| A choreopoem is a work that combines dance and poetry so that each complements the other in a highly dramatic way. The term first appeared in a work called for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf: a choreopoem, by Ntozake Shange, an African-American woman. Shange, (Paulette Williams was her birth name), wanted to create a new art form that was different from traditional western (and white) poetry. So, while working with young black girls, she developed the form, which doesn't contain traditional elements of plot and characters, it instead focuses on creating an emotional response within the audience. |
