Contemporary Dance is the name given to a group of 20th century concert dance forms. 20th century Concert dance is the name given to a category of Dance forms that include Free dance Modern dance Concert dance (also known as performance dance and theatre dance (particularly in the United Kingdom) is a category of Dances which is performed It is a collection of systems and methods developed from Modern and Postmodern dance. See also Dance, Concert dance Modern dance is a dance form developed in the early 20th century Postmodern dance is a 20th century concert dance form A reaction to the compositional and presentation constraints of Modern dance, postmodern dance hailed the Thus contemporary dance is not a specific dance technique. European, Canadian and American contemporary dance differ from each other in a number of ways. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Contemporary dance has certain principles. They are Centering, Alignment, Gravity, Breath, Contraction, Release, Fall and Recovery, Spension, Balance and Off-Balance, Tension and Relaxation, Opposition and Emotion.

Technique

Unlike classical ballet, contemporary dance often utilizes ground work and the dancers often perform in bare feet.

Dancer Anna Luise Recke performing a contemporary dance piece by Joerg Schiebe (Berlin 2007)

Rather than emphasizing technique per se, which is seen more as a tool for the dancer and a means by which to strengthen the body, increase flexibility, and through a deliberate exposure of the contemporary dancer to a wide range of techniques to ensure versatility, contemporary dance as a field is more concerned with examining the choreographic and performing process: as a result there has been limited development of dance techniques by seminal dance artists. Flexibility is the absolute range of movement in a joint or series of joints and muscles that is attainable in a momentary effort with the help of a partner or a piece of equipment Instead, contemporary dance draws on modern dance techniques (developed in the first sixty years of the 20th century) and an array of still developing philosophies of movement based on study of the human body and body/mind inter-relationships, including:

• Alexander Technique
• Bartenieff Fundamentals
• Body-Mind Centering
• Cunningham technique
• Graham technique
• Contact Improvisation
• Dance Improvisation
• Feldenkrais
• Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis
• Hawkins technique
• Humphrey-Weidman technique, with the influence of José Limón
• Kinesiology
• Klein Technique
• Laban Movement Analysis
• Lester Horton Technique
• Movement ecology
• Pilates
• Release Technique
• Skinner Releasing Technique
• Somatic Movement Studies
• Yoga

Training in Britain

• Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance [1]
• London Contemporary Dance School[2]
• Northern School of Contemporary Dance [3]
• Laban [4]

The dancers might perform a series of ground work and leaps. The Alexander Technique is a discipline with a focus on the self-perception of movement and is aimed at alleviating pain promoting rehabilitation improving breathing and decreasing Bartenieff Fundamentals are an extension of Laban Movement Analysis developed by Irmgard Bartenieff, who trained with Laban before becoming a Physiotherapist See also Merce Cunningham (born April 16, 1919 in Centralia Washington, United States is an American Dancer and choreographer See also Martha Graham ( May 11, 1894 &ndash April 1, 1991) was an American Dancer and Choreographer Contact improvisation (CI is a dance technique in which points of physical contact provide the starting point for exploration through movement improvisation Dance improvisation is the creation of improvised movement and is sometimes associated with 20th century concert dance but is not exclusive to that genre The Feldenkrais Method is an educational system centered on movement aiming to expand and refine the use of the self through awareness Gyrotonic (also known as the Gyrotonic Expansion System or GXS) is an Exercise system created by Juliu Horvath, an ethnic Hungarian Frederick Hawkins known as Erick Hawkins ( April 23, 1909 - November 23, 1994) was a leading modern-dance choreographer and dancer Humphrey-Weidman is a Modern dance technique based on the theory and action of fall and recovery José Arcadio Limón (1908 - 1972 was a pioneering modern dancer and choreographer Kinesiology, also known as Human Kinetics, is the science of human movement Laban Movement Analysis (LMA is a system and language for understanding observing describing and notating all forms of movement Lester Horton ( January 23, 1906 - November 2, 1953) was an American Dancer, Choreographer, and Teacher Pilates, pronounced /pɪˈlɑtiz/ is a Physical fitness system developed in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates in Germany Release Technique is a dance technique which would more accurately be described as an Anti-technique, as the fundamental principle of it is to use the body's natural channels The Skinner Releasing Technique ( SRT) is a Dance technique developed by Joan Skinner in the 1960s based on the belief that there is an Innate sense of "Somatic" redirects here for the musician known as Somatic see Hahn Rowe. Yoga ( Sanskrit: योग, IAST: yóga, joːgə refers to traditional physical and mental disciplines originating in India, to the The Rambert Dance Company, is a leading British contemporary Dance company. The London Contemporary Dance School is a school in the United Kingdom for the teaching of contemporary Dance. Laban in Deptford, south-east London, is a college and centre for contemporary dance and includes 13 dance studios a 300-seat theatre dance health suite Pilates It does help the dancers to be flexible as it allows them to move across the floor more easily.

Australian Contemporary Dance

Australian Contemporary Dance

See also

• Contemporary ballet
• Tanztheater
• ImPulsTanz Vienna International Dance Festival

Companies

• Diversions the Dance Company of Wales
• Rambert Dance Company
• Judson Dance Theater
• London Contemporary Dance Theatre
• Motionhouse Dance Theatre

References

External links

• Renee Glass & Catherine Steven, (2005) Making Sense of Contemporary Dance: An Australian Investigation into Audience Interpretation and Enjoyment Levels (Short Report Prepared for fuel4arts), MARCS Auditory Laboratories & School of Psychology, University of Western Sydney

• Article19 Contemporary Dance Online