the pointe shoes. However, skin-toned shoes with a dull finish, a look achieved by a process called “pancaking,” are far more common than the pink satin of yesteryear, usually worn over bare legs. The affectionate nickname “bunhead” hardly seems appropriate anymore, when ballerinas’ hair always seems to be freely flowing. Although not every new work features the high ponytails, looser dresses, and bare feet of the “Choreography” number, pointe shoes are no longer required.

Heps Who Did Steps

The third verse brings us the lyric, “Heps who did steps that would stop the show in days that used to be. Through the air they keep flying, like a duck that is dying.” “Heps” is short for “hepcats,” or flashy dancers. This brings us to the men of the ballet world, also known as “danseurs,” “ballet boys,” or “ballerinos.” Whatever you choose to call them, they seem less affected by the changes of modern dance than choreographers and ballerinas. Their shoes are the same, aside from the occasional barefoot piece. If anything, it’s a positive that contemporary works let them wear more normal attire than the signature short tunic and white tights of a traditional ballet.

The bigger changes are in dance styles. In the great classics, the men and women have extremely different styles of choreography. While they often do the same positions, the men focus on large leaps, multiple turns, and more athletic movements. In the “pas de deux” (the term for partnered dancing, which means “step of two”), the man is there to lift, support, and spin the woman as she holds the beautiful positions and shows off her classical lines.

As choreographic style changes, the lines are becoming far more blurred. The men’s dancing is often more fluid and focused on shapes and lines, rather than the robust, larger-than-life style of classical ballet solos. In fact, like a dying duck isn’t a bad simile for a lot of modern choreography, particularly for men.

Paquita pas de deux, performed by Daria L and Ross at a NW Fusion Dance Company concert at the World Trade Center Theater in Portland, Ore. Lambtron/CC BY-SA 4.0

‘It’s Choreography’

The final line of the song states, “Instead of dance, it’s choreography.” Dance covers a broad field, from ballet to tap.

Modern dance works often ignore what the art form is all about. Traditional dance gets our pulses racing with quick steps and thrilling syncopations; it melts our hearts with the beauty and control of seamless lines and positions. Modern dance, however, has just become a question of movement. Bodies in motion don’t make dance or art. Even if the most skilled dancers in the world are on the stage, it’s pointless if the steps they’re given have no beauty or precision.

Modern dance does take a great deal of practice and detail, but it has started to bleed over into the ballet world so much that it’s threatening to obliterate traditional technique entirely. While we still have the great classics, a lot of companies, especially smaller ones, are leaning more and more into the contemporary style.

What the ballet world really needs, with the old standards, are some new works in a beautiful, classical style. Enough of this “choreography.” Give us some dancing!

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