Copyright and Dance: Home
copyright resources specific to dance students and faculty
Last Updated: Oct 29, 2025 3:29 PM
“Dancer in the Rain,” by David Hoffman on Unsplash
Copyright protection of dance
Choreographies and pantomimes that are fixed in a tangible medium have been protected by U.S. copyright law only since 1978. According to the U.S. copyright office, "Choreography is the composition and arrangement of a related series of dance movements and patterns organized into a coherent whole."
Source: U.S. Copyright Office. (2017). Copyright Registration of Choreography and Pantomime, Circular 52.