contemporary dance origine

Contemporary dance is a dance performance genre that developed during the mid twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world, with particularly strong popularity in the U.S. and Europe. Although originally informed by and borrowing from classical, modern, and jazz styles, it has since come to incorporate elements from many styles of dance.^[1] Due to its technical similarities, it is often perceived to be closely related to modern dance, ballet and other classical concert dance styles.


(Watch duet contemporary)

History

Main article: Modern dance

Contemporary dance performed by Le Sacre

Contemporary dance draws on both classical ballet and modern dance, whereas postmodern dance was a direct and opposite response to modern dance. Merce Cunningham is considered to be the first choreographer to "develop an independent attitude towards modern dance" and defy the ideas that were established by it.^[4][5] In 1944 Cunningham accompanied his dance with music by John Cage, who observed that Cunningham's dance "no longer relies on linear elements (...) nor does it rely on a movement towards and away from climax. As in abstract painting, it is assumed that an element (a movement, a sound, a change of light) is in and of itself expressive; what it communicates is in large part determined by the observer themselves." Cunningham formed the Merce Cunningham Dance Company in 1953 and went on to create more than one hundred and fifty works for the company, many of which have been performed internationally by ballet and modern dance companies.

Cunningham's key ideas

Cunningham's key ideas include:

• Contemporary dance does refuse the classical ballet's leg technique in favor of modern dance's stress on the torso
• Contemporary dance is not necessarily narrative form of art
• Choreography that appears disordered, but nevertheless relies on technique
• Unpredictable changes in rhythm, speed, and direction
• Multiple and simultaneous actions
• Suspension of perspective and symmetry in ballet scenic frame perspective such as front, center, and hierarchies
• Creative freedom
• "Independence between dance and music"
• Dance to be danced, not analyzed
• Innovative lighting, sets, and costumes in collaboration with Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jasper Johns ^[4]

Other pioneers of contemporary dance (the offspring of modern and postmodern) include Ruth St. Denis, Doris Humphrey, Mary Wigman, Francois Delsarte, Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, Paul Taylor, Rudolph von Laban, Loie Fuller, Jose Limon and Marie Rambert.

Choreographer's role

There is usually a choreographer who makes the creative decisions. He/she chooses whether the piece is an abstract or a narrative one. Dancers are selected based on their skill and training. The choreography is determined based on its relation to the music or sounds that is danced to. The role of music in contemporary dance is different from in other genres because it can serve as a backdrop to the piece. The choreographer has control over the costumes and their aesthetic value for the overall composition of the performance and also in regards to how they influence dancers’ movements.^[6]

Dance technique

 

Le Sacre du Tempo

Dance techniques and movement philosophies employed in contemporary dance may include Contemporary ballet, Dance improvisation, Modern dance styles from United States such as Graham technique, Humphrey-Weidman technique and Horton technique, Modern dance of Europe Bartenieff Fundamentals and the dance technique of Isadora Duncan (also see Free dance).
Contemporary dancers train using contemporary dance techniques as well as non-dance related practices such as Pilates, Yoga, the acting practice of Corporeal mime - Étienne Decroux technique and somatic practices such as Alexander technique,^[7] Feldenkrais Method, Sullivan Technique and Franklin-Methode, American contemporary techniques such as José Limón technique and Hawkins technique and Postmodern dance techniques such as Contact improvisation and Cunningham technique, and Release technique.
Some well-known choreographers and creators of contemporary dance created schools and techniques of their own. Paul Taylor developed a dance technique called Taylor technique, which is now taught at modern dance schools like The Ailey School in New York City.

Watch my solo Contemporary Dance 

Hip Hop Knowledge

History

 

The history of hip-hop dance encompasses the people and events since the late 1960s that have contributed to the development of the early hip-hop dance styles: uprock, breaking, locking, roboting, boogaloo, and popping. Black and Latino Americans created uprock and breaking in New York City. Black Americans in California created locking, roboting, boogaloo, and popping—collectively referred to as the funk styles. All of these dance styles are different stylistically. They share common ground in their street origins and in their improvisational nature.
More than 40 years old, hip-hop dance became widely known after the first professional street-based dance crews formed in the 1970s in the United States. The most influential groups were Rock Steady Crew, The Lockers, and The Electric Boogaloos who are responsible for the spread of breaking, locking, and popping respectively. The Brooklyn-based dance style uprock influenced breaking early in its development. Boogaloo gained more exposure because it is the namesake of the Electric Boogaloos crew. Uprock, roboting, and boogaloo are respected dance styles but none of them are as mainstream or popular as breaking, locking, and popping.

Parallel with the evolution of hip-hop music, hip-hop social dancing emerged from breaking and the funk styles into different forms. Dances from the 1990s such as the Running Man, the Worm, and the Cabbage Patch entered the mainstream and became fad dances. After the millennium, newer social dances such as the Cha Cha Slide and the Dougie also caught on and became very popular.
Hip-hop dance is not a studio-derived style. Street dancers developed it in urban neighborhoods without a formal process. All of the early substyles and social dances were brought about through a combination of events including inspiration from James Brown, DJ Kool Herc's invention of the break beat, the formation of dance crews, and Don Cornelius' creation of the television show Soul Train.

Hip-Hop Social Dances
Influences
The Charleston, the Twist, the Boogaloo, the Good Foot, the Funky Chicken
1980s-1990s social dances
Two-step, the Wop, the Cabbage Patch, the Roger Rabbit, the Running Man, the Rooftop, the Hammer dance, the Humpty, the Worm, Kriss-Cross, the Bartman, the Butterfly*, the Kid 'n Play kick-step
2000s era social dances
Toe Wop, Harlem shake, the Chicken Noodle Soup, the Reject**, the Dougie, the Cat Daddy, Getting Lite, Shoulder Lean, Swag Surfin'
Line dances
Cha Cha slide, Cupid shuffle, the Soulja Boy
*The Butterfly came from Jamaica. **The Reject is one of many dance moves used in Jerkin'

History of Popping

In the 1960’s during the music revolution with all the changes in the music business a dance called “The Robot” was created from dancers influenced from watching movies with Robots. This dance was made famous from a dancer named Bill “The Robot” Williams of the Lockers crew. It was a part of the dance called Locking at the time.

In the mid 70’s in Fresno California a young dancer named Sam Solomon created a dance called Electric Boogaloo. Today this dance is called Boug Style Popping and was perfected from him and his brother Pete (Later on known as Popping Pete) and later on moves were added from the rest of the members of Sam’s crew (The Electric Boogaloos). Sam thought that he had created a new style of Locking from watching the Lockers on a T.V show called Soul Train and inspired by Bill “The Robot”.  He even named his 1st crew “Electric Boogaloo Lockers”.

The name Boogaloo actually means dance and Sam heard his uncle one day saying “Yeah Boy! Do that Boogaloo!” After that Sam was known as Boogaloo Sam and the crew as Electric Boogaloos. Boogaloo is characterized by fluidity use of every part of the body, rolling the hips, knees and head. The style is a combination of “The Robot” and the smooth isolations of mime.

popping john

Popping was created by dancers wanting to look tough like gangsters in Los Angeles and Oakland when they danced. Popping is characterized by jerky movements resulting from flexing the muscles at parts of the body. When dancers Popped they would mutter “Pop, Pop” every time they flexed so it became known as Popping. Hitting is a term used when flexing the muscles harder and sudden as if trying to scare somebody. At the same time dancers watching the waves down at the beach and imitating them with there body movements were creating a dance called Waving.  Electro was an effect they gave to Waving when they moved the waves through the body as if they caught some electricity. Inspired by the game Tetris, the Tetris system was created having the arms and hand movement fall in places like the bricks in the game. Later on Tetris connected with the King Tut system that reminded Egyptian dancing like in the hieroglyphics and influenced by cartoons like Looney Toons forming the system called Tutting. Toy-man system of moves was inspired by play mobile figures and action figures that were out on the market having the body imitate the toy figure moves. Sliding and Gliding give the illusion that the dancer’s feet are floating on the surface and sometimes looks like ice skating. Scarecrow is a part of Popping that reminds exactly what its name implies dancing with the arms out like a scarecrow. Air Posing is an exaggeration of breathing in and out making shapes at the same time. Crazy Legs created by Popping Pete has the legs moving at a different direction from the body and finally look like they re-attach themselves to the direction that the body is going. Strutting has the body breaking one movement towards a spot to many smaller movements and with the Strobing effect it makes it look like there is a strobe light on the dancer at the time. Spiderman is a style imitating the movements of the legendary comic hero when he is going up a building attached on the wall like a spider.

Related styles { Kinds }

 Animation

Animatronics

Boogaloo 

Bopping 

Crazy legs 

Dime stopping

Floating,gliding and sliding

Miming

Puppet

Robot/botting

Scarecrow 

Strobing 

Struttin

Ticking

Toyman

Tutting/King Tut

Waving

Isolation 

Best Poppper Ever

All these dances, styles and systems combined with Electric Boogaloo otherwise known as Boug Style Popping under the term “Popping”. The Electric Boogaloos made Popping famous all over the world starting from the T.V show Soul Train following the Lockers footsteps and taking it into stage performance shows all over the globe.