Choreographing Shows and Scenes: What Dance Can Teach Fiction Writers

In my latest novel, The Colony Club , I begin with one character, Daisy Harriman, in 1968, just her and a young reporter as she looks back over her life. She’s old, subdued but proud of her achievements. It’s an intimate scene, only two people in the spotlight. That scene cuts to a much more dynamic Daisy, a young woman, perturbed by being refused a room at the Waldorf unless her husband accompanies her. She enters her drawing room in a whirlwind of consternation, even her skirts are agitated, choreographed to enhance her entrance. She confronts two seated, complacent men who are sympathetic but more interested in the evening newspaper. She moves against their static complacency, her chagrin changing to anticipation of a new plan in word, movement, and expression. She finishes center stage in an exuberant solo/recitative. When I retired from dancing professionally and stumbled into a career as a writer, I soon began to make connections between these two worlds—one athletic with literal applause at the end of the night, and the other sedentary, solitary, and mostly lacking in standing ovations. Dancers and writers understand communication, revel in the creative process, and although the external application of our creativity may be very different, beneath the surface they share much in common. For me, writing has become a perfect extension of a career that has moved from ephemeral performance to lasting portrayal. Community/ Corps de Ballet One of the first times I became aware that my background in dance influenced my writing was in the choreography of groups of people in a scene. My background taught me that a community (corps de ballet) can enhance, not clutter, the story or the development of the main characters. Dancers and writers understand communication, revel in the creative process, and although the external application of our creativity may be very different, beneath the surface they share much in common. In fiction this is community, what is sometimes called the ordinary world, where characters are interacting in relative harmony. It “sets the stage” for what is to come. On stage it’s very […]

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