Modern, Contemporary, Lyrical, What’s The Difference?
We get asked all the time, “What’s Modern?” and I would say that though Modern isn’t as mainstream as Contemporary and Lyrical Dance, it’s actually the most important of the three.
Just like Ballet is the form of dance I believe dancers should practice if they want to be their most refined, Modern is what dancers should practice in order have a base of technique for their Contemporary and Lyrical practice. It’s the foundation that Contemporary and Lyrical were built on and like any good structure, dancing has to have a solid foundation.
Contemporary is often a blending of Ballet & Modern and I feel it’s based on showcasing the choreographers personal voice. It’s an avenue for a choreographer to self express without the boundaries of classical Ballet but all the refinement of both Ballet & Modern technique.
Lyrical to me is a faction of Contemporary dance in which the piece expresses a feeling or story in a more realist way. A good friend of mine spelled it out for me one day when I asked her what Lyrical was, because up until a couple years ago I couldn’t even define it! She said, “Lyrical tells the story of the song.” It made sense to me to think of it this way; the movement in Lyrical is like the words to a song.
A good friend of Shayne’s & mine is in a broadway national tour and he said the dancers with proper technical training are not only more refined looking but they also get injured less.
If you’d like to try out proper Modern dance training, as well as cutting edge Contemporary and Improv, feel free to reach out and we’ll set you up with a trial class in these different dance styles.
Happy Dancing!
Nick Mishoe, Co-Artistic Director, The Academy of Dance Arts
March 20th, 2020