CONTEMPORARY

DANCERS
What is a
Contemporary Dance?

Contemporary dance is a style of

expressive dancethat combines elements of
several dance genres including modern, jazz, lyrical
and classical ballet.Contemporary dancers strive
to connect the mind and the body through
fluid dance movements.
 Isadora Duncan
is an American and French dancer who
performed to acclaim throughout Europe.

Duncan began her dancing career at a very

early age by giving lessons in her home to
neighbourhood children, and this
continued through her teenage years.

Often referred to as the ‘Mother of Modern

Dance’.

Martha Graham
An American modern dancer and
choreographer.

The first ever dancer to perform

at the White House.

She founded the Martha Graham

Dance Company, which is today
the oldest American dance
company.

Merce Cunningham
is an American modern dancer and
teacher, most remembered as an
innovative and influential choreographer.

While working with the Graham’s

Company, he also began independent work
in collaboration with composer John Cage,
at first in solo concerts.

Later, he established his own dance

company and went on to become an
enchanting choreographer.
 Doris Humphrey
is an American dancer and choreographer
of the early twentieth century.

Humphrey was one of the second

generation modern dance pioneers who
followed their forerunners

In 1952 Humphrey started directing a new

dance company for children called The
Merry-Go-Rounders.

Katherine Dunham
is an African-American dancer,
choreographer, author, educator,
anthropologist, and social activist.

Dunham had one of the most successful

dance careers in African-American and
European theater of the 20th century, and
directed her own dance company for many
years.

She has been called the "matriarch and

queen mother of black dance."

Mary Wigman
is a German dancer and choreographer,
considered as one of the most noteworthy
pioneers in the history of modern dance.

She realized that dance could act as a

powerful medium to express human
passions and aspirations.

She established a dance school in Germany

which quickly became known as a center
for modern artistic innovation.
 Ian Eastwood
is an American dancer and choreographer.

Till date, Eastwood has been featured as a

dancer and choreographer on music videos
by several renowned artistes like Justin
Bieber, Kris Wu, Tori Kelly, Maya Angelou,
Shannon and Vic Mensa, to name a few.

Larry Bourgeois
is one of the ‘Les Twins’ duo, who has
earned international acclaim as a dancer,
model, and choreographer.

Larry, has garnered global recognition by

consistently belting out mind-blowing
performances in the hip-hop dance genre.

Sasha Waltz
is a German choreographer, dancer, leader
of the dance company Sasha Waltz and
Guests, and Artistic director designate of
the Berlin State Ballet.

Waltz is the daughter of an architect and a

curator. At the age of five years she had
her first dance lesson in Karlsruhe
with Waltraud Kornhass, a student of Mary
Wigman. From 1983 until 1986, Waltz
studied at the School For New Dance
Development in Amsterdam.
 Charlie Bruce
is a British jazz dancer from Cropston,
Leicestershire, who won the first UK
series of So You Think You Can Dance in
February 2010.

Bruce began dancing at the age of three,

taking lessons from the age of seven at
the Charnwood Dance School, and
receiving a scholarship to attend the Arts
Educational School in Tring between the
ages of ten and sixteen.

r e a m
u r d
t y o
p a i n
a r t , i t .
s a n o l l o w
n c e i n d f
Da a

hompson
teven T
-S