modern dance

American  

noun

1. a form of contemporary theatrical and concert dance employing a special technique for developing the use of the entire body in movements expressive of abstract ideas.

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modern dance British  

noun

1. a style of free and expressive theatrical dancing not bound by the classical rules of ballet

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Etymology

Origin of modern dance

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

modern dance

My friend Susan Slotnick taught modern dance to incarcerated men inside New York state prisons for over 20 years.

From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026

Dance always spoke to her, and she explained that the “highlight” of her “young years” was when her father drove them to Topeka to watch a German modern dance company perform “The Green Table.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026

Her technique, with its fierce movements and angular shapes, became a mainstay of American modern dance and remains part of the curriculum at many dance academies worldwide.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 25, 2026

“When I got to college to study modern dance and ballet, I saw that I had a voice outside of those forms,” Zollar said.

From New York Times ● Jun. 17, 2024

Without hesitation, Sosie launched into her sequence, a modern dance full of grace and power and vulnerability.

From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray