Contemporary Classes
In terms of the focus of its technique, contemporary dance combines the strong and controlled legwork of ballet with modern dance's stress on the torso, and also employs contract release, floor work, fall and recovery, and improvisation characteristics of modern dance.
Unpredictable changes in rhythm, speed, and direction are often used in Contemporary dance.
Aligning with our value of Safe Dance Practice, we enforce a ‘Prerequisite policy’ to attend a Contemporary class. To participate in this class, students must also participate in one of our technique classes to form the basic alignment and placement of the body before attempting abstract movements.
Sunshine Coast
Contemporary Classes
Ages 7 to 9
Junior Contemporary
Junior Contemporary lessons Incorporate a full body stretch and warm up, across the floor skills and technique as well as choreography routines.
Students are coached in fluidity and control technique for getting to and from the floor for rolls, slides, and preparatory floor skills.
Students will learn to hone their Parallel jump strength in various positions, and prepare for barrel turns, and fruit bats.
Time will be spent with students working on choreography in areas such as diversity of movement, cohesion with linking steps, and emotion release.
Ages 10 to 11
Intermediate Contemporary
Students will build upon their junior training and begin learning foundational skills for challenging transitions into floor work including turns and jumps, advancing to turns to the floor, jumps to floor rolls, shoulder rolls, and around the world techniques.
Contemporary Lessons will include turn drills and sequences combining windmill, devant and derriere swivel, as well as chaines.
Time will also be spent focussing on across the floor leg extension exercises for flexibility and control in contemporary alignment.
Ages 12+
Senior Contemporary
Senior Contemporary lessons will introduce students to the idea of improvisation extension on skills learnt in intermediate contemporary, whilst also being at a more advanced faster paced class.
At this level students will be expected to execute advanced transitions into floor techniques through combinations of turns and jumps, off balance and travelling concepts.
Additional floor work training including turns and jumps, shoulder rolls, dolphin rolls, Back rolls, around the world, slides, and floor jete.
Lessons will explore an encourage freedom of movement through improvisation.