Famous Contemporary Dancers - List of Famous Contemporary Dancers

Contemporary dance has gathered a cult following among professional, trained dancers and dance aspirants around the world and is currently, one of the only dance styles that offer a perfect blend of classical, modern, ballet, flamenco, jazz and non-western dance elements. Contemporary dance is often observed as being closely connected to classical ballet and modern dance and is identified by its strong foot-work, swift torso movements, ballet leaps, varying rhythms and directions and lines in the body. Although not much emphasis is given to the facial expressions in this dance form, in recent times, modern contemporary dance encourages the use of facial expressions to express the dancer’s moods or to narrate a story. A number of famous contemporary dancers like Martha Clarke, Virginia Tanner, Travis Wall, Dada Masilo, Terence Lewis, Sang Jijia and Tadashi Endo, have made their mark in this form of dance around the world. For most contemporary pieces, there are choreographers who back the dancers with a poignant story line and are also in charge of making other creative decisions. Whether the piece is abstract or narrative will depend on the choreographer and the music that the dance is set to. Famous choreographers in the field of contemporary dance include Paulo Henrique, Russell Dumas, William Forsythe, Crystal Pite and Trisha Brown. Here is a list of famous contemporary dancers and choreographers. Explore details about them in their biographies, which include trivia, interesting facts, timeline and life history.