How are choreographers educated? The need for more choreographic programs in South Korea

Abstract

ABSTRACT South Korea has 33 dance departments in tertiary education institutions around the country, with only one of the schools having a choreography major. This study endeavours to bring awareness to the value and necessity of choreography education in nurturing creative choreographers for the dance industry in South Korea and to reject two assumptions: 1) choreographers are born and not made, and 2) choreographers are nurtured through the apprenticeship model. The purpose of this study is therefore to identify the educational backgrounds of prominent choreographers, their developmental stages and the significant influences they received. To achieve this, the study adopted a phenomenological approach and coherently implemented Moustakas’s phenomenology research analysis measures. The data were collected from choreographers and research into their development in a doctoral inquiry completed in 2013. The identified findings illustrate that choreography can be taught, increased awareness of how to develop professionally as a choreographer is needed, and there are many avenues for choreographers to be educated and influenced.