FITT3: Individual/Dual Sports: DANCE

Interpretative, Contemporary
and Hiphop Dance

MS. JACKY CABALLERO

Interpretative Dance
The History of Interpretative Dance
Interpretative Dance is a combination of dance and music styles used to
display a certain theme or emotion.

Where did come from?

Interpretative Dance came from the cultures all over the world. Tribal
dances are used especially in ceremonies to tell stories about the past.
These were the first examples of the narrative styles of interpretative
dance.
Interpretative Dance
The History of Interpretative Dance
Today interpretative dance is commonly found in recitals or theatrical
productions as a form of emotional expression. Really any type of dance
with any type of music. Focuses on improvisation.

Classical Style
Very lyrical music with classic ballet move.
Energetic Style
A more lively tempo with more jumps and twirling motions. Allows dancers
to be more creative.
Interpretative Dance
Health Benefits of Interpretive Dance

Interpretive dance is a form of artistic expression that combines movement,

music, and emotions to convey a message or tell a story. The practice of
interpretive dance has been shown to have many health benefits, both
physical and mental. In this article, we will explore some of the key benefits
of interpretive dance and the reasons why it may be beneficial for people of
all ages and abilities.
Interpretative Dance
Health Benefits of Interpretive Dance
Physical Benefits:
 Improves cardiovascular fitness: Dancing requires the use of large muscle groups, which can
increase heart rate and blood flow, improving cardiovascular fitness and overall health.

 Builds strength and endurance: Constant movement and use of various muscle groups in
interpretive dance helps to build strength and endurance.

 Increases flexibility and balance: Dance requires a wide range of movements and positions,
which can help to increase flexibility and balance.

 Improves coordination and body awareness: Dancing requires coordination of the arms, legs,
and torso, which can help to improve overall body awareness and control
Interpretative Dance
Health Benefits of Interpretive Dance
Mental Benefits:
 Reduces stress and anxiety: Dancing is a form of creative expression that allows for the
release of emotions, and the music and movement can have a calming effect, which can help
to reduce stress and anxiety.

 Improves mood and self-esteem: The act of dancing and the sense of accomplishment that
comes with it, can improve mood and boost self-esteem.

 Enhances cognitive function: Dancing requires the use of memory and concentration, which
can help to enhance cognitive function, especially in older adults.
Contemporary Dance
 Contemporary dance is a style of interpretive dance that embraces innovation, blending
techniques from various genres, including classical ballet, jazz, modern dance, and lyrical
dance. This genre of dance, which focuses more on floor work over leg work and pointe, isn’t
restricted by the rules that govern traditional dance forms. Instead, it relies on improvisation
and versatility and is characterized by freedom of movement and fluidity, letting dancers
explore the mind-body connection and ideally evoking emotion in the audience.

 Contemporary dance is sometimes considered a form of storytelling, and dancers may use the
medium to portray characters, replay events, or convey personal stories. Its routines may
also communicate abstract ideas, such as ethical values, acceptance of self, and timely social
issues. Costumes typically reflect the topic or tone of the accompanying music, and dancers
often perform with bare feet. Performers may perform this type of dance to various musical
styles, spoken word poems and songs, or silence.
Contemporary Dance
7 Choreographers Who Influenced Contemporary Dance
1. Isadora Duncan: In the early 1900s, American ballet dancer Isadora Duncan rejected the
rigid techniques of classical dance and ballet in favor of embracing the human body’s natural
lines and energy. In doing so, she aimed to create a dance style with more fluid dance
movement and emotional resonance. Other renowned dancers and choreographers quickly
followed Duncan’s lead, with each one responsible for innovations that ultimately defined
contemporary dance as we know it today.

2. Martha Graham: American choreographer Martha Graham was a pioneer of modern dance.
Her innovative style laid much of the groundwork for the contemporary dance movement.
She's also responsible for developing the Graham technique, which takes its inspiration from
the breathing cycle and has become an intrinsic part of modern dance forms. Her
revolutionary approach to dance paired movement with emotion, and her contemporary dance
company, which was founded in 1926, still performs today.
Contemporary Dance
7 Choreographers Who Influenced Contemporary Dance
 3. Lester Horton: Beginning in the 1920s and working for decades, American choreographer
Lester Horton developed modern dance techniques inspired by Native American dances. He
was also one of the first American choreographers to insist on racial integration in his
performances. His legacy lives on in the work of notable contemporary coreographers,
including Alvin Ailey and Bella Lewitzky, who studied under Horton as part of his dance
company.

 4. Merce Cunningham: In the 1940s, American choreographer Merce Cunningham created

the groundbreaking Cunningham Technique, an innovative approach to dance training that
emphasizes spatial awareness, rhythmic accuracy, and clarity of form. He expanded the
genre through his experimentation with technology and sounds other than music, often
inspired by the compositions of his partner, John Cage, whose influential sound featured
some of the first prepared piano music. Cunningham and Cage introduced a radical concept
that was influential in the world of contemporary dance: that composers and
choreographers can create music and dance independently, yet still combine them for a
single performance.
Contemporary Dance
7 Choreographers Who Influenced Contemporary Dance
 5. José Limón: In the mid-twentieth century, Mexican choreographer José Limón
developed a distinctive masculine movement style while establishing the importance of
men in contemporary dance. His choreography often explored themes pulled from religion,
literature, religion, and history.

 6. Loie Fuller: Fuller was an American dancer who innovated the genre with her
experimental colored lighting and the use of silhouettes and silk. She may be best known
for creating the serpentine dance, which was inspired by popular skirt dances.

 7. Ruth St. Denis: American choreographer Ruth St. Denis created the concept of music
visualization, which explored movement equivalents to the musical components, such as
rhythm and timbre. Believing that dance should be a spiritual act, she embraced themes
that were once thought too philosophical for dance and often pulled techniques from
traditional Asian dance forms.
Hip-Hop Dance
A History Of Hip Hop Dance

 Hip-hop dance is a unique and exciting style of street dance that is most
commonly performed to hip-hop music. Hip-hop dance is a vibrant form of dance
that combines a variety of freestyle movements to create a cultural piece of art.
Through its three main styles of popping, locking, and breaking, hip-hop dance
has evolved into one of the most popular and influential styles of dance.

 Greeley dance studio, A Dance Place, enjoys teaching hip-hop dance because of
its more laid back style that allows dancers to let loose and worry less about
technique and more about expressing themselves through their movement and
their music. With more upbeat music, hip-hop dance creates a different level of
fun and creativity.
Hip-Hop Dance
The 5 Elements of Hip Hop

Deejaying
 Also known as turntabling, this is an art form in which music is made in
real time using record players and DJ mixers. DJs in the Hip Hop
community are responsible for creating/curating the music that gets
people on the dance floor at parties.

Emceeing
 MC stands for “Master of Ceremonies” and they’re basically the hype-man
of the DJ! The MC gets the crowd going and will sometimes freestyle rap
over the music.
Hip-Hop Dance
The 5 Elements of Hip Hop
Graffiti
 This is the art of expressing oneself about everyday life using spray paint on
walls/outdoor spaces.

Breaking
 Breaking (often called breakdancing by popular media) is the original dance style that
came out of the Hip Hop community. It started out with these 5 core movements: Top
Rocks, Fast Footwork, Back Rocks, Freezes, and Power Moves.

Knowledge
 This element is the thread that weaves all the other elements together. “Knowledge of
self” refers to the Afro-diasporic mix of spiritual and political consciousness designed to
empower members of oppressed groups by portraying social change and giving back to
the minority communities.
Hip-Hop Dance
6 Basic Hip-Hop Dance Moves
The Cabbage Patch
 This move was a sensation in the 1980’s and remains popular today. The subject
of many tracks in that formative decade for hip-hop, and named after the hit toy
dolls from the same era, The Cabbage Patch is deceptively simple: With your
hands in fists you make an “around the world” rotation while sidestepping.
Throw in a little hip shake for flair–and a core workout!

Dougie
 This is another easy move that all of us have seen and most of us have pulled
off…a few times. This groove move–with a hand pass over the head–was named
after “the human beat box” himself, rapper Doug E. Fresh. Because of its
popularity and relative ease of execution, The Dougie is a good and versatile
transition move which is certain to catch some eyes.
Hip-Hop Dance
6 Basic Hip-Hop Dance Moves
Jerkin’
 A newer entry from the L.A. street scene, this style comes from the heyday of
skinny jeans, hi-top sneakers, and brittle, loud, lo-fi 808 beats which all came
together as a reinvention of the aesthetics of the mid-1980’s. With a lot of
backwards leans and forward kicks, Jerkin’ is big, big, big on leg work.

Krumping
 This is getting into deep freestyle territory, and that’s what makes krumping
such a great improvisational tool. The four major moves are chest pops, swinging
your arms, jabs, and stomps, and any combination can be performed with a
rapid-fire frequency which is thrilling to behold. This revolutionary style of
dance began as an underground sensation in the Los Angeles street scene of the
1990’s, and has since had elements of its exhilarating theatrics incorporated
into hip-hop dance as a whole.
Hip-Hop Dance
6 Basic Hip-Hop Dance Moves
Popping (and Locking Too)
 So, first off we need to address the usual disclaimer that Popping and Locking,
while often lumped together in hip-hop dance, are actually individual styles that
predate hip-hop dance. Their origins are distinct and from a distant ancestor to
hip-hop dance–a style and scene known as the Boogaloo. Now that that’s out of
the way, popping and locking have come to be associated together in hip-hop
dance because they pair so well, like strawberry and chocolate or two turntables
and a microphone! Boiled down, Popping is where emphasis is put on specific
flexed movements which can be both isolated or performed by multiple body
areas in a highly stylized manner. And Locking–which was created by American
choreographer Don Campbell– is just what it sounds like, making a freeze frame
and locked moment in time when coming out of or into a dance move. Done
together, and you have a genuinely beautiful and iconic performance!
Hip-Hop Dance
6 Basic Hip-Hop Dance Moves
The Running Man
 This dance fad is everywhere, and has been since the late ‘80’s when it
started appearing in the music video choreography of acts like MC
Hammer and Bobby Brown. It looks exactly like what the name suggests,
only instead of actually running the feet do an alternating forward
step/backslide and the arms push and pull in tandem. The resulting
profile is as iconic as the little man on the tongues of a pair of classic Air
Jordans!
References:

 https://www.clistudios.com/dance-blog/dance-basics/6-basic-hip-hop-dance-
moves/
 https://www.steezy.co/posts/what-is-hip-hop-dance
 https://www.dovemed.com/healthy-living/wellness-center/health-benefits-
interpretive-dance
 https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-contemporary-dance
 https://prezi.com/yelde5bsmjld/the-history-of-interpretative-dance/