Dance notation

Dance notation is the symbolic representation of human dance movement and form, using methods such as graphic symbols and figures, path mapping, numerical systems, and letter and word notations. Several dance notation systems have been invented, many of which are designed to document specific types of dance. Recorded dance notation that describes a dance is known as a dance score.

The primary uses of dance notation are historical dance preservation through documentation, and analysis or reconstruction of choreography, dance forms, and technical exercises. In ethnochoreology, dance notation is used to document dance for study. The two systems most often used in Western culture are Labanotation (also known as Kinetography Laban) and Benesh Movement Notation. Two other systems, Eshkol-Wachman Movement Notation and DanceWriting, are used to a lesser extent.

Several notation systems are used only for specific dance forms. Examples of such systems include Shorthand Dance Notation for dances from Israel, Morris Dance Notation for Morris dance, and Beauchamp-Feuillet notation for Baroque dance. Many dance notation systems are specifically designed for European dance and, as a result, cannot effectively describe dances from other cultures. Examples of such non-European dances include the polycentric dances of many African cultures, where movement of the body through space is less important than form-changing movements of the body. Attempts have been made by dance ethnologists to develop notation systems for such dances.

In the 1680s, Pierre Beauchamp invented a dance notation system for Baroque dance. His system, known as Beauchamp-Feuillet notation, was published in 1700 by Raoul-Auger Feuillet and used to record dances throughout the eighteenth century.

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