Contemporary dance combines the modern dance and classical ballet elements. Contemporary is a style of expressive dance that combines elements of several dance genres including modern, jazz, traditional, lyrical and classical ballet.

Contemporary dancers strive to connect the mind and the body through fluid dance movements. It focuses on alignment, opposing movement, raw emotions and systematic breathing. Contemporary stresses on versatility and improvisation, unlike the strict, structured nature of ballet. Contemporary employs many modern dance techniques such as contact-release, fall and recovery, floor work, improvisation and lifts in partnering.

This dance genre is often done in bare feet. Contemporary can be performed to many different styles of music. Modern and contemporary dancer pioneer includes Martha Graham, Jose Limon and Merce Cunningham because they broke the rules of the strict forms of ballet. These dances/choreographers all believed that dancers should have freedom of movement, allowing their bodies to freely express their innermost feelings.