What Type of Movements Are Used in Musical Theatre Dance?

Musical Theatre|Theater

Musical theatre dance is a form of theatrical performance that combines the power of music and dance. It is a vibrant and exciting form of storytelling that has been around for centuries, but is currently seeing a resurgence in popularity.

Dance in musical theatre often uses movements from classical ballet, jazz, tap, modern, and hip-hop. These different styles can be combined to create unique choreography that helps to tell the story being presented. Musical theatre dancers must be versatile in order to perform a variety of steps and techniques.

Classical ballet is often used as the foundation for musical theatre dance. Ballet movements provide structure, grace, and power to the choreography. Ballet steps such as pliés, tendus, pas de bourrées, jetés, relevés, and grand battements are often seen in musical theatre productions.

Jazz dance adds a more contemporary feel to musical theatre choreography. Jazz dancers use isolations (moving one part of their body at a time), turns and jumps (such as the grand jeté), floor work (like shimmies), and many other styles of movement to add energy to their performances.

Tap dancing is another popular style used in musical theatre. Tap dancers use intricate rhythms with their feet while they move across the stage in quick and intricate steps. Tap steps such as flap balls, shuffles, paradiddles, wings, and scuffs help create exciting sounds that enhance any production.

Modern, or contemporary, dance has become increasingly popular in recent years for its expressive nature. Modern dancers use many different elements such as floor work (sliding across the floor on one’s knees or back), contractions (a sudden contraction of muscles) , release (the relaxation of muscles after a contraction), fall & recovery (falling onto one’s back then recovering back up into standing position). Many modern steps can be seen in musicals such as In the Heights or Hamilton.

Hip-hop, or urban dance styles are also used frequently in musicals. Hip-hop includes moves like popping/locking (quickly contracting and releasing muscles quickly), breaking/breaking down (dropping down onto one’s knees then exploding back up into standing position), waving/gliding/tutting/animation (smoothly moving arms and legs around each other). Musical theatres such as Bring it On: The Musical have incorporated these types of movements into their choreography.

Musical theatre dance is an exciting combination of classical ballet steps combined with jazz techniques along with modern elements like contractions & releases; all mixed together with hip-hop style moves like popping & locking. The mixture creates an energetic yet sophisticated form of storytelling that can capture any audience’s heart!

Conclusion: Musical Theatre Dance combines movements from classical ballet, jazz, tap dancing, modern/contemporary dance styles including contractions & releases; all mixed together with hip-hop style moves like popping & locking – creating an energetic yet sophisticated form of storytelling!