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Contemporary Dance

Contemporary dance is an expressive genre that combines elements of ballet, jazz, modern, and lyrical dance. It focuses on floor work and fluid movements rather than rigid poses. Contemporary dance allows dancers freedom of movement and improvisation to connect their mind and body and evoke emotions. Dancers often perform barefoot to move freely. Contemporary dance developed in the late 19th century as dancers broke from classical ballet to establish more natural styles of expression. Pioneers like Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham, and Merce Cunningham helped establish contemporary dance.

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Bernadette Pineda
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243 views2 pages

Contemporary Dance

Contemporary dance is an expressive genre that combines elements of ballet, jazz, modern, and lyrical dance. It focuses on floor work and fluid movements rather than rigid poses. Contemporary dance allows dancers freedom of movement and improvisation to connect their mind and body and evoke emotions. Dancers often perform barefoot to move freely. Contemporary dance developed in the late 19th century as dancers broke from classical ballet to establish more natural styles of expression. Pioneers like Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham, and Merce Cunningham helped establish contemporary dance.

Uploaded by

Bernadette Pineda
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Pineda, Bernadette S.

12/16/2022
12- STEM 19 Physical Education & Health

CONTEMPORARY DANCE

Contemporary dance is an interpretive dance form that mixes numerous dance styles,
including classical ballet, jazz, modern, and lyrical dances. This dance focuses on floor work rather
than leg and pointe movements. Contemporary dance, unlike any other traditional dance, is an
expressive genre of the body defined by freedom of movement and relies on improvisation and
versatility. This allows dancers to explore the connection between the mind and body in evoking
emotions while dancing. Furthermore, dancers are frequently seen dancing barefoot since it helps
them to move freely and execute fluidity motions to connect with the dance surface.

Contemporary dance is sometimes viewed as a form of narration, according to MasterClass (2021).


Dancers can utilize this dance to portray characters, events, or convey tales by dancing gracefully.
Furthermore, Harlequin Floors (2021) claims that in contemporary dance, dancers have the
freedom to modify performances based on their own perception. Contemporary dance is also
frequently used in music theater, music videos, films, and other forms of dancing arts.

Contemporary dance costumes, on the other hand, usually represent the major concept of the
performance. They may base their outfits on the music they'll be performing to.

ORIGIN OF CONTEMPORARY DANCE

Contemporary dance started off in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Around the 1980s,
contemporary dance was defined as a movement of new dancers who sought to learn more about
moves that combined many dance genres. Therefore, there are no set motions in contemporary
dance. They move in accordance with their interpretation and what they want the audience to
interpret. They created numerous strategies such as fast oppositional movements, altering
alignments, expressing of emotions, as well as the methodical breathing. Contemporary dance was
thought to portray the human spirit by blending the physical and emotional.
Before, dances performed in theatres were mostly limited to ballet, which was famous back then
in Europeans and Americans. This gradually began to change when Isadora Duncan, a US dancer,
broke away from classical ballet in order to establish her own natural style of dancing.

Isadora Duncan was not the only dancer who wanted to revolutionize the early dance form. Several
renowned dance masters, notably Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham, have contributed to
the development of contemporary dance. These three intendeds to show to the rest of the world
that modern dance should embrace freedom and explore the physical and emotional expressions
of the human body.

4 MAIN DANCE STYLES OF CONTEMPORARY DANCE

Ballet – Ballet stresses fluid, elegant movements, long lines, and rigorous commitment to proper
form and technique. It also uses dramatic visuals and choreography to create narrative and
storytelling.

Jazz Dance - Jazz is a style of dance that incorporates aspects of ballet, tap, hip-hop, African
dance, and other styles. Jazz is frequently accompanied with energetic, contemporary pop
melodies.

Modern Dance - Modern dance is a representation of the dancers' relationship to the floor,
featuring ways of contraction, release, and movement, as well as breath dancers.

Lyrical Dance – Lyrical dance combines ballet, jazz, and modern dance. It emphasizes the
expression of sentiments and emotions via movement.

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