Modern dances delight all or most of today's youth with their multiple variety of styles and attract even the older generation. Therefore, we have tried to group modern dances and provide you with a short list. But the study of one history of formation revealed the origin of several more branches in directions. One jump style is worth it. Therefore, it was decided to group modern dances into main conventional groups: pop dance, very extensive and energetic street dances and a sensual group of modern choreography.
Variety dance
The simplest of all types of modern dances in terms of restrictions on elements and sequence of actions. Absolutely stage, improvisational and freely choreographed dance. May include other contemporary dance styles. Its characteristic is a miniature, a small dance scene.
Pop dance took its formation from gypsies and folk choirs. It is mandatory for dancers to know the basics of acting or quickly learn them from their teachers.
Pop dance is very fashionable. Classes are held in almost every choreographic school in any city in the world. Do you understand the scale of popularity?
How to choose a first dance style: 7 options of different difficulty levels
The first wedding dance of the bride and groom as legal spouses evokes the most sincere smile and tears of tenderness. Since all the guests will be watching you, it is better to choreograph the dance in advance rather than rely on improvisation (unless you are both professional dancers). Wedding Tells you which dance styles you should choose and how difficult they are to prepare.
At the same time, we remind you: if you don’t have ideas for musical compositions, look them up from celebrity couples.
Waltz
The most classic and romantic option. Just for those who dream of feeling like a princess while dancing with their prince. If you have chosen a dress with a full skirt, you should think about this dance. Moreover, it is quite simple to learn. The main thing is that the partner leads with confidence, which he can easily cope with.
Dance flash mob
How do you like the idea of involving guests in such an important moment as the first dance? Of course, only a part (you can hardly persuade all of us to participate in rehearsals). The whole process can be filmed and this fun and touching moment can be preserved in your memory. For this style, you can use props and even special costumes.
Dance-story
It is a medley of songs strung together that reflect the most significant moments in a couple's love story. The choreographic part consists of several dance styles depending on the music. This dance will make your guests laugh and cry.
Twist
An incendiary dance in which not only you, but also your guests can participate. Moreover, the dance involves free movements, so you can simply relax and enjoy the dance, rather than remembering the movements. Just what you need for a fun wedding party.
Foxtrot
But you will have to work with this option. Moreover, it is better to install it together with a professional, and not on your own. In a month (a couple of classes a week) you can already feel confident. Despite the fact that you will have to work on staging the dance, it will look especially impressive - a dimly lit hall, spotlight beams, you with an airy dress and he looks at you lovingly.
Rumba
Latin rumba is an incendiary dance, the sounds of which make you want to dance. But you will have to work hard in preparing it. We warn you, the dance is not easy, but very impressive! Classes may take up to two months. The fact is that all movements must be clear and streamlined. After the first lesson, you won’t be able to achieve this.
Rock'n'roll
Incendiary songs by Elvis Presley or Tina Ternet, what could be more fun for such a wonderful day? We are sure that this is one of the most successful variations that guests will appreciate and remember with a smile. Of course, there are special movements, but they are quite easy to learn even on your own. The music itself will tell you how to move.
Photo: Roman Ivanov
Modern dance
Contemporary dance Modern
Modern dance is foreign stage choreography that came to us from the USA and Germany. Its origin is a kind of protest of dancers, a path to liberation from classical ballet and the emergence of a new dance. Thanks to this, Art Nouveau got rid of pointe shoes and acquired new forms. Time passed, new proprietary techniques appeared, which became the reason for the emergence of another direction - Contemporary.
Today choreographic modernism is a free body dance. Includes spectacular throws to the floor, beautiful jumps, complex acrobatic figures, broken and at the same time graceful lines of the body.
Contemporary
Contemporary, also known as contempo , became the reason for the emergence of not only various modern techniques, but also improvisation techniques, martial arts and even yoga. Contemporary is a very sensual dance. Its main feature is the alternation of active movements with a sharp stop, relaxation, and sometimes the dancer falling to the floor. All this is not a chaotic set of movements, but a plot that conveys the feelings and actions of the dancer to the viewer.
Jazz dance
Jazz dance broadly embraces various movements from other dance styles related to or derived from swing. Here are some of its trends: boogie-woogie, fun and forbidden in socialism, its earlier progenitor Lindy Hop, crazy rock and roll and others. Energetic, sometimes with humorous notes, jazz dance was entirely attributed to African musical and dance culture until the 1950s. And in the 1950s, modern jazz dance (jazz-modern) arose, with its roots in Caribbean dance.
Taylor Swift and a parody of everyone
Scene from Paul Taylor's ballet Scudorama. 1963 © Jack Mitchell/Getty Images
A still from Taylor Swift's video for the song "Shake It Off". 2014 © Big Machine Records / Republic Records
In the video for the song “Shake It Off,” American singer Taylor Swift parodies both classical ballet and modern dance. In some fragments of this video we see choreography in the style of Martha Graham, Paul Taylor and Merce Cunningham.
Taylor Swift's music video for "Shake It Off"
Street dance
Locking
Locking , originally called Campbellocking, thanks to its founder. The quick movements and instantaneous freezing for a short time in various poses characteristic of locking gave the style its name (“lock”). Locking is characterized by clear and very rhythmic movements of the arms and smoother hips and legs, always tied to the music.
Another feature of locking is its focus on the public. That is, the dance is more of a performance: the dancer is always friendly and smiles at the audience. Their costumes are exclusively bright sportswear with “stripes” and sometimes suspenders.
Since birth, locking has been performed to funk music. Modern dancers also prefer to dance to funk.
Papping
Papping is far from new in the list of modern dances. Its origins were in the 1970s in California, thanks to locking. In Russia, the style was also present for quite a long time and was widespread. Moreover, even large-scale competitions took place, but in Russia they called it “top break,” mixing top break with papping. Now you already understand what we are talking about, and you can imagine the movements that are characteristic of papping. Visually, this looks like a chaotic and continuous contraction of muscles, creating the effect of shuddering parts of the body, in combination with various postures and other movements that form either smooth or sudden movements of the body.
Nowadays, top breaking and popping are differentiated and are different styles.
Dancehall
Dancehall or dancehall is a Jamaican form of modern dance. In the 80s, it originated as "raggamuffin", a musical style that arose from the "riddim" (reggae rhythm), but was more rhythmic.
Dancehall groups dancers of this style into camps. The camp is a large-scale event that includes competitions, master classes, parties, show programs, battles and many other entertainments inherent in this movement. The largest such camp is Big Up Kemp. Unusually for our country, the first camp was held in Russia and France in 2011 and is now one of the most significant dance events in the world.
Twerk
Twerking, abbreviated as twerk, also known as booty dancing, is nothing more than shaking or dancing with your butt. This is not sarcasm, but a direct description of this modern and currently popular style of dance, the origins of which were the tribal dances of women from the African continent. The whole essence of twerking lies in the intense movements of the hips, buttocks, a little of the arms and abdomen. Surprisingly, this dance is performed even by men. Twerk has become a kind of offshoot of today's modern dancehall. Also contains sexual overtones.
Bootie dance is performed to hip-hop, reggae music, R'n'B and samba. The peculiarity of professional performance is the ability to move one buttock independently of the other and perform various complex patterns with the buttocks.
Often in the West, twerking is performed by dancers with cellulite, despite the fact that such active movements of the buttocks contribute to the acquisition of athletic shape. Maybe this is the reason...?
It has not been proven, but it is believed that regular twerking, both professionally and at home, prevents congestion in gynecology. People who are not liberated will not be able to twerk, although twerking helps to get rid of this complex.
In some fitness centers, twerking classes are taught by fitness instructors, as they perceive these dances as an additional direction in their training.
Sometimes modern dances of reality can surprise, and sometimes even confuse an “unprepared person”...
Electro dance (tectonic)
Electro-dance (tectonic) - the name came to us from distant France, or rather from the famous club “Metropolis”, where the annual Tecktonik Killer party is held. In general, this is a cross between hip-hop styles and techno dances. The dance itself is performed to the sounds of heavy electro music.
Brakedance
Breakdancing is the founder of hip-hop as a subculture. It is divided into two types: upper (plastic) and lower break (heavy stunt movements that require acrobatics skills and good endurance). Breakdancing originated in New York in the 60s. However, the year of its origin is considered to be 1973, the year of the formation of breakdancing as a separate independent dance.
Vogue dance
Vogue dance is based on the movements inherent in the models: from pose to catwalk gait. Vogue clearly stands out from any other style of modern dance with its pronounced and fast hand movements, falls, posing and emotional performance to house music.
Vogue appeared in the 1970s, thanks to the Harlem prisoners. For fun, the convicts joked about the poses of models seen in magazines and imitated them, ridiculing them. Soon these poses began to be diluted with other movements, then they began to show themselves to music, and subsequently all these actions were transformed into a fashionable vogue dance.
Vogue was quickly embraced by the sexually liberated New York population. People who were distant from high fashion due to their social status were organized their own vogue balls, where they could feel like a star, appearing on impromptu catwalks.
A strong impetus to the development of voguing was given by Madonna's Vogue video of the same name in 1990. Then this foreign dance left its native lands and was brought to Europe. Nowadays, Vogue is considered an integral part of house culture.
Strip of plastic
Strip plastic is a complex of seductive movements that create a kind of performance with an erotic, sensual overtones, understandable to everyone who views this work of art. Strip plastic is a kind of language of self-expression of one’s inner feelings and beauty.
Finger Tutting (finger dancing)
And finally we left the youngest and most rapidly developing dance style, Tutting . It is based on complex figures made with the fingers, stylizing ancient Egyptian art, and relating to “King Tutu”.
The style began to emerge in 2010 after the release of the film “Step Up 3D”, where Jay Gutierrez performed his “finger number” in the credits at the end of the film.
Story dance
The most famous and widespread type of choreographic miniature is the plot dance. Its main goal is to convey both the main theme and content, which is created using choreographic means based on various sources, for example, literary (novels, fairy tales, poems) and musical (symphonies, romances, sonatas), as well as historical events and other related types of art (cinema, etc.)
Stage plot dance is a broad and varied concept; it can evoke a wide range of feelings in the viewer: tears, smiles, fear, disgust, and make you think. The word “Plot” comes from the French “sujet”, which means subject, content; interpreted as a process of action development, presented in choreographic productions containing artistic images, in particular, in a choreographic performance. The act presented on stage is expressed through physiology or psychology, intensity or passivity, specificity or symbolism. The plot-choreographic miniature highlights the dominant role of action as a component in the dramaturgy of dance at the ideological and artistic level.
The basis and development of the plot of a choreographic miniature
The basis for setting a number is most often:
- historical events;
- socially important cases from life, pressing modern issues, “eternal” themes (love, friendship, betrayal, etc.);
- situations that reveal positive traits of human character (heroism, bravery, bravery);
- literature
- art
- musical works
The development of a plot-choreographic miniature in pop dance is carried out by highlighting key points, on the basis of which the holistic image and content of the production is revealed. It is not expected to completely copy the plot, but to convey the ideas of the original author, the emergence of new original twists, and the use of modern choreographic language that helps to embody the dramaturgy of the performance.
Reflection of life events, conflicts, actions and experiences of the characters, revealing their individual character, relationships, inner world, feelings and thoughts is one of the main goals of the plot-choreographic miniature. The idea of the dance reproduces a characteristic image that is revealed through action, the presence of which is obligatory in the plot dance.
The main task of the choreographer is to express the accuracy and character of the image using choreography. Studying, understanding and the ability to apply the variety of directorial forms in conjunction with drawing up a compositional plan and the ability to reproduce a choreographic text is an important aspect in the work of a choreographer.
One of the expressive means, the figurative and organizing principle in all types of dance is represented by music. Distinctive features of the musical accompaniment in a plot-choreographic miniature are: brightness, completeness of form and content, imagery, coincidence of ideological and emotional content with choreographic vocabulary.
The plastic capabilities of a person, revealed with the help of the space-time paradigm, representing a complete thought within the framework of the stage form of a plot-choreographic miniature, are a choreographic text or movement. A distinctive feature of the choreographic vocabulary of pop dance is extreme expressiveness; an effect of this kind is achieved using the following techniques: introducing elements of pantomime, varying poses and angles (helps to impart sculptural quality), the use of choreographic symbols, polyphony, metaphor, and combination methods. Every teacher must learn to compose vocabulary that corresponds to the image of dance. Filling the miniature with meaning, idea and style is an important condition for the dance to speak.
Components of a plot dance
The action in the plot dance, as a means of expression in dynamics, is represented by the pattern of the dancers moving into space. It is important to note the figurative and decorative nature of the “drawing” in productions that do not have a plot, and the close connection of drama with the “drawing” in plot compositions.
The sequential development of events in a plot dance is called dramaturgy; it reveals changes in the relationships and characters of the characters. The compositional plot is represented by the interaction of a system of images. The development of plot twists, the staging of a conflict situation, and certain stage circumstances contribute to the disclosure of the image, using the possibilities of the dramaturgy of the plot-choreographic miniature.
A conflict brings opposing views, interests, and actions together; it is a serious disagreement, a struggle between characters, and a heated argument. The development of the conflict is represented by action and reaction; with the help of various means of expression, it should achieve authenticity and excite the viewer.
The dramaturgy of a choreographic work, in particular, the situation, helps to identify images, character, main features, and participants in the action. The situation revealed at the climax is the most significant; secondary situations are reproduced in a stepwise system of action development.
Elements of dramaturgy of a plot-choreographic miniature
- The exposition consists of the dancers coming out. Forms a spatial image, a form of action, parameters of characters, and internal mood. The precision, brevity of the exposition, its combination with the plot of the number is a feature characteristic of the plot-choreographic miniature;
- The plot manifests itself in the emergence of a conflict and is a short beginning of the action.
- The development of action consists of several stages, most often three. An event for which a separate stage is allocated ends in a false climax. Due to the increase in steps, the conflict intensifies and develops, ending, ultimately, in a real climax.
- The peak of the conflict is reached in the climax , characterized by its characteristic brightness in the plot and choreographic miniature.
5. The denouement represents the completion of an action in which the conflict is resolved; it may be distinguished by the effect of surprise or an open ending.
