LESSON 4

Modern and Contemporary Dance

for Fitness
What is Modern Dance?
Modern dance is a style of theatrical
dancing that is not as restricted as
classical ballet; movements are
expressive of feelings. It is an
expressive form of art.
History and influence of modern dance
• Originated in the United states in the early 1900s
• It is started as a rebellion against the strict style of classical ballet
• Dancers wanted to move freely and naturally through space.
• Dancers wanted to involve the whole body in their dance, using
torso, shoulders, head, arms, hands, even fingers.
• They wanted to incorporate the facial expressions that
accompany the feelings and emotions of dance.
• First seen as extremely radical
Characteristics of Modern Dance
•Interpretive instead of using sets of steps and dance
books
•Loose movements
•Gravity plays an important role
•Tell story through dance
•Use motions, props, music, and lights to show
emotions
•Costumes were important to the overall dance
Martha Graham (1894-1991)
• Mother of modern dance
• American dancer and choreographer
• Learned to dance at Denishawn Studio in NYC
• Her inspiration for the routines came from a “certain
string”
• First to establish moving scenery and speech with
dancing
• Broke social norms on how dance was seen
• Founded her own dance company, technique and theater
Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn (1877-1960)
•Founded Ruth St. Denis
School of Dancing and
Related Arts
•Based movements on
their world dance
forms
Isadora Duncan (1877-1927)
•American dancer
•Accrediting with inventing
“modern dance”
•Brought dance back to its
roots from other cultures
Loie Fuller (1862-1928)
•She was the first
choreographer to
incorporate lighting into
her pieces.
•Responsible for multiple
European tours
The Physics of Modern Dance
Gravity:
•Uses laws of gravity for falls, balancing, and
elevation
•It is important to maintain your natural height
•Center of gravity
The Physics of Modern Dance
Action and Reaction:
•For every action there must be
an equal and opposite reaction
(Newton’s third law)
The Physics of Modern Dance
Centrifugal & Centripetal Forces
•Affect circular motion such as
turns; revolve around an axis
The Physics of Modern Dance
Inertia and Momentum
•Inertia describes an object's resistance
to change in motion (or lack of
motion), and momentum describes
how much motion it has.
ACTIVITY 1 FOR WEEK 4
1. Re-create the video of QUALITIES OF MOVEMENT.
2. You may used music while performing the QUALITIES OF MOVEMENT.
3. Pass you video on you google drive folder.
What is Contemporary Dance?
It is a style of expressive dance that combines
elements of several dance genres including
modern, jazz, lyrical and classical ballet.
Contemporary dancers strive to connect the
mind and the body through fluid dance
movements
Qualities of Movement
1. Percussive-sharp, explosive and often aggressive
2. Sustained- energy is release in a smooth, strong, and continuous manner
with a high degree of control throughout the movement
3. Pendular and Swing- sustained movements communicate strong, often
introverted, and serious emotions, never flighty and superficial.
4. Vibratory- the force of energy is applied at the beginning of the new
movement as a small impetus to an uncontrolled flow-through which results
in a relaxed movement.
5. Collapsed - occurs a release of tension of the muscles and gravity takes
over with either one or many parts of the body. This conveys a feeling of
resignation, giving up and letting go.
Elemental Considerations in Doing a Dance Piece

1. Spatial Consideration- (Space) the area in which we move

and form patterns and designs.
2. Rhythmic Considerations- (Time) all motions as well as
stillness occurs in time. Dance utilize time in ways that
determine the rhythm, tempo, and duration of movements
3. Dynamic Consideration- The force of movement. When a
given body moves it makes the body work against gravity and
the force applied may vary as some movements require less for
while some requires more.
The Reason for Dance
1. Idea Theme
There is always an advantage when idea theme one
chooses is simple and one treats it with a very clearly
defines concept that had a depth, rather than choosing
all-encompassing or an extremely complicated theme.
It is also imperative for the choreographer and dancer
to be very familiar with ones chosen theme to be able
to do justice to the theme.
The Reason for Dance
2. The Movement Theme
Once the idea theme has been chosen, the
choreographer develops a movement theme or
motif. This becomes the first phrase of movement
within the dance. Sometimes this evolves gradually.
In either case, the movement theme contains the
generic information from which the dance develops.
The Reason for Dance
3. The Development
It is generally accepted that most compositions whether it be music, writing, or dance must have
a beginning middle and ending or conclusions.

3.1. Beginning
This is the statement of movement theme. From here germinates the motif of the succeeding
movements
3.2. Middle
This comprises the development of the said material. In developing a movement motif, one
manipulates the various components of movement through the use of elements of space, time
and force.
3.3 Ending
This may return to the beginning or it may present a summation or a resolution, there are pieces
whose endings are left open or unresolved.