Classical and Contemporary Dance: Tradition, Stylization, and Change

Introduction: Two Classical Dance Traditions

Chapter 5 of Gerald Jonas's Dancing: The Pleasure, Power, and Art of Movement illustrates that classical dance—or traditional forms of taught, performed dance—shares remarkably similar qualities across very different cultural contexts, such as Japan and Europe. Both classical ballet theater and Japanese Kabuki, a traditional Japanese form of dance theater, are heavily stylized works of dance taught to performers as part of a coherent tradition of specifically trained steps and motions. Although both forms are essentially highly skilled crafts that take years to master and emerge from very specific cultural traditions, they were, in their origins, extremely popular among common people.

Popular Origins of Kabuki and Ballet

Kabuki, in contrast to older surviving Japanese art forms such as Noh theater, was the popular culture of the townspeople rather than of the higher social classes. Ballet originated in opera houses that were popular with many different levels of society and drew their performers from some of the lower social orders of aristocratic Europe. Thus, both dance forms illustrate that traditional dance can be simultaneously formal and popular—in its history, its conceptualization, and in the evolving course of its traditions. Both Kabuki and ballet theater also illustrate the capacity of classical dance to tell common cultural stories, speaking to popular as well as academic and aristocratic traditions, and conveying stories that resonate with ordinary audience members.

Storytelling and Stock Characters in Classical Dance

Kabuki plays address historical events, moral conflicts in love relationships, and other themes that ordinary individuals can relate to in a visceral way. The actors in Kabuki theater employ an old-fashioned language that is difficult to understand even for some Japanese speakers; some actors speak in a monotonous voice and are accompanied by traditional Japanese instruments, while dancers perform traditional steps in response to the music and vocal intonations. Classical ballet theater, for its part, uses stylized gestures and movements to tell tales of love, loss, and romance in ways familiar to the audience—drawing on myths and fairy tales such as Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.

Likewise, both Kabuki and traditional ballet feature certain stock characters or types, such as the central hero or heroine. Many members of a company specialize in such roles: the prince in ballet theater, the older characters danced by more senior company members, or, in the case of Kabuki, male performers who specialize exclusively in female roles. These shared structural features reveal how deeply codified classical dance traditions can be, even across vastly different cultures.

Works Cited

Jonas, Gerald. Dancing: The Pleasure, Power, and Art of Movement. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1992.