Contemporary Dance

CONTEMPORARY DANCE

            Contemporary which is also called modern dance is a more modern type of dance that is often done barefoot. Contemporary dance reminds me of a more slowed down artistic version of hip-hop type dance. Contemporary dance is not a very fast paced dance, it is most of the time very slow and intricate. There are a lot of arm movements that make contemporary dance very interesting.

Contemporary dance really seems to be a combination of jazz, ballet, and hip-hop. It is very popular mostly because it is a very new style of dance and it has a very modern style to it that people love and think is beautiful and interesting. All different types of music can be used in contemporary dance. Most of the music used is acoustic of slower versions of pop or techno songs. Really all different types of music can be used but those are probably the most common.

The creators of contemporary dance are Isadora Duncan, Ruth St.Denis, Doris Humphrey, Mary Wigman, Francois Delsarte,Emilie Jaques-Dalcroze, Merce Cunningham, Martha Graham, Rudoph von laban, Loie Fuller, Jose Limon, and Marie Rambert. These are the people that made contemporary dance so popular and interesting.

Contemporary dance is the exploration of the total movement potential of the body. It differs from commercial or competitive dance in that it is not bound by set standards, as well as defined styles such as ballet or Jazz dance. Instead, it seeks to express a personalized vision, often through experimentation and collaboration for the development of new, more individualized approaches to the moving body and choreographic possibilities.

It does not refuse classical ballet's leg technique in favor of modern dance's stress on the torso, while it also employs contact-release, floor work, fall and recovery, and improvisation characteristic of modern dance. Unpredictable changes in rhythm, speed, and direction are often used, as well. It can use elements from non-western dance cultures, for example, elements from African dance such as bent knees, or elements from the Japanese contemporary dance Butoh.

There are different techniques in contemporary dance style, which are;  Contemporary ballet,  Alexander technique, Bartenieff Fundamentals, Contact improvisation, Dance improvisation, Franklin-Methode, Hawkins technique, José Limón technique, Horton technique, Humphrey-Weidman technique, Graham technique, Cunningham technique, Corporeal mime - Étienne Decroux technique, Pilates, Release technique, Yoga, Sullivan Technique etc.

·         Yoga

Yoga is a commonly known generic term for physical, mental, and spiritual disciplines which originated in ancient India. Specifically, yoga is one of the six orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy. One of the most detailed and thorough expositions on the subject are the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali. Various traditions of yoga are found in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.

Pre–philosophical speculations and diverse ascetic practices of first millennium BCE were systematized into a formal philosophy in early centuries CE by the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. By the turn of the first millennium, Hatha yoga emerged as a prominent tradition of yoga distinct from the Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. While the Yoga Sutras focus on discipline of the mind, Hatha yoga concentrates on health and purity of the body.

Hindu monks, beginning with Swami Vivekananda, brought yoga to the West in the late 19th century. In the 1980s, yoga became popular as a physical system of health exercises across the Western world. Many studies have tried to determine the effectiveness of yoga as a complementary intervention for cancer, schizophrenia, asthma and heart patients. In a national survey, long-term yoga practitioners in the United States reported musculo–skeletal and mental health improvements.

·         Pirates

Pilates is a physical fitness system developed in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates and popular in many countries, including Germany, the UK and the US. As of 2005, there were 11 million people practicing the discipline regularly and 14,000 instructors in the United States alone.Pilates is a body conditioning routine that may help build flexibility, muscle strength, and endurance in the legs, abdominals, arms, hips, and back. It puts emphasis on spinal and pelvic alignment, breathing, and developing a strong core or center, and improving coordination and balance. Pilates' system allows for different exercises to be modified in range of difficulty from beginning advancing. Intensity can be increased over time as the body conditions and adapts to the exercises.

This physical fitness system demands intense focus: "You have to concentrate on what you're doing all the time. And you must concentrate on your entire body for smooth movements." This is not easy, but in Pilates the way that exercises are done is more important than the exercises themselves. In 2006 at the Parkinson Center of the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, Oregon, the concentration factor of the Pilates method was being studied in providing relief from the degenerative symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

Precision is essential to correct Pilates: "concentrate on the correct movements each time you exercise, lest you do them improperly and thus lose all the vital benefits of their value". The focus is on doing one precise and perfect movement, rather than many halfhearted ones. Pilates is here reflecting common physical culture wisdom: "You will gain more strength from a few energetic, concentrated efforts than from a thousand listless, sluggish movements". The goal is for this precision to eventually become second nature, and carry over into everyday life as grace and economy of movement.

·         Dance Improvisation

Dance improvisation is the process of spontaneously creating movement. Development of improvised movement material is facilitated through a variety of creative explorations including body mapping through body mind centering, levels, shape and dynamics (see Laban Movement Analysis), sensory experiences through touch or contact improvisation, and perceptual schema.

Dance improvisation is not only about creating new movement but is also defined as freeing the body from habitual movement patterns. There are different developed dances formed with improvitional natures; Argentine tango, belly dance, lindy hop, lindy-hop, break dance, blues etc.