URDANETA CITY UNIVERSITY

Urdaneta City
SPORTS DEVELOPMENT AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS
PHYSICAL EDUCATION HEALTH AND MUSIC DEPARTMENT

MIDTERM HANDOUT

Contemporary Dance- is a style of expressive dance that combines elements of several

dance genres including modern, jazz, lyrical and classical ballet. It is strive to connect the mind
and the body through fluid dance. It is a popular form of dance which developed during the
middle portion of the twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominating
performance genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world, with particularly strong
popularity in the U.S. and Western Europe.

Pioneers in Contemporary Dance

Merce Cunningham

 April 16, 1919 – July 26, 2009

 Earned highest honors “National Medal of Arts”
 Considered to be the first choreographer to “develop an independent attitude towards
modern dance”.
 He formed the “Merce Cunningham Dance Company” in 1953
 He created more than 150 works for the company.

Merce Cunningham’s key ideas:

 Refuse the classical ballet’s key technique in favour of modern dance’s stress on the
torso
 Not necessarily narrative from of art
 Choreography that appears disorder, but nevertheless relies ion technique
 Unpredictable changes in speed, rhythm and direction
 Multiple and simultaneous actions
 Creative freedom
 Independence between dance and music
 Dance to be dance, not analyse

Angela Isadora Duncan

 May 27, 1878 – September 14, 1927

 American dancer who performed to acclaim throughout Europe
 Born in California, lived in Western Europe and the Soviet Union
 Known as “the Mother of Dance”

Martha Graham

 May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991

 Biggest awards “Presidential Medal Of Freedom”, other award “Kennedy Center Honors”
 She was influenced by her father, a doctor who used physical movement to remedy
nervous disorder
 She established her own dance company in New York City

Dance Composition- is not a mere arrangement of steps set to music and is more than a
routine of steps. It should also contain a theme so that it will give meaning ad essence of the
dance.
Choreography- is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies
(or their depictions) in which motion, form, or both are specified.

BASIC ELEMENTS OF DANCE MOVEMENTS

 Space- is the area in which we move in order to produce patterns and design.
a. Directions
- Floor patterns
- Axial design
b. Level
c. Focus
d. Dimensions (Range or Amplitude)
 Time- all motion as well as stillness occurs in time. Dance utilizes time in ways that
determine the rhythm, tempo and duration of movements.
a. Metric rhythm
b. Tempo
c. Duration
 Force – all movements exists between the poles of action and inaction, of tension and
release and of contraction and release. Amount of energy applied in a movement, which
contributes to a variety of movements qualities.
a. Dynamics
b. Balance
c. Accent

SOME CHOREOGRAPHIC PRINCIPLES

 Gravity – the force that keeps as attached to the earth instead of permitting us to float
freely in the air, exerts a constant downward pull upon our bodies along a vertical line.
 Space – the area in and through which dance moves. Space itself is as neutral as
meaningless, as the empty canvas of the painter, until through movement you
transform it, until it is broken up by lines of action.
 Time – is concerned with the rate of speed and the rhythm we use to proceed from the
beginning to the end of a movement, through a sequence of movements, or through a
complete dance study or composition.
 Meter – those small grouping of beats marked by regular or sometimes irregular
accents.
 Structure – dance movement are limited by the structure of the human body, by the
manner in which movable parts are connected. These points, connection are the joints
like the knee, elbow, hip and shoulder.
 Personality – imparting movement something of your nature, of your individuality, of
your temperament.

Genres of Contemporary dance

Lyrical hip hop – is meant to tell a story, resulting in the fusion of an expressive dance style,
and a beat hitting dance style.
Jazz dance – encompassed any dance done by the jazz music, including both tap dance and
jitterbug.
Interpretative dance – it seeks to translate human emotions, conditions, situations or
fantasies into movement and dramatic expression, or else adapts traditional ethnic movements
into more modern expression.

Classical ballet – it is known for its aesthetics and rigorous technique (such as pointe work,
turnout of legs, and high extensions), its flowing, precise movements, and its ethereal qualities.

Fundamental Foot Position in Ballet

Arabesque is when the dancer stands on one leg with the other leg extended behind the
body. The arms can be held in a variety of positions. Regardless, the goal of the arabesque is
to create as smooth seamless a line as possible with the body, from the shoulders through the
arms and down to the toes of the extended leg.

Pirouette is a 360 degree spin made on one foot that is en pointe or demi-pointe, and is
frequently begun from fourth position. The move requires strong core alignment and balance,
and, as Balletdancersguide.com stated, “are the mastering ballet move which every dancer is
undoubtedly always trying to figure out how to improve.”

Plié means “bent” or “bending,” and is when one or both knees are bent while legs and feet
remain turned out, and are done in first, second, fourth and fifth positions. There are two main
types of pliés, demi and grand, which George Mason University’s dance department defined as
follows: Demi: This is a small bend of the knees while heels are on the floor which creates a
diamond shape. Grand: A large bend of the knees during which heels are raised off the ground
in a motion that mimics a “frog stretch.”

Ronde de jambe means “round of the leg.” It is when the dancer rests on one leg and makes
a circular movement with the other leg. It may be done “à terre,” which means the circle is
made while the foot is touching the ground, or “en l’air,” which means the circle is made in the
air.

Social dance - Social dances and dance mixers are dances intended primarily to get to know
other people in attendance to a certain social function. They are also called ballroom dances.
They are usually performed in pairs, male and female, but may also be performed in groups.
Social dances are classified into two major classifications namely the Latin American Dances
and the Modern Standard Dances. Social Dances are communal dances performed in social
gatherings in any given space. Latin American Dances include the salsa, mambo, meringue,
swing, cha-cha-cha, rumba, samba, jive, boogie, and paso doble. Latin are somewhat
revealing,
tight-fitting, sexy yet sophisticated in nature. They are freer and can be performed in close or
open hold. While the Modern Standard Dances include the slow waltz, tango, Viennese waltz,
foxtrot and quickstep. Standard dances on the other hand, wear formal, ankle-length gowns for
females and coat-and-tie for males.

TWO MAJOR CLASSIFICATIONS OF SOCIAL DANCES

LATIN AMERICAN DANCES Origin MODERN STANDARD DANCES Origin

Cha- cha- cha Cuba Slow Waltz Austria
Rumba Cuba Tango Argentina
Samba Brazil Viennese Waltz Vienna
Paso Doble Spain Foxtrot USA
Jive/ Boogie USA Quickstep USA
Swing USA
Merengue Dominican Republic

Salsa Cuba
Mambo Cuba

1. Cha- cha- cha

Cha-cha-cha is one of the Latin dance rhythms that have been integrated into more
American pop music. It is originated in Cuba and became popular about 1954. The dance was
described as a “Mambo with a guiro rhythm”.

Footwork

 Basic Forward Step

a. Step Pattern: Slow, Slow, Quick, Quick, Quick
Slow, Slow, Quick, Quick, Quick
 b. Count Pattern: 2, 3, cha-cha-cha

2. Rumba

Rumba which is a contemporary ballroom dance of Afro-Cuban-Caribbean folk dance

origin and became internationally popular in the early 20 th century is an erotic dance. The
music is written in 4/4 time, 4 beats to a bar of music, and each beat should be given its full
value.

Footwork

 Basic Forward Step

a. Step Pattern: Quick, Quick, Slow
b. Count Pattern: 1, 2, 3, 4

3. Jive

In latin dancing, the jive is a dance style that originated in the United States from
African- Americans in the early 1930s. it was popularized in 1934 by Cab Calloway. It is a lively
and uninhibited variation of the Jitterbug, a form of Swing dance.

POPULAR DANCE

A burgeoning interest in popular dance came to the fore in the 2001 winter edition of Dance
Research Journal, which was devoted to ‘social and popular dance’. That an entire issue
centred on dance practices situated outside the hallowed ground of the theatre dance canon
indicated a nascent shift in dance studies towards an increasingly relativist position. In the
introduction, editor Julie Malnig (2001) comments that the dances which fall within this
category reveal a wide range of forms, skill levels, degrees of professionalism and performance
contexts.

KPOP means "Korean popular music" So now you know - KPOP means "Korean popular music"
- don't thank us. YW! What does KPOP mean? KPOP is an acronym, abbreviation or slang word
that is explained above where the KPOP definition is given.

EXAMPLES OF POPULAR DANCE MUSIC

 K-POP  DANCE CRAZE

On (BTS) Catriona (Matthaois)
Psycho (Red Velvet) Yummy (Justin Bieber)
Feel Special (Twice) Tala (Sarah G.)
Fancy(Twice) Mathematics Dance
Boy with Luv (BTS) Roxanne (Arizona Zervas)5
Dionysus (BTS)

References:

Jimena, Edgar C. Dance Your Way to Fitness

https://www.tututix.com/ballet-terms-beginners/
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9780230305656_4
https://hipshakefitness.com/dance-workouts/kpop-dance-party/

Prepared by:

MAPEH Instructors

Noted by:

HILARION V. OLIMPO, MA Ed.

Head, MAPEH Department