Contemporary Dance: A Style Built on Self-Expression

Contemporary dance is now one of the leading genres for professionally trained dancers around the world, and it is especially popular in the US and Europe. Here is where it came from and how it differs from other styles. How to choose a dance style for a child and why classes help is covered in Modern Dance for Children: Benefits and How to Choose a Style.

Where Contemporary Dance Came From

Contemporary dance took shape in the middle of the twentieth century. It grew out of classical ballet, modern dance and jazz, and later absorbed elements of many other styles. The American Merce Cunningham is regarded as the first choreographer to take an independent stance towards modern dance. In 1944 he danced to music by the composer John Cage, and in 1953 he founded his own company, creating more than 150 works for it.

Cunningham’s Ideas

Cunningham believed that a dance need not tell a story, that dance and music can stand apart from each other, and that rhythm, speed and direction can shift without warning. He valued creative freedom and rejected the symmetry of the classical stage. Artists Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns worked on the design of his productions.

Pina Bausch’s Dance Theatre

Another movement that shaped contemporary dance is German dance theatre, or Tanztheater. It brought everyday movement onto the stage and, instead of a continuous plot, built a performance from separate episodes, like a montage. One of its best-known figures is Pina Bausch: from 1973 she ran the company in Wuppertal that became known as Tanztheater Wuppertal, and she involved her dancers in developing each piece.

How the Technique Differs

Contemporary dance pairs ballet’s strong yet controlled legwork with modern dance’s focus on the torso. From modern dance it takes contraction and release, a principle introduced by Martha Graham, along with floor work, falls and recoveries, and improvisation. Contemporary dancers also train outside dance itself, for example with Pilates and yoga. You can start at any age, as explained in Modern Dance for Adults: It’s Never Too Late to Start.

How to Get Started

In our contemporary dance course, students get to know elements of hip-hop, jazz and contemporary dance, learn to tell the styles apart by technique and manner, and convey the mood of the music through movement and facial expression. Lessons are open to students from age 5. A trial lesson costs $8: it is individual and lasts 45 minutes. More about the course is on the Contemporary Dance page.