A choreopoem is a form of dramatic expression that combines poetry, dance, music, and song.[1] The term was first coined in 1975[2] by American writer Ntozake Shange in a description of her work, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf. Shange's attempt to depart from traditional western poetry and storytelling resulted in a new art form that doesn't contain specific plot elements or characters, but instead focuses on creating an emotional response from the audience.[3] In Shange's work, nontraditional spelling and African American Vernacular English are aspects of this genre that differ from traditional American literature.[4] She emphasizes the importance of movement and nonverbal communication throughout the choreopoem so that it is able to function as a theatrical piece rather than being limited to poetry or dance.[5]
The "XX Chromosome Genome Project" by S. Ann Johnson is a contemporary example of a choreopoem. It combines poetry, song and dance to illuminate the commonalities and differences between women of various cultures.[6] In this choreopoem, Johnson writes about eight women in search of self-acceptance and liberation. These colorfully dressed women, who are named after flavors of foods, represent international cultures around the world through music, spoken word, and movement.[7]
Another contemporary artist championing the choreopoem is Monica Prince,[8] author of How to Exterminate the Black Woman ([PANK], 2020)[9], and the forthcoming Roadmap (SFWP 2023). Prince teaches the art of the choreopoem at Susquehanna University.[10]
^Rawson, Christopher (March 7, 2008). ""Layla" is Forceful "Choreopoem"". ProQuest. ProQuest 390693272.
^Cox-Cordova, Jill (July 21, 2009). "Shange's 'For Colored Girls' has lasting power". CNN. Archived from the original on November 29, 2010. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
^rorydean (February 22, 2011). "For Colored Girls (2010)". Above the Line. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
^Waxman, Barbara (Autumn 1994). "Dancing out of Form, Dancing into Self: Genre and Metaphor in Marshall, Shange, and Walker". MELUS. 19 (3): 91–106. doi:10.2307/467874. JSTOR 467874.
^"Shange, Ntozake". literati. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
^"The XX Chromosome Genome Project by S. Ann Johnson". 2 Pens & Lint LLC. Archived from the original on May 12, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
^Matema, ZSun-Nee. "'XX Chromosome Genome Project' at Hamilton Arts Center". DC Metro Theater Arts. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
^Episode #186 Monica Prince on Choreopoems and Her Journey to Poetry, retrieved 2022-03-21
^admin (2020-03-26). "How to Exterminate the Black Woman (a Choreopoem) by Monica Prince". [PANK]. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
A choreopoem is a form of dramatic expression that combines poetry, dance, music, and song. The term was first coined in 1975 by American writer Ntozake...
stories Spells (novel), a 2010 novel by Aprilynne Pike Spell No. 7, a 1979 choreopoem by Ntozake Shange Enharmonic spelling, how a musical note is indicated...
and the AUDELCO Award. This play, her most famous work, was a 20-part choreopoem — a term Shange coined to describe her groundbreaking dramatic form, combining...
Channel. In February 2017, Moore staged the afrofuturistic, techno-inspired choreopoem Salt City, directed by Aku Kadogo. It was performed again in June 2019...
2010 American drama film adapted from Ntozake Shange's 1975 original choreopoem for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf...
opening weekend. Perry directed a film adaptation of Ntozake Shange's 1975 choreopoem For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf...
For Colored Girls (2010), adapted from Ntozake Shange's 1975 original choreopoem for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf...
battered wife Crystal. The film is based on Ntozake Shange's 1975 original choreopoem for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf...
most notably when he was on the national tour for Marc Bamuthi Joseph's choreopoem, Word Becomes Flesh, about a nine-month pregnancy through the eyes of...
New Caledonia. Kadogo directed a production of techno-choreopoem Salt City, based on the choreopoem by Jessica Care Moore, which "celebrates Black culture...
Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf" by Ntozake Shange (1975), this groundbreaking choreopoem combines poetry, music, and dance to depict the lives of black women....
ensembles during the last three decades: Teatro Tolteca (UCLA, 1971 – a choreopoem theatre utilizing jazz, spoken-word and movement), TROKA (Bay Area, 1983...
Shange's one-act play, It Hasn't Always Been This Way, and in 2012, Shange's choreopoem, and why i had to dance, produced by Oberlin College and Cleveland’s PlayhouseSquare...
Retrieved 22 February 2013. Richard O. Jones (February 24, 2009). "'Choreopoem' by Frank X Walker to debut at NKU". Dayton Daily News. "Coal Black Voices:...
and Mildred Loving; scoring Chesney Snow's The Soil Beneath, a streamed choreopoem produced by Primary Stages; writing the score for Patient Zero, an opera...
Randal Myler, and Dan Wheetman. The Love Space Demands, Ntozake Shange's choreopoem Black Eagles by Leslie Lee, a historic chronicle of the Tuskegee Airmen...
Shange, N. (2010). For colored girls who have considered suicide, when the rainbow is enuf: A choreopoem. New York: Scribner "BTN Competitions. (n.d.)"....
and complicated identities of black women. Like her plays, novels, and choreopoems, Shange's poems are as humorous as they are tragic, and explore a variety...
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