DanceScript

DanceScript: Visualizing Horizontal Motion is a dance notation initiative and technique for documenting a choreographer’s use of space on the stage. The scripting process may be applied to the pre-visualization of spatial aspects for future works or implemented to record the pathways, entrances, exits, and placement of dancers in existing dances. The resulting product is a visual roadmap of weight shifts and locomotion that complements and clarifies the information that may be captured on video and other motion media. It provides specific staging details that are often vaguely indiscernible in video documentation due to the lack of depth perception.

Dances that will benefit from DanceScript notation are selected through an invitation or nomination process, or scripting may be requested by a choreographer or professional company. The timeline is dependent on the available funding and the logistics of scheduling. The valuation of each DanceScript project is based on the duration and complexity of the choreography and the number of dancers.

The significance of DanceScript is evident as dance is inherently ephemeral—it exists in the moment of performance and often leaves no tangible product behind. This initiative supports research in the field of dance and results in presentations and workshops, which are supported by many resources including established organizations and scholarly literature.

Florida State University Professor Tim Glenn serves as the primary investigator and notator for DanceScript. His ability to script dance is supported by his experiences in dance documentation, media technologies, movement analysis, choreography, and performance. Glenn is passionate about creating cultural artifacts by researching and documenting dance. In 2024, he produced the DanceScript pilot project in collaboration with the José Limón Dance Company by scripting Limón’s 1954 dance, The Traitor. Glenn developed this DanceScript technique while creating and archiving his choreographies over the past three decades. For more information about Glenn, visit timglenn.dance.

FEATURED PROJECT

Tensile Involvement (1953) by Alwin Nikolais

The DanceScript for Alwin Nikolais' internationally acclaimed work, Tensile Involvement, was created in collaboration with the Nikolais/Louis Foundation for Dance in July 2025. Glenn worked closely with the foundation's Artistic Director, Alberto del Saz, to create the script, which will be used to support choreographic research and future restagings of the dance. The 32-page PDF of the entire dance and the performance video synchronized with staging images will be housed in the Alwin Nikolais and Murray Louis Dance Collection at Ohio University in Athens, OH. Glenn is excited to make this contribution to support the continued legacy of Nikolais. He is particularly enthusiastic about this particular dance, a seminal work that he performed as a member of the Alwin Nikolais and Murray Louis Dance Company in the early 1990's.

See the About>Product page for more DanceScript samples.