Modern Dance and Contemporary Dance- Is There Really a Difference? (Informational)

Sure, it seems like Modern Dance and Contemporary Dance must be the same thing in the eyes of a non-dancer (I mean, modern and contemporary are pretty much synonyms), but they are actually quite different. Not only do the styles have different qualities of movement, but they are also different in their technique, origins, and many other things.

Modern Dance

First of all, what exactly is modern dance? Back in the early 20th century, ballet was still the main style of movement, especially slower movement. But, a few creative minds like Isadora Duncan and Loie Fuller decided to push the limits and create their own new style of movement (“Modern vs. Contemporary Dance — What’s the Difference?”). This was the birth of modern dance. From here, there were others who came along and gave modern dance a codified technique. These were people like Martha Graham, Lester Horton, and Jose Limón (“Contemporary vs. Modern Dance: What’s the Difference?”).

After the initial Modern Dance Movement came something called the Postmodern movement. This is when choreographers began to focus more on the abstract, and making everyday things into dance (“Modern vs. Contemporary Dance- What’s the Difference?).

Contemporary Dance

Following the Modern and Postmodern movements, came an even newer style. As this style was technically a modern style in the sense that it was new, it would be confusing to call it “modern”. So, contemporary got its name. Contemporary dance is unlike modern because there’s not exactly a set technique. Contemporary dance has stemmed from ballet, jazz, hip hop, and modern itself. The style is very flexible and can be done in many very different ways. In the competition or commercial dance world, contemporary jazz is often called contemporary. The best way to define contemporary, however, would be anything that doesn’t quite match well with the boundaries of set styles (“Contemporary vs. Modern Dance: What’s the Difference?). You could consider it the miscellaneous drawer of dance.

All in all, Contemporary and Modern are two very different styles of dance. While modern is older, stemmed from a set technique, and uses very organic movement, Contemporary is a new, boundary-pushing form of dance that doesn’t fit snugly into any particular traditional style. Both, however, are challenging and entertaining styles that are integral to the dance world.

Sources

“Contemporary vs. Modern Dance: What’s the Difference?” BLOG, September 23, 2015. https://urbanitydance.wordpress.com/2012/11/29/contemporary-vs-modern-dance-whats-the-difference/.

“Modern vs. Contemporary Dance — What’s the Difference?” Dance Insight, January 29, 2019. http://www.dance-insight.com/modern-vs-contemporary/.