Born out of a backlash against the rigidity of ballet and the formlessness of interpretive dance in the 1920's, modern dance has developed through an intimate understanding of the body as an expressive instrument moving in space. Training techniques are a s various as individual choreographers who seek to produce dancers with bodies that can express the choreographer's vision. The goal of the modern dance choreographer is to provoke an inner intuitive response using the full range of the human body's expre ssive capabilities.
Modern dance is characterised by the use of the floor and working with gravity.
Thus dancing in bare feet is important to retain the sense of contact and groundedness. Recently diverse conditioning methodologies have been added to the dance class as part of the modern dancer's training. Included in these are release work, body mind centering, Feldenkrais, Bartneiff and Alexa nder techniques. See Jazz and Musical Theatre for Stage dance listings.