Contempo is a modern dance direction that allows you to feel the music, to open up. An obligatory component is an emotional one. Feelings, emotions and mood are transmitted through the dance.
Contemporary dance is a modern dance style that allows you to tell your story with the help of the body. Today it is one of the most popular in choreography, it is distinguished by sensuality, emotionality and plasticity. Not all dancers can master this art, as it requires total dedication, both physically and emotionally.
Contemporary history
The trend emerged from the Art Nouveau style at the end of the 19th century. Then it was called upon to free itself from generally accepted standards and stereotypes. It was created to merge dance and life. About where the direction first appeared, the information is contradictory. Some consider America as their homeland, while others consider Central Europe. It is believed that such oriental techniques as yoga and tai chi became the progenitors.
Many professionals note that in the choreography of the dance itself, you can find elements of Western directions and Eastern cultures. It intertwined:
modern;
- jazz;
- pop and folk dances;
- ballet;
- elements of martial arts;
- yoga.
The main idea of the contemporary is the ability to deviate from the established rules, to express oneself with the help of “free” dance.
The dancer Isadora Duncan is considered the founder. The girl denied classical ballet, so she created a dance based on ancient plastic. This led to condemnation in society, but the girl did not deviate from her views, which led to fame all over the world. She talked about not having such a posture, movement or gesture that would be beautiful in itself. Every movement is great only if it truly and sincerely expresses feelings and thoughts. Duncan became the founder of dance, whose task is to listen to her inner voice and express it.
Dance philosophy
Contempo is not only a way to calm the nerves and gain harmony. It can be performed to any music, since the most important thing is to express your mood through plastic. You can not follow the plan, but only improvise.
The dance has the possibility of self-development, without turning into a frozen style. Thanks to this, it combines naturalness, simplicity of forms and richness of the emotional component. Contact improvisation is a game with the forces of gravity and inertia. Through touch, dancers learn the practical value of concepts such as support, the ability to give and take, balance.
Features of the
The genre is characterized by a research orientation through dance. Contempo - light and expressive movements. They usually dance barefoot. The main movement is the alternation of tense and tense muscles and sudden release and relaxation. Careful breathing work, falls, rises and abrupt stops are carried out. In the course of work, attention is paid to:
- body awareness;
- quality of movements;
- work with space.
Freedom of expression involves improvisation. To do this, use:
Dance improvisation. She teaches that it is not how you dance that matters, but how you feel while dancing. This allows the dancer to go beyond existing boundaries and create new movements.
Contact improvisation. It consists in examining the work of the body while maintaining physical contact with a partner. For this, techniques are used to transfer weight, counter balance, rotation, fall.
Release technique. It aims to release specific muscle groups in order to gain new skills. This effect can be achieved using proper breathing and momentum.
Training
Today, many schools allow beginners to become familiar with this area. Modern technique allows you not only to learn how to dance, but also to feel yourself. Contempo can be solo or doubles. In the classroom, they usually teach two types at once.
The training can be based on one or several techniques:
- Alexander. Aimed at maintaining correct posture.
- Feldenreis. Allows you to work on the whole body at once.
- Somatic. It makes it possible to realize all facets of the interaction of body and mind.
- Rudolf Laban. It is based on understanding, observing and describing all forms of movement.
- Martha Graham. The first place is given to movements with the peritoneum and pelvis.
During the training, such elements as balance and articulation, gravity and techniques of working with the floor are necessarily affected.
Much attention is also paid to music. If the classical was used before, today the rhythm set by the metronome is enough. It is imperative that each lesson begins with stretching, since flexibility, stretched arms and legs are needed to express emotions.
To study dance, you need special clothing and shoes. Versatile jazz shoes, or fabric dance shoes, are popular. The dress code should be tight and elastic, not hindering movement. This could be a dress, sweatpants, or leggings.
Today, both children from the age of four and adults are involved in this area. In the classroom, the child is taught to feel the music, master elementary movements and get acquainted with the culture of modern dance.
In the process of training, the trainers gain knowledge about the basic positions and positions in space, about the technique of performing basic exercises on the ground, as well as exercise and dance ligaments. Fragments of classical works, folk songs can be used for musical accompaniment. Music can be different, but processed.
Why is it worth doing contemporary?
Dancing allows you to look inside your soul. There is an opportunity to throw out your emotions, giving the viewer a lot of impressions. Since classes are based on knowledge about the capabilities of one's own body, lightness comes, the ability to balance, awareness.
Contemp will teach you to monitor your posture, solve spinal problems and eliminate back pain. The load is always selected individually. This ensures the correct functioning of the blood vessels and the heart. With constant training, metabolism improves.
During training, dancers learn to hear music, move to it. Only a few directions allow you to dissolve in music.
In conclusion, we note that the dance direction is focused on healthy people, but there have been successful attempts to apply it to work with children with autism and other developmental disabilities. With sufficient skill, each lesson and dance becomes exclusive.
