Lesson 2:

Modern Dance
Introduction

One of the most stunning artistic genres the world has ever seen is modern dance.
Every emotion or sentiment possible can be portrayed via the movements of a dance form. The
capacity to produce art may be innate or acquired later in life.
The easiest form of dancing to music you’re likely to see is modern dance. It could
be swift, slow, strong, graceful, boisterous, silent, furious, or immobile. It would be an
understatement to say that modern dance is a combination of all dance. It can move in any
manner, at any speed, and with any feeling you can imagine. Consequently, choosing a
diversity of music is a great way to obtain a great workout. It’s one of the best workouts out
there and is especially good for people who have limited mobility or are less physically active.
Introduction

The varieties of modern dance are numerous. With dances like “Americaine” or
“Radha,” created by Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn as “Denishawn,” and today’s Pilobilus,
“Symbiosis” or the Swiss dance collective Mummenschanz, whose intensely dramatic
choreography is paired with modern dance movements, there are glaring differences in their
choreography. Note the scene where Danny Kaye dances a contemporary dance routine called
“Choreography” in the movie “Holiday Inn,” which is a satire on the differences between
modern dance, jazz, and tap dance. In “choreography,” the movements are purposefully
exaggerated to demonstrate the function of modern dance steps and gestures.
Modern dance syllabuses are based on ballet movements. Today’s modern dance, on
the other hand, is imbued with current interpretive moves. This is, in some ways, a return to
the most primordial dancing techniques, in which the body moves intuitively and improvised.
Introduction

Teaching modern dance nowadays necessitates a symbiosis between teachers and

students’ mental pictures that transcend to dancers’ physical movement. Another aspect of
modern dance’s new tendencies is a concentration on actual body weight rather than force of
energy to produce movement. Many dance study classes, both online and off, go through this
in detail. It may be challenging for modern dance instructors to adapt this tendency into a
dance technique class or group instructions.
Ballet technique and syllabus should be a strong foundation for modern dance
educators. Teachers employ modern dance movies that focus on choreography, physiology,
pedagogy, and orchesiology to make it easier to incorporate current dance trends into the
curriculum. A basic understanding of geometry can aid with the visualization of space and
movement.
Kelly Harris of the Harris Dance Company, for example, is a great example
Introduction

of current tendencies in modern dance choreography. Today’s modern dance teachers seek for
ethereal choreography with fewer oblique or angular body movements. The use of vocals to
accompany current dance music, as well as choreography based on the music’s topic, may be
the most popular trend. A modern dance piece about love is one example. The choreography’s
concept is provided by the dance instructor for participants to imitate in dance movement.
History of Modern Dance

Historically, modern dance started as lyrical ballet performed in a free-form way by

a group of ballet professionals who wouldn’t give up dancing. In accordance with their
biographies, Isadora Duncan and Ruth St. Denis championed modern dance as a means of
advancing their respective dancing careers. Many ballet steps are still used by modern dancers
in well-coordinated presentations of modern dance. Many contemporary dances are taught in
ballet classes.
The first choreographed contemporary dances did not require en pointe dancing or
strict fidelity to ballet movement.
A historical study of modern dance makes evident three phases of this dance style:
1. The early period from 1880 to 1923
History of Modern Dance

2. The middle period from 1923 to 1946

3. The late modern dance period from 1946 to the present
In Germany and the United States, modern dance evolved during the 20 th century. It
is experimental and iconoclastic, just like modern art and music. Isadora Duncan, Loie Fuller,
and Ruth St. Denis were pioneers of modern dance in the United States; Rudolf von Laban and
Mary Wigman were in Germany. Both show dance’s banality and the rigid formality, artifice,
and flimsiness of conventional academic ballet were something that each dancer rebelled
against. Following them, every contemporary dancer aimed to awaken audiences to a new
understanding of either internal or exterior reality.
When Alvin Ailey presented his first performance in 1958, the Alvin Ailey American
Dance Theater was born. Through the work of Trisha Brown of the
History of Modern Dance

Judson Dance Theater in New York, the face of contemporary dance underwent a significant
alteration in 1962. This artistic expression expanded to a greater level in the 1970s, integrating
numerous extreme viewpoints and gaining traction around the world.
Throughout the 1980s, Eliot Field, Karole Armitage, Mark Morris, and Twyla Tharp
had a significant impact on the ballet dance movement. Michael Jackson, a great performer
whose name is permanently etched in the memories of dance enthusiasts quickly took control
of the situation. His signature moves, like the moonwalk, are credited with changing the
course of dance history. Innovations gradually filtered in and built the foundation for current
dance forms.
German Contributions
History of Modern Dance

Although modern dance is commonly associated with the United States, its origins
may be traced to Central Europe and Germany, with Rudolf von Laban being the most
important. He opened a school in Munich in 1910, where Mary Wigman was one of his
students, despite the fact that there is almost no evidence to describe his choreography. He was
exiled in the 1930s and came to England in 1946, where he founded the Art of Movement
Studio in Manchester and worked on his notation system until his death.
Different groups, such as the Sankaijuku, a group of Japanese dancers trained in both
modern and classical dance, have contributed to the development of modern dance today.
Their performance is based on “butoh,” a type of dance theater that skips formal choreography
in favor of expressing primal feelings with minimum attire and movement.
History of Modern Dance

In today’s modern dance, acrobatic and aerial moves performed in pairs and groups
are more popular than interpretation. The most recent fashions focus on expressing crossover
dance styles through language, drama, and illusions
Characteristics of the Modern Dance

Dance has just emerged as an important art form, yet there is still a lot
of misinformation around it, both among non-dancers and among dancers themselves. The
only source of information has been the dancers’ actual performances because there is no
English language literature on the topic other than that focusing on the older techniques
that are only used by accomplished artists. This is the only trustworthy source, to be sure,
as any theory that is more than theoretical needs to be drawn from the best artists’ work.
In general, modern dance differs from ballet in that allows dancers to
create their own steps, combinations, and dances depending on their feelings and moods
as opposed to adhering to a rigid rule of technique.
Characteristics of the Modern Dance

According to Bedinghaus, below are the specific characteristics of Modern

Dance:
1. Modern dance enables dancers to create their own steps and routines based on their
feelings and moods. Instead of following a codified code of technique, as in ballet,
dancers frequently design unique moves for their routines.
2. The conscious use of gravity, in contrast to ballet, is another feature of modern dance.
Modern dancers frequently employ their body weight to improve movement, whereas
classical ballet dancers seek to be light and airy on their feet. This sort of dancer
opposes the traditional ballet stance of an upright, erect body, preferring to tumble to
the floor on purpose.
Other Forms of Modern Dance

1. Hip-Hop
Hip-hop is a dance style that emerged from
hip-hop culture and is usually performed to hip-
hop music. Break dancing was the first dance linked
with hip hop. While most break dance routines
are performed near to the ground, them majority of
hip-hop moves are performed standing up.
It includes a wide range of styles notably
breaking, locking, and pooping, which were created
in the 1970s and made popular by dance crews in the
United States.
Other Forms of Modern Dance

2. Cramping
Popularized in the United States,
characterized by free, expressive, exaggerated, and
highly energetic movement. Dancers who started
cramping saw the dance as a means for them to
escape gang life and "to express raw emotions in a
powerful but non-violent way.”
Cramping(also known as clown dancing or
clowning) is a style of dance that originated in the
African-American community of South-Central Los
Angeles California.
Modern Dance Moves

1. Laterals
The arm over the supporting leg comes straight up next to the ear as the torso tilts,
unbroken to the side, over the supporting leg. The opposite leg lifts pointed through the toes.
The other arm swings up as the leg rises and parallels the straight arm next to the head. The
body continues to tilt sideways from the pelvis in one unbroken line.
2. Spiral
The spiral is a torso twist that begins in the pelvis. As the body turns, each level is
separately articulated all the way up the spine – pelvis, lower spine, mid-section, shoulders,
neck and head. The head remains in alignment with the spine. The spiral releases in the same
order: pelvis up to shoulders, neck and then head.
Modern Dance Moves

3. Stag Leap
The Stag Leap is a very high jump in a split but, although both legs are parallel to
the floor, the front leg is bent from the knee inward. Most often the arms are either thrust up in
“V”, facing out and down, or one-forward, one-to-the-side in a ninety-degree angle, palms
down.
4. Stag Turn
In a Stag Turn, the supporting knee is slightly bent; the other leg is up in the air and
bent behind the body. The arm on the supporting side is thrust straight back, palms down. The
opposite arm is thrust clearly forward, palms down as the dancer turns around.
Modern Dance Moves

5. Primitive Squat
A Primitive Squat is a hop that lands in a deep second-position. The feet are turned
out heel-to-heel and the knees are bent.
6. Flat Back
Flat Back is actually a series of moves but the basic movement makes a “tabletop”
of the body. The dancer stands in second position – feet turned out heel-to-heel. The arms are
down along the sides as the body bends forward from the hips without breaking the line from
the top of the head to the lower spine. The bend continues until the entire torso is parallel to
the floor. Then the arms come out from the sides in unison, arc completely forward and stretch
out ahead of the torso parallel to each other.
Modern Dance Moves

7. Hinge
In the Hinge, the dancer balances on the balls of the feet, keeps a straight back and
head and sends the knees forward as the torso tilts back and the arms are held straight out in
front.
8. The Contraction
Martha Graham loved contractions in which the mid-section is pulled back against a
movement. The action begins in the pelvis, and articulates up the spine as the breath is
exhaled. The dancer aims to lengthen the space between each vertebra as the move progresses
to the neck and the head, which are always in alignment with the spine.
Modern Dance Moves

9. The Release
The Release occurs on the inhalation and also begins in the pelvis. The move travels
up the spine in the same order as the contraction, restoring the torso to a straight alignment. It
typically counters the contraction.
10. The High Release
A High Release, rather than ending with the spine and upper body in an upright,
neutral position, tilts the breastbone up. The shoulder blades appear to rest on a bar or shelf.
The head remains aligned with the spine and the rib cage remains over the hips. The lower
back is not bent.
Health Benefits of Modern Dance

 Flexibility
In order to stay healthy, flexibility is essential. Flexibility is essential for dance.
Most dancing classes begin with a warm-up that involves lots of stretches. To have all of their
primary muscle groups move completely, dancers must work.
 Strength
Strength is defined as a muscle’s ability to apply force against a resistance. Dancing
builds strength by using the muscles against the dancer’s own weight. Hopping and leaping are
essential elements of both ballet and jazz. To jump and leap, the main leg muscles must be
extremely powerful.
Health Benefits of Modern Dance

 Endurance
Modern dancing is a physically demanding activity. Exercise helps to increase
endurance. The ability of a muscle to exert its utmost effort for progressively longer periods of
time without becoming exhausted is known as muscle endurance.
 Sense of Well-Being
Dancing is a collaborative social activity. Studies have shown that having strong
social connections and spending time with friends promote happiness and high self-esteem.
Dancing offers several chances to interact with others.
 Postural Alignment
An individual can develop proper postural alignment and a way to carry themselves
by routinely engaging in modern dance workouts