At Nritya Creations our Indo-Contemporary classes consist of giving our students a well-rounded and diverse technical training. We fuse a variety of western styles including ballet, lyrical, jazz, and modern dance. All these styles combined with elements of Indian classical dance, Folk and Bollywood music creates the dynamic style of Indo-Contemporary at Nritya Creations. We believe our students should learn exactly what styles are used to create this cross-cultural style of dance. Many of these concepts our existing students have learned, and we continue to dive deeper into each dance form as students advanced to create strong technical and educated dancers.
Learn more about each of the styles incorporated in Indo-Contemporary classes below.
Unit 1: Ballet Technique
Most Western styles of dance today can be traced back to ballet and its codification has been extremely influential in all styles of dance. When you start learning ballet, it may seem that there’s such a lot on the technique side and not so much on the dancing, music and the fun stuff. But there are good reasons for that. Technique is essential to good ballet but there is an even more core reason why it is such a big focus – good technique reduces the chance of being injured. Not only does it help you with the moves that make up the dance, it ensures that your body is in the right place to do this without hurting yourself. This is known as alignment and is a key part of any kind of dancing. Because this alignment is so important to ballet, there is a codified system of moves that have their own terminology. For example, there is port de bras – the movement of the arms. Learning ballet is about learning these techniques, these terms and understanding why they are so important.
Unit 2: Lyrical/Jazz Technique
Jazz- Today’s jazz technique classes keep different styles in mind and give dancers a good foundation for what van der Merwe calls jazz’s “eclectic feeling.” Most jazz teachers agree that a strong center, flexibility and clean lines are crucial. Jazz classes typically start with a warm-up that includes elements of both ballet (pliés, tendus, développés) and classical jazz (isolations, parallel positions, core-strengthening exercises). Though individual teachers’ tastes and styles may differ, the common threads in jazz—rhythm, strength and quality of execution—still shape us today.
Read More: https://www.dancespirit.com/the_state_of_jazz-2326035037.html
Lyrical- Lyrical dance is a style that combines ballet and jazz dancing techniques. It is performed to music with lyrics so that it inspires expression of strong emotions the choreographer feels from the lyrics of the song. This style concentrates on an individual approach and expressiveness of such emotions as love, joy, hurt, or anger. It does not concentrate on the dancer’s precision of movement.
Read More: https://www.omahaschoolofmusicanddance.com/our-blog/lyrical-dance-meaning-lessons/
Unit 3: Modern Technique
Modern dance has become a huge genre in the dance world today and is typically listed as a class offered on the schedules of most dance studios. Some dancers feel that modern dance gives them a chance to enjoy ballet dancing without the strict focus on their technique and turnout. Born in the early 20th century, modern dance is a dance style that focuses on a dancer’s own interpretations instead of structured steps, as in traditional ballet dancing. Modern dancers reject the limitations of classical ballet and favor movements derived from the expression of their inner feelings.
Read More: https://www.liveabout.com/what-is-modern-dance-1007279
Unit 4: Indo-Contemporary Repertoire
Using all the above units as a basis of technique for this unit, students can see how each dance forms creates fusion choreography. The Indo-Contemporary form is the perfect meeting point of the modern-day western and ancient Indian techniques. The Style is unique, in as much as it is structured to offer the students a holistic experience of body, mind and spirit. Whilst working our physicality, we also tap into our inner self, which lies at the very core of all Indian philosophies. The art form emphasizes on body coordination, improvisation and observations and helps to nurture the creativity among artists. More importantly, the style inspires everyone to express their ideas and feel content.
Unit 5: Choreography/Performance Skills
Choreography is the art of making dances, the gathering and organization of movement into order and pattern. When choreographers set out to create new works, or possibly rework traditional dances, their impulses or motivations for doing so vary widely.
Performance skills are those aspects that set dancing apart from mechanical movement. Often, our attention is drawn to the dancer who is using a range of performance skills effectively, because they stand out from the rest. Performance skills are aspects such as focus, projection, musicality, timing, emphasis, and expression.
By the time students get to this unit they will have established what movements they would like to incorporate into their own choreography. We will also be able to fine tune how students can remember choreography and perform for an audience or camera.
Read More: https://www.britannica.com/art/dance/The-three-phase-choreographic-process