Year 8 Dance · Responding — Analyse and Evaluate · 9m read

Contemporary Dance

Contemporary dance breaks ballet's rules to explore weight, breath and emotion. It's the most common style in school and VCE dance.

Learning objective: Explore techniques and ideas in contemporary dance.

By the end of this lesson you can:

• I can describe contemporary dance features.
• I can perform floor work and release.
• I can express ideas through movement.

Contemporary dance is water. Water can flow, crash, ripple or freeze into ice. Contemporary dance has that freedom — it can be soft, explosive, grounded or suspended, using the floor and breath.

Freedom of movement

FEATURES:
• Floor work, release technique, contraction, fall and recovery, use of breath and weight, improvisation.

PIONEERS:
• Martha Graham (contraction and release), Merce Cunningham (chance), Pina Bausch (dance theatre).

IDEAS:
• Expresses emotions, social issues and abstract concepts.

| Technique | Pioneer | Key idea |
|---|---|---|
| Graham technique | Martha Graham | Contraction and release |
| Limón technique | José Limón | Fall and recovery |
| Cunningham technique | Merce Cunningham | Spine and chance |
| Release technique | Various | Efficient, breath-led movement |

Key ideas at a glance

• Use the floor: Rolling, sliding, sinking.
• Breath drives movement: Inhale to rise, exhale to release.
• Use weight: Fall and recover.
• Express ideas: Intent behind movement.

Worked example (Medium)

What is "fall and recovery"?

1. Concept. Giving in to gravity then rebounding.
2. Effect. Shows vulnerability and resilience.

Answer: Yielding to gravity and recovering, often to express struggle.

Worked example (Medium)

Demonstrate fall and recovery.

1. Suspend. Rise onto toes, arms lifted.
2. Fall. Release weight, let body drop towards the floor.
3. Recover. Use momentum to swing back up.

Answer: Suspend → fall → recover using momentum.

Common mistakes

• Thinking contemporary means "anything goes" It has techniques. Fix: Learn release, contraction, floor work.
• Collapsing without control Injury risk. Fix: Practise falls slowly with correct technique.

Practice questions

1. Martha Graham is known for:

   1. Popping
   2. Contraction and release
   3. Pointe work
   4. Tap

   (1 marks)

2. Give one feature of contemporary dance.

   (2 marks)

3. "Contraction and release" is linked to:

   1. Martha Graham
   2. Marius Petipa
   3. Bob Fosse
   4. Gene Kelly

   (1 marks)

4. "Fall and recovery" is linked to:

   1. José Limón (and Doris Humphrey)
   2. Michael Jackson
   3. Pina Bausch
   4. Anna Pavlova

   (1 marks)

5. Explain how contemporary dance differs from ballet.

   (2 marks)

Summary

• Weight, breath, floor work.
• Key pioneers.
• Expresses ideas.
• Contemporary uses breath, weight and the floor.