4 COOL ARTS CAREERS CHO REO GRAPHER CHAPTER ONE MAKING ALL THE RIGHT MOVES merson and her friends took a break on the stage of their school auditorium A local shoe store was Choreographers help dancers tell a
filming a commercial there Because the store sold dance shoes the owners decided to put dancers in the commercial Emerson and a few of her classmates took lessons through the school s tap dance program They got to be the stars Emerson was excited to be in the commercial She was also excited to work with a professional choreographer named Mr Allen He showed Emerson and the other dancers what to do in front of the cameras He taught them a simple routine and showed them how to move on the stage Mr Allen also explained changes to the dance steps when the director decided to make the commercial shorter Emerson thought about what an amazing job Mr Allen had He used to be a professional dancer Then he became a choreographer and created dances for other people to perform His work helped Emerson shine during her first television commercial It also made her think about becoming a choreographer herself Like Mr Allen some choreographers spend their time on commercial sets Others oversee auditions and create dance moves for television shows movies and stage productions Some choreographers teach at schools that train professional dancers Choreographers develop new dances or reinterpret traditional ones Choreographer Acia Gray is the cofounder and artistic director of the Tapestry Dance Company in
6 cooL ARTS CAREERS CHORE OGRAPHER Austin Texas The company specializes in jazz tap and modern dance She is also the president of the International Tap Association Gray believes that her job is a lot like writing Q LEARNING INNOVATION SKILLS When people think of choreographers they often imagine men and women who work on theater sets or in dance studios But not all choreographers direct dancers Some work with martial artists and actors to create fight scenes in movies Others work with models in fashion shows Choreographers also work on other things besides movement Sometimes they work on costume design and lighting They might also choose the music or sound effects for a production The choreographer is the artist telling a story through the language of dancer Gray explains Dancers are the living Swords of the story Some choreographers write their stories before they get to rehearsal and then teach the
A choreographer might adjust a dancer's body to suit the dance
