Visual & Performing Arts · 9th Grade · Movement and Meaning: Dance and Choreography · Weeks 10-18

Introduction to Ballet and Modern Dance

Exploring the foundational techniques and historical development of classical ballet and early modern dance.

• Common Core State Standards
• NCAS: Connecting DA.Cn10.1.HSProf
• NCAS: Responding DA.Re7.1.HSProf

About This Topic

Classical ballet and modern dance form the twin pillars of Western concert dance, and comparing them gives ninth-grade arts students a clear framework for analyzing movement, intention, and historical influence. Ballet emerged from European court traditions and developed a codified vocabulary built on turnout, verticality, and the appearance of weightlessness. Modern dance arose in the early 1900s when choreographers like Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham, and Doris Humphrey rejected those conventions, grounding their work in breath, gravity, contraction, and personal expression.

Graham's contraction-and-release technique, Cunningham's chance-based methods, and Humphrey's fall-and-recovery principle each represent a distinct artistic philosophy that students can trace to specific historical moments. This topic directly supports the NCAS connecting and responding standards by asking students to analyze how cultural context shapes artistic choices.

Active learning is especially effective here because dance is a physical art form. Students who try a basic plié alongside a Graham contraction gain embodied understanding that no amount of reading or video-watching can replace. That kinesthetic reference point sharpens their comparative writing and performance analysis.

Key Questions

1. Differentiate between the aesthetic principles and movement vocabularies of ballet and modern dance.
2. Analyze how historical context influenced the emergence of modern dance as a rebellion against ballet.
3. Evaluate the lasting impact of pioneering modern dancers like Martha Graham or Merce Cunningham.

Learning Objectives

• Compare the core aesthetic principles and movement vocabularies of classical ballet and early modern dance.
• Analyze how specific historical events and social conditions in the early 20th century influenced the development of modern dance techniques.
• Evaluate the lasting impact of at least two pioneering modern dancers on contemporary choreography.
• Demonstrate basic foundational movements from both ballet and modern dance, identifying key differences in execution and intent.

Before You Start

Introduction to Performing Arts Elements

Why: Students need a basic understanding of elements like space, time, and energy to analyze dance movement effectively.

Historical Context in the Arts

Why: Understanding how societal changes influence artistic expression is crucial for grasping the emergence of modern dance.

Key Vocabulary

Turnout	A rotation of the legs outward from the hips, a fundamental principle in classical ballet that creates specific lines and balances.
Contraction and Release	A core technique in Martha Graham's modern dance, involving a deliberate tightening (contraction) of the torso followed by a yielding (release) back to a neutral position.
Gravity	In modern dance, the force that pulls dancers toward the earth, often used as a source of movement and dynamic energy, contrasting with ballet's aim to defy it.
Codified Technique	A standardized system of steps, positions, and movements, characteristic of classical ballet, passed down through generations with specific terminology.
Fall and Recovery	A principle developed by Doris Humphrey, exploring the dynamic relationship between the body's weight and the pull of gravity, involving a controlled yielding to gravity (fall) and regaining balance (recovery).

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

Modern dance is freeform improvisation with no codified technique.

What to Teach Instead

Modern dance encompasses several highly codified techniques that demand years of rigorous training. Graham technique, Horton technique, Limon technique, and release-based methods each have specific vocabularies and training progressions as structured as ballet. Having students attempt a basic Graham contraction sequence alongside a ballet plié sequence makes the technical demands of both traditions immediately apparent.

Common Misconception

Ballet is purely European and modern dance is purely American.

What to Teach Instead

Ballet has deep American roots through companies like New York City Ballet and School of American Ballet, while modern dance has significant European branches including German Ausdruckstanz (Mary Wigman) and Pina Bausch's Tanztheater. Mapping choreographers on a world timeline during class reveals the constant transatlantic exchange between traditions rather than a clean geographic split.

Common Misconception

Modern dance replaced ballet as the dominant art form.

What to Teach Instead

Both traditions thrive today and frequently blend in contemporary concert dance. Choreographers like William Forsythe and Crystal Pite draw on both vocabularies, and most professional dancers train in multiple techniques. Showing students a contemporary work that mixes ballet lines with floor work and contractions helps them see how both traditions continue to shape current practice.

Active Learning Ideas

Gallery Walk: Movement Timeline Stations

Set up five stations around the room, each with a video clip and a one-page artist biography: Romantic ballet, Petipa-era classical ballet, Duncan, Graham, and Cunningham. Students rotate in small groups, completing a structured observation card at each station that asks them to describe the movement quality, the relationship to gravity, and the apparent emotional intent. After the rotation, the class assembles a shared timeline chart on the board using their cards.

40 min·Small Groups

Think-Pair-Share: Rebellion or Extension?

Play a 90-second clip of a classical ballet variation followed immediately by a Graham solo. Students individually write one sentence answering whether modern dance is a rebellion against ballet or an extension of it, citing one specific movement quality as evidence. Partners compare their positions, then selected pairs present their reasoning to the whole class for a structured debate.

20 min·Pairs

Fishbowl Discussion: Who Changed Dance More?

Four students sit in the center and debate whether Graham or Cunningham had a greater lasting impact on American dance, using evidence from readings and video clips. The outer ring of students listens, takes notes, and can tap in to replace a speaker. After 15 minutes, the class votes and defends their choice in writing.

30 min·Whole Class

Jigsaw: Technique Vocabulary Cards

Divide into three expert groups: ballet terminology (plié, arabesque, turnout), Graham technique (contraction, release, spiral), and Cunningham principles (neutral spine, chance procedures, independence of music and movement). Each group creates illustrated vocabulary cards with definitions and photos. Groups then remix so each new team has one expert from each tradition, and experts teach their terms to teammates.

45 min·Small Groups

Real-World Connections

• Professional ballet companies like the New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theatre continue to perform classical repertoire while also commissioning new works that may incorporate modern dance influences.
• Contemporary dance companies, such as the Merce Cunningham Dance Company's legacy or the Martha Graham Dance Company, often blend elements of both ballet and modern dance, requiring dancers to possess versatile training.
• Dance historians and critics analyze performances for major publications like Dance Magazine or The New York Times, using their knowledge of ballet and modern dance history to contextualize and interpret new choreographic works.

Assessment Ideas

Quick Check

Present students with short video clips of ballet and modern dance performances. Ask them to identify 2-3 key movement characteristics for each clip and write them down, noting whether the movement appears to defy or embrace gravity.

Discussion Prompt

Facilitate a class discussion using the prompt: 'How did the social and artistic climate of the early 20th century directly lead choreographers to reject ballet conventions and create modern dance?' Encourage students to cite specific historical context and artistic philosophies.

Peer Assessment

Have students perform a simple sequence incorporating a ballet plié and a modern dance contraction. After observing each other, students provide feedback to their partner using a checklist: 'Did the student demonstrate turnout in the plié?' 'Was the contraction clearly initiated from the torso?' 'Was the release visible?'

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the key differences between ballet and modern dance techniques?

Ballet centers on turnout, pointed feet, vertical alignment, and a codified French vocabulary developed over centuries. Modern dance techniques prioritize the body's relationship to gravity, using contractions, falls, floor work, and breath-driven movement. Ballet aims for an appearance of weightless precision, while modern dance often embraces weight and effort as expressive tools. The two forms reflect fundamentally different ideas about what the dancing body should communicate.

How did Martha Graham change modern dance?

Graham developed contraction-and-release technique, a systematic movement vocabulary built on the breath cycle and the muscles of the torso. Her works like Appalachian Spring and Lamentation used stark, angular movement to express psychological and emotional states that ballet conventions could not easily carry. She also founded one of the first modern dance companies and a school that trained generations of choreographers, making her influence foundational to American concert dance.

Why did modern dance emerge as a reaction against ballet in the early 1900s?

Early 20th-century cultural shifts toward individual expression, women's autonomy, and American cultural identity made ballet's rigid European conventions feel limiting to a new generation of artists. Choreographers like Duncan and Graham wanted movement that reflected lived emotional experience and democratic ideals rather than aristocratic formality. The social upheaval around World War I further pushed artists toward rawer, more grounded vocabularies.

How does active learning help students compare ballet and modern dance?

When students physically practice basic elements of both forms, they build embodied knowledge of why the two traditions look and feel different. A student who has felt the upward pull of a relevé and the inward force of a contraction can write a far more specific comparative analysis than one who has only watched video. That kinesthetic reference point supports both the NCAS responding and connecting standards by grounding critical analysis in direct physical experience.