What's That Dance

Contemporary

By Jackielou Perez | January 17, 2011

With the popularity of the So You Think You Can Dance franchise, contemporary dance has catapulted into mainstream culture. More people are exposed to the dance form igniting an interest trying this dance in a class.

But what is contemporary dance? The main feature of contemporary dance is the legs in the parallel position, grounded movements and the use of floor-work. With a variety of techniques, it’s hard to put a concrete definition of the style.

“For me, it’s a form of expression,” says Kendra Hughes, contemporary teacher and founder of Kinetic Elements in Toronto. “There is so much beauty within contemporary dance. You can take the simplest movements we do in everyday life and make it into art.”

The dance itself is anything but traditional. Here's a brief rundown of each technique.

Graham
Martha Graham was a pioneer of the modern dance form whose techniques are based on contraction and the release of the body. You will get a great core workout from a teacher that is based in Graham technique.

Limon
Jose Limon’s technique involves movement that plays with weight and weightlessness between fall and recovery. It is meant to come naturally and organically from the body. It is focused on awareness of the body and its movement.

Cunningham
Merce Cunningham performed for six years as a soloist in the Martha Graham Dance Company. Cunningham liked to work within the idea of chance and developed “non-representative” movement. This means emphasized movement that does not represent any particular figure, idea or emotion.

Horton
Lester Horton’s technique is based on Native American dances and includes the whole body. It focuses on building strength, flexibility and on the freedom of expression, centralizing on creating defining shapes and opposition. He infuses modern jazz and lyrical into his technique as well. The flat back used in many jazz exercises comes from Horton.

Humphry
Doris Humphry was a second generation pioneer in modern dance and like Limon was interested in the natural fall and recovery of the human body. Her technique stands out because it is deeply rooted with using the flow of breath to examine how it affects movement. She was interested in breath and gravity. Humphry’s technique is most focused on suspension, the moment before you fall to the ground.

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Kendra Hughes is a graduate of George Brown College in their dance program. Since then she has been breaking the boundaries of dance. She is also the artistic director/founder of the company, Kinetic Elements, and teaches contemporary classes in Toronto. For more information on events and classes, visit kineticelementsdance.com.


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Dance 101: What to Expect in a Contemporary Class