You’ve mastered the basics. You understand the feeling of a deep plié, the release of a simple spiral, and the raw power of a grounded fall and recovery. But now you’re ready for more. You’re ready to move beyond the steps and truly dance contemporary. This is where the real magic happens—in the nuanced space between strength and surrender, technique and emotion.
Welcome to the intermediate level. Here, we build the toolkit that transforms a dancer into an artist.
1. Foundational Strength: The Silent Powerhouse
Intermediate contemporary isn’t just about higher legs or more turns; it’s about the strength to control exquisite movement. This is the invisible architecture of your dance.
Core & Centering:
Forget endless crunches. Contemporary core work is about integrated strength. It’s the connection between your lower ribs and pelvis that allows for controlled tilts, suspended balances, and explosive initiations. Practice:
- Dead Bugs & Bird-Dogs: For spinal stabilization and anti-rotation strength—crucial for maintaining alignment in off-center movements.
- Plank Variations: Focus on feeling your entire core engage to prevent your hips from sagging. Add shoulder taps or leg lifts to challenge your stability.
Dynamic Lower Body Strength:
Your legs are your primary source of power and shock absorption. Build resilience with:
- Plié Relevés in Second: Slow, controlled descents and ascents to build eccentric strength for soft, silent landings.
- Single-Leg Romanian Deadlifts: The ultimate exercise for hamstring and glute strength, directly translating to control in hinges, lunges, and deep arabesques.
2. The Art of Fluidity: Connecting the Dots
Fluidity is what makes contemporary dance look effortless. It’s the seamless flow from one movement to the next, the absence of jerky, mechanical transitions. It’s not just being “slow”; it’s about conscious, muscular management of energy.
Breath as the Conductor:
Your breath is your most powerful tool for fluidity. It should initiate and follow every movement.
- Exhalation = Release, Surrender, Fall.
- Inhalation = Expansion, Reach, Rise.
Try this: Perform a simple port de bras. Now, do it again, consciously inhaling as you arms rise and exhaling as they lower. Feel the difference? That’s fluidity in its simplest form.
Spirals & Counter-tension:
Fluidity often lives in the twist. Practice finding the spiral in every movement—how a simple step can originate from a twist in the torso, how the arms can oppose the legs to create dynamic tension that yearns to be released. This opposition is what creates fascinating pathways in your dance.
3. Authentic Expression: Moving From the Inside Out
This is the heart of contemporary dance. At the intermediate level, technique is the vessel, but expression is the content. It’s what makes your movement uniquely yours.
Intentionality & Imagery:
Stop thinking about the shape and start thinking about the why. Why does your arm sweep out? Are you pushing against a wall? Pulling someone close? Reaching for something just out of grasp? Assigning intention transforms a mechanical gesture into a meaningful one.
Use imagery. Is your spine a string of pearls falling to the floor? Are your limbs moving through thick honey? These mental pictures directly affect your movement quality, making it more organic and textured.
Emotional Availability:
This is the brave part. Contemporary dance asks you to be vulnerable. It doesn’t mean you have to choreograph a dance about your last heartbreak every time. It means connecting to the quality of the movement itself—the weight of a collapse, the joy of an expansive jump, the frustration of a restrained contraction.
Allow that feeling to register on your face and resonate through your entire body. Dance in front of a mirror and practice not just executing steps, but feeling them.
Putting It All Together: Your Practice Plan
Building this toolkit requires consistent, mindful practice. Integrate these elements into your daily routine:
- Warm-up with Intention (15 mins): Don’t just go through the motions. Feel every muscle engage. Connect your breath to each stretch and exercise.
- Across the Floor with Nuance (15 mins): Practice simple travels—walks, runs, triplets. Focus on layering: first, clean technique. Next, add breath. Then, add a spiral or intention. Finally, add an emotional quality.
- Phrase Work & Improvisation (30 mins): This is your lab. Learn a phrase and drill it for technical accuracy. Then, break it apart. How can you change its dynamics? Its intention? Its initiation? Spend at least 10 minutes in free improvisation, playing with one concept from this blog, like "counter-tension" or "emotional availability."
The journey from an intermediate to an advanced contemporary dancer is a deeply personal one. It’s less about adding more tricks to your repertoire and more about deepening the quality, intention, and power of the movement you already have.
Your body is your instrument. Strength is its structure, fluidity is its voice, and expression is its story. Now go and build your toolkit. The world is waiting to hear what you have to say.
