Modern | eXit SPACE offers an array of modern technique classes, all focused on full-bodied movement and improving artistry. As a technique, Modern dance allows students to develop a deep connection to their center, confidence in inversion techniques and acrobatic skills (cart wheels, hand and head stands, floor rolls, etc), refined articulation through the spine, improvisation practice, and freedom of movement. Dancers learn to focus their attention on traveling through space with intention and dynamic variation rather than just focusing on shapes and steps. Basic level classes at eXit SPACE give those new to dance a foundation on which to build and explore the fascinating history of modern dance with an emphasis on individuality and adaptive formats, while our most advanced modern classes are a perfect way for professionals and trained dancers to work with local dance artists in styles that range from Euro-influenced codified forms to new age contemporary forms and afro-diaspora movement. eXit SPACE is proud to have a modern dance faculty composed of professional dancers and choreographers currently presenting work in the Greater Seattle Area and has become a vital hub for beginning to advanced level adult dancers looking for both professional level modern dance study and well-rounded foundational introductions to the form.

A brief history: Modern Dance is a style of western concert dance developed in the late 19th and early 20th century by European artists as an artistic rebellion against the perceived constraints of classical ballet and by European diasporic movers seeking to re-ground dance in indigenous and Black dance foundations. In Germany, dancers Rudolf Von Laban and Mary Wigman began abandoning the strict movement vocabulary, nymph-like portrayals of women, and confining expectations of ballet for more freeform movement characterized by organic body patterns, deliberate falls into the floor, and improvisatory scores - ideas later relayed to the United States by American dancer, educator, and modern dance pioneer, Isadora Duncan by 1914. By the 1930's Katherine Dunham, an African American anthropologist, ethnologue, dancer, and choreographer (among many other roles) revolutionized the form by rooting modern dance in Black culture and folk dance through her anthropological studies in Trinidad, Jamaica, and Haiti. Bolstered by the work of Lester Horton, Alvin Ailey, Pearl Primus, Merce Cunningham, Martha Graham, Paul Taylor, Pina Bausch, and so many others, modern dance has since evolved to encompass a multiplicity of techniques not limited to any specific vocabulary. From Horton and Graham Techniques - which explore linearity and contractions with an emphasis on flat backs, lateral extensions, tilts, and lunges - to more somatic-centered practices based on concepts of release, imagery, strength, and emotional embodiment, modern dance can encompass a wide variety of aesthetics ranging from its even broader history in european and afro-diasporan movement.

BASIC Modern | Modern Dance is a style of western concert dance developed in the late 19th and early 20th century by European artists as an artistic rebellion against the perceived constraints of classical ballet and by European diasporic movers seeking to re-ground dance in indigenous and Black dance foundations. Basic Modern at eXit SPACE honors the history of modern dance through an emphasis on equity and individuality while guiding beginning modern dancers through the structure of a dance class and the etiquette required in a studio. Warm-up exercises designed to center the body, re-pattern movement habits, and build strength and flexibility will prepare beginning dancers to move more fully, while movement combinations center and across the floor will allow for an in-depth study on locomotor steps while advancing coordination, musicality, and self-expression. Basic Modern dancers will also develop a deep connection to their center, confidence in level-appropriate inversion techniques and acrobatic skills (monkey jumps, tip ups, and floor rolls), refined articulation through the spine, and freedom of movement, focusing their attention on traveling through space with intention and dynamic variation.

Geared towards adult dancers of all ages, body types, and backgrounds, Basic teachers provide options for modifications and alternative movements frequently so that all dancers can participate in ways that feel safe and successful.

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