129:. Each of these individuals developed their own methodology and technique behind modern dance and employed improvisation in numerous different ways that were key to the choreography and execution of their techniques. It is important to note that although Isadora Duncan is often cited as having improvised her performances, this may be based more on the free, natural quality of her movement rather than fact. While some of her material was definitely set, it is likely that other parts were in fact improvised.
68:
variety. This use of improvisation declined in the 16th century, as set, specific choreography came to be favored over more individual, improvised motions. Improvisation was still used in some sense to enhance choreography during this time; however, this improvisation also became much more regulated and structured. For the following several centuries in the west, improvisation became used primarily as a method of creating choreography and remedying mistakes and mishaps during a performance.
53:
A lot of improvisation is focused on finding a deeper way of comprehending otherwise concealed thoughts or feelings of an individual. Through the emphasis of instinctual, unpredictable, free movement that improvisation is centred upon the mover is able to explore authentic feelings and inspirations.
94:
It was not until the end of the 19th century, however, that dance improvisation in western dance became such a large part of performance and dance technique. Towards the end of the 19th and throughout the 20th century, with the beginning of what has become known as modern dance, dance improvisation
212:
relies on improvisation. Improvisation techniques are taught and improvisation is encouraged as necessary to reach high levels of competency in dance and performance environments. Closely knit crowds, varying rhythmic patterns in music, switching partners for each dance, and a large vocabulary of
26:
Improvisation is a free, seemingly unstructured, less technically strict and impulsive form that draws inspiration from everyday dance practices and influences. It is a movement technique that is capable of evoking dramatic and thought-provoking content just as well as more codified western dance
108:
used improvisational techniques intensely in training, and to varying degrees in performance in accordance with the director's preference and opinion on the subject. In the second half of the 20th century, improvisation in dance exploded once more and was explored even more deeply by creators
99:
exemplified an explicit improvisational performance method with her use of task-based and idiosyncratic movement that both allowed for and necessitated improvisation on the part of the dancer. Slightly later in the early 20th century, movement choruses, especially those under the direction of
67:
In
Renaissance Italy, improvisation was used and valued in performance and participatory dances. In performance-based settings in the 15th century, dancers used improvisation to alter or replace various steps or motions, particularly hand gestures, in choreography for the purpose of creating
351:
technique that serves as a framework for collective improvisation. It involves multiple dancers who explore movement together by supporting each other's weight, maintaining contact with each other, and bringing their attention to the point or points of contact between them. Unlike the
360:, in which the male partner lifts and supports the female, contact improvisation does not assign differential roles to each dancer. There are no officially codified or standardized movements, but partners commonly lift, carry, fall onto or off of, caress, and lean on each other.
283:
features a heavily improvisational style based on cyclic movement patterns. Many styles of b-boying exist, and dance crews will often choreograph performances for specific songs. Individual performances are more commonly improvised due to the nature of the dance.
228:. Professional belly dancers may dance publicly 6 nights a week, up to three times a night, and simply do not have the time to choreograph for the 15–60 minutes a night that such performing requires. Even dancers with substantial
173:, so many major forms of improvisational dance were created in the African American community, making clear the incredible impact Black artists had and continue to have on dance improvisation as well as dance at large.
232:
repertoires often choose to improvise when performing to live music because they value the exchange of energy between the dancer, the musicians, and the audience, which is heightened by working "in the moment".
79:, improvisation was used very scarcely, however there remained a place for it in ballet performance. Primarily, improvisation was used in ballet at this time by certain exceptional principal dancers such as
22:
is the process of spontaneously creating movement. Development of movement material is facilitated through a variety of creative explorations including body mapping through levels, shape and dynamics schema.
272:, and relies mostly on the leader interpreting the music how he or she will; at the same time, the follower usually has some freedom to interpret the music and add in his or her own style as well.
319:, the dancer will often combine any and all the moves he or she knows of these styles of dance, as well as add his or her own dance style, or make up new dance moves or
139:’s formation of the Grand Union in 1970. The Grand Union was an improvisational dance group that performed improvisation that was not prepared or rehearsed beforehand.
241:
are built entirely upon group improvisation, although the group will typically plan and rehearse individual combinations and their cues in advance.
142:
Furthermore, and in part thanks to theories on human development that were developed in the 19th century, improvisation started being used in
150:
in the 20th century as well. Improvisation became a key part in the educational methods of many dance educators including Bird Larson and
619:
451:
546:
157:
Many other important tenets of dance improvisation come from and were innovated by the
African American community. From
347:, in collaboration with other post-modern dancers, developed Contact Improvisation. "Contact improv" is an un-codified,
648:
629:
609:
595:
475:
224:
is one of the most commonly improvised dance forms, since often live music does not support the structured nature of
46:
combined improvisation in both of those definitions, insisting that he had an interest in performing a dance to
386:
238:
126:
95:
flourished both as a choreographic tool as well as a method performance. In the late 19th century,
653:
643:
363:
Contact improvisation is sometimes used by post-modern choreographers to generate or develop
234:
151:
132:
538:
456:
467:
376:
340:
39:
8:
565:
348:
303:, and includes a large amount of improvisation. Once a dancer has learned a variety of
511:
423:
312:
269:
34:
movement but is also defined as freeing the body from habitual movement patterns (see
625:
605:
591:
542:
531:
471:
503:
463:
415:
308:
122:
105:
76:
35:
328:
300:
261:
205:
147:
72:
43:
331:
connection, rather than each partner knowing the steps and doing them together.
381:
316:
118:
110:
80:
637:
184:
166:
143:
136:
114:
88:
364:
344:
229:
225:
209:
84:
353:
304:
296:
265:
253:
249:
221:
177:
162:
101:
96:
419:
427:
158:
515:
324:
292:
257:
170:
91:
who used improvisation to embellish their leading roles in ballets.
507:
320:
602:
195:
280:
624:
406:
357:
334:
213:
movements encourage improvisational dance in
Argentine tango.
533:
154:
who emphasized self-expression through dance improvisation.
27:
techniques such as ballet and non-western movement forms.
494:
Carter, Curtis (Spring 2000). "Improvisation in Dance".
57:
616:
Posthuman
Performance: Dancing within Cognitive Systems
588:Choreography: A Basic Approach Using Improvisation
530:
455:
635:
264:connection, but the emphasis is even greater.
196:Developed dance forms with improvisational life
30:Dance improvisation is not only about creating
50:only if he could do it a new way each time.
496:The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism
335:Post-modern dance and contact improvisation
62:
537:. University of Wisconsin Press. pp.
323:. Because of its improvisational nature,
208:is a dance form that despite the apparent
449:
458:The International Encyclopedia of Dance
256:, and is highly improvisational. Like
176:
636:
528:
493:
268:is a partnered and structured form of
405:
58:The history of improvisation in dance
600:Tufnell, M. and Crickmay, C. (1999)
489:
487:
468:10.1093/acref/9780195173697.001.0001
445:
443:
441:
439:
437:
13:
580:
200:
14:
665:
484:
434:
566:"What is contact improvisation?"
454:. In Cohen, Selma Jeanne (ed.).
190:
183:
16:Spontaneous creation of movement
135:also evolved in this time with
133:Contact and group improvisation
558:
522:
399:
387:List of dance style categories
275:
216:
1:
529:Novack, Cynthia Jean (1990).
392:
299:, developed in large part by
109:including but not limited to
295:is generally an eight-count
287:
239:Improvisational Tribal Style
7:
462:. Oxford University Press.
370:
10:
670:
614:Barrios Solano, M. (2004)
649:Free and improvised dance
343:dancer and choreographer
244:
63:Western theatrical dance
450:Matheson, Katy (1998).
553:contact improvisation.
604:. Princeton Book Co.
586:Minton, S, C. (1997)
570:Contact Improvisation
260:, emphasis is on the
252:is generally done to
235:American Tribal Style
71:During the period of
42:). Dancer and singer
377:Choreography (dance)
307:moves, ranging from
178:Latin American dance
40:Judson Dance Theater
590:. Human Kinetics .
20:Dance improvisation
327:heavily relies on
270:interpretive dance
152:Margaret H’Doubler
548:978-0-299-12440-3
420:10.1093/em/cah045
661:
574:
573:
562:
556:
555:
536:
526:
520:
519:
491:
482:
481:
461:
447:
432:
431:
403:
309:West Coast Swing
237:belly dance and
123:Merce Cunningham
77:classical ballet
36:Postmodern dance
669:
668:
664:
663:
662:
660:
659:
658:
654:Dance technique
634:
633:
583:
581:Further reading
578:
577:
564:
563:
559:
549:
527:
523:
492:
485:
478:
452:"Improvisation"
448:
435:
404:
400:
395:
373:
337:
329:lead and follow
301:Frankie Manning
290:
278:
262:lead and follow
247:
219:
206:Argentine tango
203:
201:Argentine tango
198:
193:
188:
181:
148:dance education
65:
60:
44:Michael Jackson
17:
12:
11:
5:
667:
657:
656:
651:
646:
622:
621:
612:
598:
582:
579:
576:
575:
557:
547:
521:
508:10.2307/432097
502:(2): 181–190.
483:
476:
433:
414:(1): 115–177.
397:
396:
394:
391:
390:
389:
384:
382:Ecstatic dance
379:
372:
369:
339:In the 1970s,
336:
333:
289:
286:
277:
274:
246:
243:
218:
215:
202:
199:
197:
194:
192:
189:
187:
182:
180:
175:
119:Doris Humphrey
111:Isadora Duncan
81:Marie Taglioni
64:
61:
59:
56:
15:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
666:
655:
652:
650:
647:
645:
642:
641:
639:
632:
631:
630:9781450402149
627:
620:
617:
613:
611:
610:1-85273-041-2
607:
603:
599:
597:
596:0-88011-529-7
593:
589:
585:
584:
571:
567:
561:
554:
550:
544:
540:
535:
534:
525:
517:
513:
509:
505:
501:
497:
490:
488:
479:
477:9780195173697
473:
469:
465:
460:
459:
453:
446:
444:
442:
440:
438:
429:
425:
421:
417:
413:
409:
402:
398:
388:
385:
383:
380:
378:
375:
374:
368:
366:
361:
359:
356:of classical
355:
350:
346:
342:
341:Judson Church
332:
330:
326:
322:
318:
314:
310:
306:
302:
298:
294:
285:
282:
273:
271:
267:
263:
259:
255:
251:
242:
240:
236:
231:
227:
223:
214:
211:
207:
191:Eastern dance
186:
185:African dance
179:
174:
172:
168:
164:
160:
155:
153:
149:
145:
144:dance therapy
140:
138:
137:Yvonne Rainer
134:
130:
128:
124:
120:
116:
115:Martha Graham
112:
107:
103:
98:
92:
90:
89:Fanny Elssler
86:
82:
78:
74:
69:
55:
51:
49:
45:
41:
37:
33:
28:
24:
21:
644:Choreography
623:
615:
601:
587:
569:
560:
552:
541:–10, 62–67.
532:
524:
499:
495:
457:
411:
407:
401:
365:choreography
362:
345:Steve Paxton
338:
291:
279:
248:
230:choreography
226:choreography
220:
210:choreography
204:
156:
141:
131:
106:Rudolf Laban
93:
85:Anna Pavlova
70:
66:
52:
47:
31:
29:
25:
19:
18:
408:Early Music
354:pas de deux
305:swing dance
297:swing dance
276:Break dance
266:Blues dance
254:blues music
250:Blues dance
222:Belly dance
217:Belly dance
127:Paul Taylor
102:Mary Wigman
97:Loïe Fuller
48:Billie Jean
638:Categories
393:References
313:Charleston
325:lindy hop
293:Lindy Hop
288:Lindy Hop
258:lindy hop
371:See also
281:B-boying
73:Romantic
428:3519520
349:somatic
321:aerials
167:hip hop
628:
608:
594:
545:
516:432097
514:
474:
426:
358:ballet
317:Balboa
125:, and
87:, and
512:JSTOR
424:JSTOR
245:Blues
163:blues
626:ISBN
606:ISBN
592:ISBN
543:ISBN
472:ISBN
159:jazz
146:and
104:and
75:and
38:and
504:doi
464:doi
416:doi
315:to
311:to
171:tap
169:to
165:to
161:to
32:new
640::
618:.
568:.
551:.
510:.
500:58
498:.
486:^
470:.
436:^
422:.
412:33
410:.
367:.
121:,
117:,
113:,
83:,
572:.
539:8
518:.
506::
480:.
466::
430:.
418::
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.