當我們將「舞蹈的藝術」分為編創、表演與學習時，會面臨什麼問題？當舞蹈被歸類為傳統與現代、社交性與藝術性，又如何影響我們對其產生過程的詮釋？本文探討編創舞蹈兩種迥異的定義，以評估它對全球的舞蹈與舞蹈創作的理解。我將評析編創舞蹈的意識型態之轉變，尤其著重在其如何鞏固和規範舞蹈訓練，並舉不同藝術性與社會價值的舞蹈種類為例。透過檢驗編創舞蹈在不同歷史時期所展現的文化意涵，希望能提供一種當今的觀點，以理解目前我們如何教導和理解來自世界各地的舞蹈。

What is at stake in partitioning “the art of dancing” into the acts of making, performing, and learning to dance? And how has the categorization of dance into traditional or contemporary, social or artistic, effected the interpretation of the processes by which it comes into existence? This essay excavates two distinctive meanings of the term choreography in order to assess how they have impacted our understanding of dances and dance-making world-wide. I evaluate the ideological legacy of choreography, paying special attention to how it has been used to consolidate and regularize dance practices, and to instantiate typologies of dance with distinctive artistic and social merit. By examining the cultural work it has performed at different moments in history, I hope to offer a perspective on its meanings today and their impact on the ways we teach and conceptualize dance around the world.