Free-flowing and improvisational: the art of contemporary dance

I had a brush with contemporary dance when I was in college. When I joined a theater group, I had to be an all-around gal and if I could sing, laugh, dance and cry all at the same time, crazy as that sounds, I would. I remember our dance coach would tell us to move according to what we feel and the emotion we want to portray.

We usually associate contemporary dancing with hip-hop or jazz, but it can actually be danced to almost any style of music, and can even be merged with other dance forms to create new styles of movement.

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In the recent Art Talks about Contemporary Dance held in University of the Philippines, Diliman, European and Filipino choreographers talked about the art of contemporary dance and how it can capture identity, depict life, or translate emotions.

 

It was developed in the 20th century as a reaction against the rigid techniques of ballet. Contemporary dance is characterized by its versatility as it seeks to work with the natural alignment of the body. This makes it safe and accessible for beginners. On the other hand, for experienced dancers, the ease of movement enables them to push new boundaries of body movement.

 

No blank papers

 

“[Contemporary dancing] is very vibrant. It is very difficult to define. You cannot really rely on one thing or technique or language. There is never a blank paper,” German choreographer Arco Renz said.  

It is a free-flowing art, where a dancer can combine choreography and improvisation. On stage, dancers can change their movements on the spot, depending on his or her emotion during the performance.

  

“It is a new composition… The body is the prisma to understand [and to say] something,” the French choreographer Emmanuel Serafini added.

 

And just as any art form, they see dance as a tool to unite people and strengthen a nation’s identity.  

 

“You know in Europe now, there is economic crisis, identity crisis… They want to have European identity but they build a big wall to have only one identity like French one [or German or Italian],” Serafini said.

 

The Avignon Festival was established for this purpose. It aims to accommodate various ethnicities and nationalities in Europe.

 

The festival is ongoing at Avignon in France until July 28. The festival will showcase 300 performances from different groups around the world.

 

In the Philippines, however, contemporary dance is not yet as popular. “People don’t know what contemporary dance is all about. It is a new medium we want to create and tell everyone about,” Filipino choreographer and director Jose Jay Cruz said.

 

Cruz said they are cooking up a dance performance that will formally launch contemporary dance in the Philippines soon. –AC, GMA News