What is Contemporary Dance? Meaning, Techniques and Styles

Contemporary dance is all about blending modern dance, ballet, a bit of improvisation and some really cool moves on the floor to give voice to emotions and tell stories.

The best part is there is no set rules that dancers have to follow so they can just make up their own techniques. This is sort of like using bits of Graham, Limón and Cunningham to create something entirely new every time.

In India some real pioneers like Uday Shankar, Chandralekha and Astad Deboo helped shape modern dance by combining some of their own traditional styles with yoga and martial arts along with some global techniques they’d learned.

Key Takeaways

• Contemporary dance is flexible and concept-led.
• It uses Graham, Limón, Cunningham, release work and contact improvisation.
• In India, it blends classical, folk, yoga and martial-arts forms with modern choreography.
• Beginners need no prior training. Consistent practice matters most.
• Careers include choreography, teaching, coaching, production and dance writing.

What is Contemporary Dance? Meaning Explained

When it comes to contemporary dance, it is a style of dance that’s all about technique, improvising and putting your own spin on things to explore a particular idea rather than sticking to a set list of moves.

Unlike classical forms of dance, it gives choreographers a huge amount of freedom over things like costume, music, structure and movement. But that freedom still needs a bit of discipline:

• Strength
• Control
• Timing
• Awareness of space

The focus is on how a movement happens – its weight, breath and intention – as much as what the movement is. A single piece may move from sharp contractions to soft releases, grounded floor work and sudden suspended balances.

Contemporary vs Modern, Classical Indian and Hip-Hop Dance

Modern dance is basically the one that started the whole contemporary thing off – and contemporary dance is the larger umbrella that includes all sorts of modern techniques, along with ballet, theatre and folk styles from around the world.

Origin and Evolution of Contemporary Dance

Well, contemporary dance started kicking around when artists back in the early 20th century decided they’d had enough of all those strict ballet rules and wanted to create something a bit more natural and expressive.

And then each new generation came along and added their own little twist. India developed its own totally cool modern dance movement in parallel.

Today, contemporary dance also borrows from different streams, which keeps it changing. This includes:

• Physical theatre
• Somatic practices
• Digital media

Core Contemporary Dance Techniques

Contemporary dance techniques train dancers to control weight, breath, momentum and alignment. Most dancers study several methods rather than one. This is because each builds a different skill.

Graham Technique

This is all about contraction and release. A contraction pulls the body inward from the centre, while a release lets it expand again. Graham linked this to the breath, which gives her work its emotional force.

Limón Technique

This involves fall and recovery. Dancers give in to gravity, then rebound and suspend before falling again. Limón built on Humphrey’s principle and added a strong focus on natural rhythm and human drama.

Cunningham Technique

Cunningham was all about being really aware of space and precision and he kind of encouraged dancers to keep their spines nice and straight and consider dance, music and design as separate things. He even used things like dice rolls to decide which moves to do next.

Floor Work and Improvisation

Floor work is just a fancy way of saying that dancers are using all sorts of cool moves like rolls and slides to move between standing and lying on the floor. And then there is improvisation.

That is where dancers just go with the flow and respond to the music or a prompt or even a partner in the moment. This is actually a great way to build creativity and confidence.

Major Contemporary Dance Styles

Contemporary dance is all over the place. This is because different dancers come from different backgrounds, and the kind of music used and the choreographer’s idea of what the dance should be about all shape the end result.

Lyrical contemporary – the style most people have seen on TV dance shows – whereas experimental work is a lot more likely to feature in festivals and those black-box theatres people love to talk about.

What is Indian Contemporary Dance?

For most of us, Indian Contemporary Dance is a creative way of making movements that brings together Indian classical, folk, yoga and even martial arts to produce something fresh and exciting. That is not the same as Western contemporary dance that happens to be performed in India, it arises from Indian bodies, rhythms and themes.

You could say Choreographers take the grammar of a classical form and just ditch the traditional format. They might also create completely new movement languages by drawing on a range of different sources.

You might see Kathak footwork paired up with some release-based floor work, or Bharatanatyam gestures merged with partner lifts – the possibilities are endless. Common themes include

• Mythology
• Memory
• Gender
• Migration
• Ecology and urban life

Pioneers of Indian Contemporary Dance

Deboo’s early work was criticised as too Western in India and not Indian enough abroad. By the 1990s, audiences were ready to open their minds to new Indian dance idioms.

Contemporary Dance for Beginners: How to Start

New to contemporary dance? The good news is that you don’t need any prior training – as long as you find a class that teaches safe alignment and basic floor work.

A little bit of yoga or fitness would be helpful, but a background in classical Indian dance would be even better. What does matter is that you show up and keep at it.

What Happens in a Contemporary Dance Class

1. First you get a warm-up session. 

This is usually some gentle stretching and breathing, maybe a bit of joint mobility to get the juices flowing.

2. Then it is technique time.

Learning all the different basics like alignment, contraction and release, how to transfer your weight properly and some good old fashioned floor work.

3. You will also be doing some travelling phrases.

Moving around the room with changes in level and direction – and a bit of improvisation to get those creative juices flowing.

4. You will be learning a choreographed sequence and polishing it up.

This is a real challenge, but also a great deal of fun.

5. Finally, you get a cool-down session to recover from all that exercise.

This involves a bit of stretching and breathing to get you relaxed and focused.Just a couple of tips – wear some nice stretchy clothing – and don’t worry about shoes, you will probably be dancing barefoot because you need to get a good grip on the floor.

Beginner Roadmap

Wear fitted, stretchy clothing. Most classes are done barefoot so the feet can grip the floor.

Benefits of Learning Contemporary Dance

Its no secret that contemporary dance will give you a good workout, but it is also a great way to express yourself and work through your emotions in a healthy way. Because you will be learning a mix of technique and improvisation you will be developing your physical control and creative thinking skills at the same time.

And you know how everyone says you should get more exercise. Well contemporary dance is a great way to do that too. The WHO recommends that adults get at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week, and you can easily get a big chunk of that done in just two or three dance classes a week.

Career Opportunities in Contemporary Dance

If you have got a passion for contemporary dance, there are loads of career opportunities out there. You might end up on stage, in a classroom or even backstage.

A lot of dancers have really successful careers that involve a mix of teaching, performing, running workshops and even creating digital content.

Conclusion

So what is contemporary dance? Well, its a bit of a discipline and a lot of creative experimentation all mixed together. It demands real technique, but then it lets you get a bit wild and free with it, making up your own movement language in the process.

So, regardless of whether you have got a background in classical dance, yoga, fitness or no background at all, just take the first step and get yourself to a beginner class – and then just keep at it. Try out some beginner contemporary dance classes and creative-practice workshops to start your own journey today.