Creative Contemporary

Contemporary is a broad & diverse dance/ art form, despite its relatively short history. It began in various parts of the world in the 20th century, which evolved from Ballet, as people searched for new forms of dance. We could say that both Ballet & modern dance are ancestors of Contemporary dance. Ballet served mostly for the technical development of dancers/ performers. Expression, innovation & creativity are synonymous with Contemporary dance as an art form. It has come to incorporate elements from many styles of dance like Jazz, classical & modern styles. The techniques used in contemporary dance comprise of strong but controlled legwork of ballet, with modern, that stresses on torso, contact & release, floor-work, fall & recovery & improvisation.

Through educating ourselves in movement, we as Contemporary dancers, not only enable our movement possibilities to surpass the average, but also develop our bodily awareness & understanding of movement.

Apart from technical classes, other sessions of fitness, body conditioning, pilates, yoga, experimental anatomy, etc; are also considered as a “creative practice” for contemporary dancers. As a dancer, you have to discover yourself within the application of your bodily movement. It takes a lot of time & dedication to achieve this.

Contemporary Dance Techniques:

Dance Improvisation-

Is a free flowing, unstructured, less technically strict form, in the process of which a dancer finds creative ways to explore their own body movement mechanism. It is a process of creating movement spontaneously, without having a planned choreography. It is the process of freeing the body from habitual movement patterns.

Graham technique-

A movement style created by a famous choreographer & dancer, Martha Graham. It is based on the opposition between contraction & release, a concept based on breathing cycle, which has become a trademark of modern dance forms. It is also known for its unique dramatic & expressive qualities & distinctive floor-work.

Alexander technique-

Named after its creator Fredrick Matthias Alexander, is an educational process created to retrain habitual patterns of movement & posture. Alexander believed that poor habits in posture & movement, damage self awareness as well as health.

Feldenkrais-

Created by Moshe’ Feldenkrais, is a type of exercise therapy, claimed to recognize connections between the body & brain, thereby, improving body movement & psychological state.

Contact improvisation-

Is a form of improvised dancing that involves the exploration of one's body in relationship to others by using the fundamentals of sharing weight, touch, and movement awareness. Contact improvisation plays with the artistry of falling off balance, counterbalance, finding the shelves of the body, learning the mechanics of the body in order to handle someone else's weight or be lifted, breathing techniques, and can involve the art of getting to know your partner past the physical point through the physicality.

Release technique-

In dance, release technique is any of various dance techniques that focus on breathing, muscle relaxation, anatomical considerations, and the use of gravity and momentum to facilitate efficient movement.