License Remy Charlip's Air Mail Dances

Experience the magic of Remy Charlip's innovative Air Mail Dances—unique choreographic scores that transform drawings into living performances. Originally sent by mail to dance companies around the world, these remarkable works continue to inspire new interpretations.

Licensing Terms

• Performance license fee starts at $250 (US Dollars)/ €235.75 (Euros) per dance and depends on audience size, venue and other factors to be discussed after we receive your inquiry. Please see “How to Apply” below.

• Available to dance companies, educational institutions, and individual performers.

• Each license grants rights for the specified number of performances, audience size and venue.

• Payment is accepted on our website secure payment method.

• You will receive an invoice, a receipt and the license once it’s paid for.

How to Apply

1. Submit your initial inquiry by:

   • Using our contact form on our CONTACT page

   • Emailing us directly at [email address]

2. Please include:

   • A detailed description of your planned program

   • Your professional background (CV, biography, or institutional link)

   • Number of planned performances

   • Expected audience size

   • Planned ticket pricing

Next Steps

After reviewing your submission, our team will:

• Evaluate your project proposal

• Contact you with additional details

• Provide support and guidance for working with the choreographic material

• Process the licensing agreement

About Air Mail Dances

Remy Charlip's Air Mail Dances represent a groundbreaking approach to choreographic communication. These visual scores allow for creative interpretation while preserving the essence of Charlip's artistic vision, making them ideal for:

• Professional dance companies

• University dance programs

• Independent choreographers

• Student performances

• Research projects

Air Mail Dance History

Remy Charlip created his first Air Mail Dance for Nancy Lewis while he was living in Paris in 1971. It was titled Instructions from Paris. He sent Ms. Lewis a series of postcards and drawings of figures that she was to interpret, applying her own composition skills to create transitions from movement to movement. 

Charlip sent Air Mail Dances to performers around the world, choreographing and composing hundreds of individual scores. His choreographic inventions have been performed by artists worldwide.

“I started to do these figures on a page and then give them to dancers, to soloists and groups of dancers, and have them figure out how to get from one position to another–so they worked on the transitions and they thereby made the dance–it’s their dance and it is also my dance.”

— Remy Charlip

Air Mail Dances allow soloists and dance companies to co-create uniquely innovative pieces. The performer receives a drawn dance score of 10 to 40 single figures. The performer then rearranges the order of the drawings and devises the transitions between one figure to the next, thereby co-creating the dance. 

Charlip drew up his training as both a visual artist and a dancer to create these dance scores. He felt that dance should be an integral part of everyone’s life, and can be incorporated into day to day activities. His Dance in a Wing Chair, Dance in a Bed, and Dance in a Door Way have been performed countless times by professional dancers, school children, and everyday people. His Charlie’s Air Mail Dance scores are produced so that anyone can follow them.