Spice up classical ballet by adding a contemporary twist

By Julie Holt Lucia

At the School of Contemporary Ballet Dallas, you’ll find all the trappings of a typical neighborhood dance studio. But something sets it apart, and it’s right there in its name: contemporary ballet.

The school looks and feels familiar, with its comfortable waiting area, antsy preschoolers skipping and giggling, and doting parents fussing over their children. Framed company performance posters share the walls with photo collages from school shows and recitals. A black-and-white mural of dancers greets patrons at the main hallway, leading them to the three dance classrooms, each a different shape and size, with different types of floors to accommodate different styles of dance.

Students capable of handling the rigors of contemprary ballet classes may be invited to apprentice with Contemporary Ballet Dallas. (Photo by Terri Rapp)

But when it comes to teaching ballet, the School of CBD isn’t quite like the schools that many of us grew up and now teach in.

Defining contemporary ballet
Picture a ballet class with the rules askew: pliés include contractions; adage incorporates floorwork; petit allegro embraces parallel jumps as well as turnout. Maybe blues music plays throughout the barre exercises, and then jazz music accompanies center work. Current pop music might spice up the exercises across the floor. The dancers wear leotards and tights, but not necessarily in a typical pink-and-black color scheme. The air feels a little more relaxed than in a traditional ballet class, but it is no less focused.

At the School of CBD, the rules of traditional ballet class are meant to be respected in contemporary ballet classes—but also messed with, modified, broken, and sometimes put back together again. So with all of the variances in movement, style, and music, how exactly does one define contemporary ballet?

 “It’s classical ballet but with jazz and modern influences,” says Lindsay Bowman, a co-owner of the School of CBD since its founding in 2005 and the sole owner and director since 2009. “[For example], it’s got contraction and release from modern and syncopated rhythms and dynamics from jazz.”  

Bowman explains that contemporary ballet classes at the school differ slightly from teacher to teacher, allowing for stylization and choreographic freedom. Having a solid classical ballet foundation is key, she says, because you need to have something to build on when you study contemporary ballet, with all its twists and turns on the traditional. In other words, before you can take ballet off its center, you need to have a strong physical and technical base.

The School of CBD is affiliated with a company, Contemporary Ballet Dallas, but the two are separately owned. Bowman owns and directs the school, but the company was co-founded by Valerie Shelton-Tabor and Kelley Calhoon, who has since moved on. Shelton-Tabor serves as CBD’s artistic director and teaches at the school. For her, contemporary ballet is “about more than proficient technique. It’s about maturity too,” she says. “There is an emotional aspect to contemporary ballet that challenges dancers to put themselves into the movement and pushes them to make emotional connections.”

Those emotional connections may be with the music or with other dancers, or they might be with the story that’s being told. Shelton-Tabor says this kind of emotional discovery helps give the dancers confidence in their ability to express themselves and helps them become more comfortable in their own skin.

There is an element of experimentation in contemporary ballet that some dancers find quite appealing. It is the perfect place to dress up classical ballet with other techniques and go beyond the traditional. Some of the CBD students who are drawn to classical ballet gravitate to the contemporary ballet class to explore and experiment, to put that twist on what they’ve been learning and enjoy the variety of movement and music that contemporary ballet offers.

In a word: versatility
Because of the technical level and maturity required for contemporary ballet classes at the School of CBD, they are open only to advanced teen dancers. There are no set requirements, although instructor approval is necessary. High-school-age dancers (typically 13 years old and up) who are interested in contemporary ballet are first considered individually to ensure that they are ready. Most contemporary ballet students are already experienced on pointe and take classical ballet a minimum of twice a week, in addition to studying other dance styles, such as jazz, modern, hip-hop, and tap. Occasionally someone will take contemporary ballet without also taking classical ballet, but usually it is an arts magnet high school student who has limited time outside of school.

Students at the School of CBD often have aspirations to dance beyond high school, and some are invited to apprentice with CBD itself once they have proven themselves capable of handling the rigors of contemporary ballet classes. For those who eventually want to dance professionally or who want to join a college dance program, Bowman emphasizes the edge contemporary ballet classes can give them when auditioning, as well as throughout their careers.

 “It’s like adding another genre of dance to your portfolio,” Bowman says, pointing out that more and more dance companies and college programs are looking for versatility these days as they appeal to a diverse dance community and audience. For example, an artistic director may want to see that a dancer can react and adapt quickly to new movement and could fit into a wide variety of repertory. Those who study contemporary ballet tend to develop the same kind of versatility that dancers who train simultaneously in multiple styles do.

According to Bowman and Shelton-Tabor, the versatility that contemporary ballet produces starts with the music itself—from blues to classical to pop—which makes for a fun learning atmosphere. The musical mixture also helps keep the dancers’ minds engaged, particularly when the movement gets challenging. And challenging it is, because contemporary ballet class is never exactly the same; some days the dancers may need to be more pointe driven, while on others they need to focus more on lyrical jazz. Still other classes may be more Graham or Horton influenced, meaning that the dancers have to recall their knowledge of classic modern techniques in order to understand what is being asked of them. (The school’s modern classes offer a mix of techniques.)

There is an element of experimentation in contemporary ballet that some dancers find quite appealing. It is the perfect place to dress up classical ballet with other techniques and go beyond the traditional.

 “Class is surprising sometimes, in a good way,” says student Ruth Godbey of the variety seen in contemporary ballet classes. “Contemporary ballet is just so different; it feels fresh and new.” A high school junior who has studied at the School of CBD since it opened five years ago, Godbey believes that studying contemporary ballet gives her more than strictly classical training can. “It sets me apart from those who’ve only studied classical ballet,” she says, noting that her self-confidence has grown while studying contemporary ballet. “I feel more prepared for different styles to be thrown at me.”

Godbey also explains that although she studies classical ballet, modern, and jazz, it is contemporary ballet that makes her feel like she has the most opportunity to explore and test her limits. “Contemporary ballet complements who I am,” she says. “It feels like I have more freedom in my dancing.”

Challenges
Although teachers and students at the School of CBD seem to agree that the positives far outweigh the negatives when it comes to contemporary ballet class, challenges do exist. Contemporary ballet can be frustrating to learn—and to teach—because it calls on so much technique. Dancers have to know their classical ballet backward and forward, along with being proficient in modern and jazz. There’s no coasting by in a contemporary ballet class that changes pace at a rapid-fire rate and constantly blurs the lines between dance styles. 

For that reason, a certain level of physical and emotional maturity is a prerequisite for studying contemporary ballet at the School of CBD. For example, a talented 10-year-old would not be permitted to take the classes because she probably wouldn’t be ready to take on the technical challenges of something like Graham spiraling within a class combination. She would need to build her classical foundation (and eventually pointe work) first. Also, she might lack the emotional maturity needed for the more adult-themed musical selections (and sometimes complex musicality) or emotionally charged choreography.

Along with drawing on a background of knowledge and experience, students who study contemporary ballet have to be willing to take risks and be open to movement that might be completely new, both in class and performance.

Even with such technical intensity, contemporary ballet classes can have a more lenient-feeling atmosphere than in traditional classical ballet, and the teens sometimes have to be reminded that contemporary ballet is just as serious as the other styles they study—and is equally demanding, if not more so. Bowman admits that occasionally the dancers can get sidetracked by music that is too popular or familiar, leading to contagious silliness or other distractions. Sometimes the emotional maturity that she and the other teachers look for—both in class and in choreography—just doesn’t happen as effortlessly as they would like, and they have to be firm but patient with students when that happens.

“It can feel like hitting a brick wall when those emotional connections aren’t happening,” says Shelton-Tabor, adding that they will redirect the dancers—and sometimes alter the exercise or choreography—in order to break through the wall and push the dancers further. It’s a necessary challenge, Shelton-Tabor emphasizes, in order to make contemporary ballet more personal and not just about exciting technique. When it finally “clicks” for the dancers, they are that much more invested in movement and grow that much more.

Advice for studio owners
With an increasing amount of attention on contemporary ballet in professional performances these days, studio owners and program directors might consider following the School of CBD’s example in offering it as a class—especially if it helps give opportunities to dancers like Godbey, who love ballet but are interested in trying a new approach, one with a slightly unpredictable flair. “It’s still important to have the dancers training in classical ballet and to encourage them to take other dance styles,” says Bowman. “But contemporary ballet does add something so interesting and exciting to your program. It spices it up!”

But it isn’t as simple as throwing in some fun music and turning parallel. Bowman is quick to remark that plenty of dance professionals can put together some cool, contemporary-feeling choreography, but it is having the contemporary ballet class itself on a regular basis that yields the benefits.

Being open to it is the first step, she says, followed by finding an instructor who is well versed in the major techniques from which contemporary ballet draws its movement—ballet, jazz, and modern—and who values the underlying emotional and personal direction that contemporary ballet demands.

Bowman recommends having students try contemporary ballet in soft ballet shoes first, before incorporating pointe work into the classes. She emphasizes that although working in pointe shoes can be fun and interesting for the dancers, it is usually necessary to create some points of reference first—for example, the shifting of the weight off-center or working in a contracted position. It’s much safer for the dancers to have practiced some of the more unusual jazz- or modern-influenced movement combinations in soft shoes first. 

While the School of CBD may be in the minority in offering contemporary ballet classes, Bowman and Shelton-Tabor hope that the style will continue to gain popularity and acceptance by other schools and programs. With ever-rising expectations, dancers need every ounce of support and training possible as they advance from students to professionals. And if contemporary ballet can give them something extra in their back pocket—specifically, more versatility and maturity in their dancing—then why not give it a try?

Godbey sums it up nicely: “I love that this style gives me so much opportunity. It’s inspiring.”