What’s the difference between Contemporary and Lyrical Dance?

Dance is a beautiful activity that combines movement, flow, and emotions into one beautiful piece. There are so many different types of dance, allowing people to try them all to find which one they like the best. From ballet and contemporary to jazz and hip hop, there are many options when it comes to dance.

At K2 Dance Studios, our dance mamas are always asking us what the difference is between their dancer attending a lyrical or a contemporary class. While the difference may be hard to see, we are going to explain the difference in this blog! At our dance studio in Corona, we offer a large range of contemporary and lyrical classes at all levels. If you are interested in signing your child up for one of our dance classes, be sure to contact K2 Dance Studios today! We can help determine which type of dance class is right for your child.

Lyrical Dance

Lyrical dance utilizes techniques from both ballet and jazz to create an emotional and expressive dance that is meant to relate to the lyrics on the songs being danced to. During a lyrical dance, dancers will use their body language and facial expressions to show emotions, including anger, hurt, sadness, joy, love, etc. This beautiful dance type is often used as a method of storytelling and creates a connection with the audience. Many people love watching lyrical dances because they are relatable.

Lyrical Dance Classes Focus On:

• Ballet technique with the fluidity of jazz
• Combos revolve around a maudlin tone
• Specialized leaps and turns
• Flowy and elegant movements
• Long pretty lines
• Creating emotional connections
• Storytelling

Contemporary Dance

Contemporary dance uses a variety of techniques and forms from different types of dance including ballet, jazz, lyrical, and modern dance style. This type of dance requires strong technical skills, as well as a creative and open mind. Oftentimes, contemporary choreography is developed through improvisation. Contemporary dance works to push the boundaries, questioning and dismantling older forms of dance. Without jazz and modern dance styles, which sought to break the mold of traditional dance styles, such as ballet, contemporary dance would not exist.

Contemporary dance involves an understanding of music, rhythm, and the space around a dancer. A lot of the movement in contemporary dance is about speed, strength, control, and change of direction. Because of this, a dancer needs to be well conditioned and trained to avoid injury.

Contemporary Dance Classes Focus On:

• An embodiment of the emotion of the movement choreographed
• Ballet technique combined with jazz and modern dance
• Hard-hitting movement
• “Sharp” lines
• Pushing the boundaries of traditional dance
• Combos have more of a storyline in place for the dancer to perform

The Main Differences Between the Two Styles

While both types of dance combine techniques and movement from ballet and jazz, focus on emotions and storytelling, and involve free and fluid motions, there are many differences. Lyrical dance focuses more on the flow of movement as it relates to the music and lyrics, showing emotion through that movement and creating a beautiful visual story. Contemporary dance focuses more on big movements, feeling the emotion of the music, and pushing the boundaries of dance.

Both dance types are beautiful, unique, and allow for complete self-expression. No matter which one your kid chooses to try, our dance instructor will help them learn the techniques, skills, and movements.

At K2 Dance Studios we make sure our dancers know the difference of these two styles before they are able to advance to a contemporary class, as it requires more maturity in dance and in self-awareness. While the differences between the two are hard to see to the untrained eye, to a dancer the differences are critical. Both styles of dance are crucial to your dancer’s development and overall enjoyment of dance. For more information on the large range of lyrical and contemporary classes we offer at our Corona dance studio, please check out our schedule and check out our contemporary and lyrical choreography on our Instagram! Contact K2 Dance Studios today to get your questions answered and enroll your dancer in one of our classes today!