FUN FACTS

•Contemporary dance can be done en pointe, barefoot, in socks, etc...

•Although it's believed to be a western type of dance, contemporary dance took influences from non-western dance cultures.

•Contemporary dance in the 80s had many new dancers that did not want to follow ballet

•Contemporary dancers wear clothes inspired by ballet and other styles of dance.

•The origins of this popular dance movement can be traced to several influential dance masters such as Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham. They all wanted to show to the world that contemporary dancers should embrace freedom, ignore old dance conventions and explore the limits of the human body and visual expression of feelings.

•In classes, students learn to use their bodies in a variety of ways, and they focus on breathing, posture, and emotional state to establish a mind-body connection