Fish Hawk Wing | Modern Dance

What is the difference between “Modern Dance” and “Contemporary Dance”?

Miss Bonnie — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 17:06:16 +0000

“Contemporary Dance” is a popular buzz word in the entertainment industry today, but even professional dancers and choreographers have a hard time answering the question “What is Contemporary?” Those of us who attempt to define Contemporary Dance usually indicate that Contemporary Dance came from Modern Dance, and added back in strong ballet technique, along with components from jazz and lyrical dance. It is usually tempting to assume that one can simply study Contemporary but the problem is that Contemporary is such “goulash” of ballet, modern, jazz and lyrical that to truly understand and excel at Contemporary, you must begin at the beginning and study each dance genre individually in order to develop the proper technique in each. If you are interested in Contemporary Dance, you should specifically study Modern Dance so that you have a solid basis for the floor work, contraction and release, weight shift, fall and recovery, and other elements of Modern Dance that are commonly used in Contemporary.

Why Study Modern Dance?

Miss Bonnie — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 17:05:25 +0000

Modern Dance is an ever-evolving art form that is rich in world-wide culture and history. Its basis of natural movement provides an almost automatic avenue for self expression and allows the dancer to enjoy movement for the moment, and not necessarily because it looks good for an audience. Most Modern Dance incorporates the soulful and emotional overtones inherent in movement and dance. Students of Modern Dance will also enjoy the physical and mental benefits of stretching, strengthening, cardiovascular workout and concentration.

What is Modern Dance?

Miss Bonnie — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 16:59:18 +0000

Modern Dance was originally inspired by dancers in the late 19th – early 20th centuries who rejected the rigidity and aristocracy of ballet. Modern dance pioneers incorporated the use of natural movement, breathing, contraction and release, suspension and floor work into their dance technique. As more dancers began breaking apart from ballet and began forging their own modern dance techniques, the use of ethnic dance movements, contact partner work and improvisation were added to the modern dance repertoire.

While natural breathing and movement were radical notions in dance in the early 20th century, nowadays it is often difficult to tell the difference between many current ballet and modern dance pieces. In some ways, modern dance and ballet have come full circle, each borrowing techniques from the other to create a vibrant, exciting Contemporary Dance genre.