A Study of Choreography Courses for Musical Theater Majors

Abstract

Musical theater education in Chinese universities is generally focused on training musical performance talents, and the dance courses involved are also set up to enhance dance performance. The dance styles learned are mainly ballet, modern dance, jazz dance and tap dance, which are common in European and American musicals. However, in the actual musical rehearsal process, the use of dance to create dramatic characters, develop dramatic events, and show dramatic emotions and conflicts requires the skilled creative ability of the musical choreographer. The educational process of musical choreography is a multi-faceted process, which requires the choreographer to have a solid theoretical basis and flexible creative skills. By comparing with universities in Europe, America and South Korea that have musical theater major, this paper studies the advantages and disadvantages of musical theater major courses in Chinese universities in terms of choreography training. Based on the actual situation of China, this study finds the curriculum that conforms to musical choreography through multi-angle analysis of practice, creation, and theory.