What Is the Difference Between Lyrical and Contemporary Dance?
Slender bodies move through space gracefully, imparting emotions while being accompanied by heavenly music, this is dance. Dance is a part of man’s nature, an expression of his feelings, a presentation of his thoughts, celebratory, saddened, apologetic, coercive, and many more. It’s almost as complex as humans. The first evidence of dance-like activities is wall paintings found in caves in India dated 9000 years back. Like singing, artwork, and poetry, dance changed its shape structure, and complexities with the changing times and reached us in the form of one of the most famous fine art forms. Numerous dance forms are present, namely, Ballet, Bharatanatyam, Jazz, Contemporary, etc.
Contemporary and Lyrical art forms are two types of dance forms, two from the enumerated types of dance styles. Though they are similar, fundamental differences in their foundations, presentation, and approach are the factors causing difference between lyrical contemporary and modern dance.
In America, many dance foundations are working tirelessly to promote and teach these art forms.
Skilled instructors and dedicated students are dedicated wholeheartedly to the art and dance forms, Dance studios such as Mandala Arts have always paved the way for new and emerging dance artists.
This blog explores the question “What is the difference between contemporary and lyrical dance” and explains the difference between lyrical, contemporary, and modern dance for the upcoming artists and dance enthusiasts.
Why It Matters to Know the Difference
It is vital to understand the difference between lyrical and contemporary dance. If you are a dance teacher, student, or just a curious person, this is so important because both types of dance forms may seem similar at first glance. Especially for the students and dance enthusiasts it influences how dancers train, choreography, and even how they’re judged in competitions.
Lyrical Dance
Lyrical dance is a dance form that is heavily influenced by ballet and jazz dance. It relies on smooth movement and graceful stances to convey the emotional and lyrical message.
Lyrical Dance Classes Focus On:
- Lyrical interpretation
- Smooth movements and transitions
- Technical skills derived from classical dance forms
- Storytelling through choreography
- Audience connectivity
Contemporary Dance
Contemporary dance style is derived from the combination of dance forms created by artists like Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, and José Limón. The melodically based dance form is expansion, experimentation, and unorthodox dance practices.
Contemporary Dance Classes Focus On:
- Exploration of movement through space time and energy.
- Techniques like Graham and Horton
- Improvisation
- Nontraditional shapes and forms
- Thematic and conceptual choreographic
What Are the Main Differences Between Lyrical and Contemporary Dance?
Lyrical and contemporary dance might seem similar but there are various fundamental differences between them.
Point of Origin
Lyrical dance stems from jazz and ballet. It gets its popularity and projection from studios and competitive dance circuits. It was created by the beautiful mixing of the smoothness of ballet and the expressiveness of jazz dance. This allowed the lyrical dance to masterfully use the lyrics and music to convey its message gracefully.
While Contemporary dance is derived from modern dance forms. They get their popularity from theatrical and academic dance committees. Created in the early 20th century by artists like Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, and José Limón. Contemporary dance form encourages innovation and experimentation.
Technical Elements
Lyrical dance gets its technicality from the smooth and flowing ballet dance. The emotional and story-like content of the lyrics is presented gracefully through smooth control, balance, and fluidity, with movements that seamlessly transition with the changing lyrics.
Contemporary dance is regarded as more open-minded and experimental. It includes techniques that are relatively new when compared to the traditions of classical forms like ballet and Bharatanatyam. Contemporary dance involves Floor work, Contractions and releases, Off-center movements, and unusual body shapes and pathways
Musical Connection
In lyrical dance form, the music is secondary as it primarily relies on lyrics. The strong lyrical bonding with the song is important as compared to the melody part.
Contemporary dance is more reliant or in other words, more playful with the melody as compared to lyrics. As they tend to express abstract ideas and thoughts more efficiently through being musically reliant.
Movement
Lyrical dance tends to be smooth and seamless transitions. It is said to be emotional, graceful, and predictable. Its predictability is primarily due to the bonding to lyrical structure and chorus.
Contemporary Dance is expansive as it can host different movement types. This can include sharp and disjointed dance movements but can also be flowing and expansive. This variability allows the dancer to improvise the conflict and abstractive
Lyrical, Contemporary, and Modern Dance – A Triple Comparison
The blog requires a much-needed comparison between lyrical contemporary and modern dance forms. Firstly, talk about the origin of each of these forms. Lyrical dance is derived from ballet and jazz, whereas contemporary has modern roots and modern dance forms trace their roots from Graham and Horton dance forms. Lyrical dance depends heavily on lyrical content; contemporary relies on music and melody whereas modern dance is usually abstract and uses melody abstractly. As for the stages or common presentation areas for each of these art forms, Lyrical is seen mostly in competitions, contemporary is performed mostly in studios and stages, while modern dancers grace the academic and theatrical settings with their work.
Which Style Is Right for You or Your Child?
We’ve provided ample knowledge on the fundamental question of “what is the difference between contemporary and lyrical dance” to the reader. Now the question arises which style is best suited for you or your child to learn and explore in depth. A well-educated person on the difference between lyrical contemporary and modern dance can make their choice based on intuition and knowledge.
Dance schools like Mandala Arts provide formal dance education and orientational guidance through highly skilled and experienced dance teachers. Interested people or parents can visit Mandala Arts and consult with our instructors on which one out of the numerous dance styles we teach is the right fit for you or your child.
FAQs – Lyrical vs. Contemporary Dance
There are four prominent types
- Cunningham
- Graham
- Release
- Contact Improvisation.
Lyrical dance is often considered one of the most expressive dance styles.
The “big four” of modern dance are Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, Charles Weidman, and Hanya Holm. The artful and impactful techniques they created laid the foundation for modern and contemporary dance styles.
The four key concepts in dance are
- body
- space
- time
- energy
Dance levels are the vertical space a dancer occupies during a performance:
- High
- medium
- low
- floor
Choreography utilizes these levels to create dynamics and visual interest.
Both lyrical and contemporary are performed in competitions. Lyrical resonates with audiences due to its emotional storytelling, while contemporary engages the audience with technique and innovation.
