Contemporary dance sits at the intersection of discipline and freedom, demanding technical precision while celebrating individual expression. For intermediate dancers—that crucial stage between foundational training and professional artistry—the challenge isn't learning more steps, but learning to dance through them. This guide addresses the specific plateaus, technical pathways, and creative practices that transform competent movers into compelling contemporary artists.
Rebuilding Your Foundation (With Intention)
Intermediate dancers often assume they've "finished" with fundamentals. The reality: you've only finished with beginner fundamentals. Contemporary dance requires you to deconstruct and rebuild your technical base with deliberate variation.
Weekly fundamental practice for intermediates:
- Plié variations: Alternate between parallel and turned-out positions, adding arm pathways that deviate from ballet's fixed positions—try circular port de bras or opposition reaches
- Alignment under duress: Test your posture while moving through non-vertical space—floorwork transitions, spiraling rises, and off-balance recoveries
- Weight shifts: Practice moving your center of mass beyond your base of support, then returning—essential for contemporary's dynamic equilibrium
The goal isn't repetition for repetition's sake. It's developing adaptable alignment that holds whether you're vertical, horizontal, or somewhere between.
Four Techniques Worth Your Deep Attention
Contemporary dance encompasses diverse methodologies. Understanding their distinct principles—rather than their surface aesthetics—allows you to borrow intelligently and develop authentic style.
Forsythe Technique
William Forsythe's system extends far beyond "unusual shapes." At its core are lines of the body in space (imagining infinite geometric lines extending from your limbs), deceleration and acceleration (manipulating time through physics rather than musical counts), and isometries (maintaining fixed spatial relationships while the body reconfigures). Forsythe dancers don't just fall off-balance—they calculate trajectory.
Intermediate application: Practice Forsythe's "Improvisation Technologies" through simple scores. Fix an imaginary line extending from your sternum; move while keeping that line's orientation constant. The restriction generates unexpected solutions.
Gaga Technique
Ohad Naharin's methodology uses specific somatic vocabulary: float (continuous, buoyant movement), shake (vibratory release), collapse (surrender to gravity), and explode (sudden expansion). Classes proceed through continuous verbal instruction—no mirrors, no fixed combinations.
Intermediate application: If Gaga classes aren't available, create your own 20-minute "Gaga-inspired" practice. Move continuously while verbally cueing yourself through the vocabulary. The goal isn't aesthetic movement but sensory clarity—can you distinguish between effort and pleasure in the same motion?
Release Technique
Emerging from 1970s postmodern dance (Mary Fulkerson, Trisha Brown, Steve Paxson), Release Technique emphasizes gravity-based movement, sequential joint articulation (movement rippling through the body joint by joint), and minimizing unnecessary muscular tension. It looks effortless because it is efficient.
Intermediate pitfall: Confusing collapse with release. True release maintains structural integrity; you're not a rag doll but a well-engineered structure using minimum force for maximum effect.
Cunningham Technique (Merce Cunningham)
Often overlooked in contemporary discussions, Cunningham remains foundational: torso-leg independence (the spine and legs operate on separate rhythmic tracks), clarity of line, and rhythmic precision without musical emphasis (Cunningham famously separated dance from score). Contemporary's fragmented, multi-directional quality owes much to his innovations.
Conditioning for Contemporary: Specific Targets
Contemporary technique demands strength and mobility in ranges that classical training often neglects. Replace generic "core work" with targeted preparation:
| Target Area | Exercise | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Core stability | Dead bugs with limb oppositions, maintaining neutral spine | Supports off-balance work and controlled falls |
| Hip mobility | 90/90 switches, Cossack squats | Contemporary second positions and floor transitions require range beyond ballet's turnout |
| Upper body endurance | Scapular push-ups, serratus activation exercises | Sustained arm positions and weight-bearing through hands |
| Spinal articulation | Cat-cow with segmental control, roll-downs with breath | The wave-like quality of contemporary torso movement |
Training frequency: 20–30 minutes of targeted conditioning, 3–4 times weekly, yields better results than hour-long generic workouts. Quality of movement—controlled, breath-led, fully present—matters more than quantity.
Common Intermediate Plateaus (And How to Break Them)
Intermediate dancers face distinct challenges that beginners and advanced dancers don't. Recognizing your specific plateau is the first step past it.
