Choreographers

Choreography is still mostly creative work done by people. For example, official job lists show choreographers “choose the music…to accompany a dance” and “record dance movements and their technical aspects” ^[1]. Right now, no AI simply picks a soundtrack or designs a dance on its own.

However, researchers and innovators are building tools to help. Stanford scientists created a system (EDGE) that can generate plausible dance moves from a given piece of music ^[2]. Choreographer Wayne McGregor worked with AI (AISOMA) that analyzed thousands of hours of his past performances to make new movement suggestions ^[3].

Even smartphone apps like Move.ai let anyone capture a dancer’s motion on video ^[3]. These tools automate parts of the process (capturing steps, proposing ideas) but they still need a person to shape them into art. Industry leaders emphasize that AI in the arts is a partner, not a replacement.

As YouTube’s CEO put it, AI should “enhance” human creativity – not replace it ^[4]. Dance experts agree: human energy and levels of expression cannot be fully replicated by machines ^{[3] [3]}. In short, AI today only augments choreographers’ work (for example by speeding up note-taking or suggesting movements), while core creative choices remain human.

New AI tools for dance are mostly lab projects or special apps, not mass-market products. Commercial choreographers often work in small teams or schools with tight budgets, so they’ll adopt AI only if it clearly helps. Practical AI is most likely used where it saves time – for instance, Tamara Rojo (a ballet director) notes a computer could quickly reassign roles if a dancer is injured ^[3].

But she and others worry that replacing composers, designers or choreography patterns with AI would hurt creativity ^[3]. Legal and ethical issues also slow adoption: dancers are concerned about using their recorded moves to train AI without credit or pay ^{[3] [3]}. Socially, audiences still expect live human performers; choreographers themselves say the “human virtuosity and ingenuity” of dance can’t be matched by code ^{[3] [3]}.

Overall, AI in dance is adopted slowly because choreographers value human skills and the live experience. In practice, AI tools are used as creative assistants (to analyze video, generate ideas or manage schedules) rather than replacing people. Experts point out that dance careers are growing (BLS projects 5% job growth for dancers/choreographers ^[5]) and will need human storytelling.

The hopeful view is that choreographers who learn these AI tools may gain inspiration or efficiency, while their own artistic vision stays at the creative core ^{[4] [3]}.