Contemporary Dance

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Contemporary dance, like modern art or modern music, is characterized by a reluctance to stick to rigid traditional forms, and instead embrace simplicity in form, innovation in concept, and symbolism in meaning. The genre was developed in Germany and in the United States in the early twentieth century as a rejection of ballet, which the pioneers of modern dance considered superficial and overly strict. The goal of the originators of modern dance, including Isadora Duncan, Loie Fuller, and Ruth St. Denis in the United States and Rudolf von Laban and Mary Wigman in Germany, was to create a dance form that expressed emotional, personal, and existential themes.

Just as the ideology of modern dance is in contrast with that of ballet, so is the movement and choreography of the form. Most importantly, while ballet emphasizes lightness and height in the dancers’ movement, modern dance emphasizes the gravity pulling dancers toward the floor. Modern dancers use their body weight to exaggerate their movements, and choreographers make great use of ‘falls to the floor.’ Additionally, modern dancers perform barefoot and often wear minimalistic costumes, as opposed to the intricate point shoes and elaborate tutus of ballet dancers.

Around the mid-twentieth century, and likely in reaction to World War II, modern dance became so minimalistic that some dances lacked theme and emotion entirely, and only incorporated choreography marked by falls and recovery from falls, and contractions and releases. Merce Cunningham is the most notable choreographer of this type of modern dance. He created dances that did not emphasize the central part of the stage, instead highlighting the angles and unconventional spaces of the performance ground.

Another notable choreographer who bloomed after Cunningham was Alvin Ailey, who drew from modern, jazz, and African dance to create his emotional and flowing dances. He established the still-existing Alvin Ailey Company in 1958. The company is not only appreciated for its unique choreography, but also for providing a space for African-American dancers to achieve great acclaim in modern dance.

Today, the most current trend in modern dance is not to isolate the movement into its own dance form, but instead to fuse its elements with other genres, even ballet. Likewise, contemporary ballet welcomes the novelty of modern dance into performances. The pinnacle of this collaboration took place in 1990, when Mikhail Baryshnikov, a famous ballet dancer, worked with dancer-choreographer Mark Morris to found the White Oak Dance Project, a dance company that combines the genres.

Also known as
Modern Dance

Originator:
Isadora Duncan, Loie Fuller, Ruth St. Denis, Rudolf von Laban, Mary Wigman

Region of origin:
Germany, United States

Popularized by:
Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Alvin Ailey