Definition of the concept of "modern dance" in scientific discourse

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to reveal the essence of the concept of "contemporary dance" and to analyze the use of the definitions "modern dance" and "contemporary dance" in the scientific research of foreign dance historians. Research methodology. The method of systems analysis was applied to study the phenomenon of "modern dance" and its understanding as a unique phenomenon of choreographic art; the method of terminological analysis and the method of interpretation and operationalization of concepts, which contributed to the understanding and comprehension of the meaningful essence of the concept of "modern dance" and "contemporary dance"; the typological method, thanks to which the attributive characteristics of modern dance were revealed, as well as the comparative method, which helped to understand the specifics of the application of the concept of "modern dance" in the context of a concert, commercial and world dance. Scientific novelty. The conceptual understanding of the essential features of the notions “modern dance” and “contemporary dance” presented in the scientific works of leading foreign researchers is carried out; the transformation of these concepts in the context of the development of the socio-cultural space of the 20th century is analyzed; the author's definition of the concept of "modern dance" is proposed. Conclusions. Contemporary dance is characterized by the creation of a unique metaphorical "corporeality" and involves isolation in smaller units of perception, elements of gesture, and body. Research, observation, reflection, experimentation, and expression move from the category of resources for creating a dance to the category of a dance goal, that is, contemporary dance is closely associated with the transience and variety of sentences that arise as a result of the complication of the processes of thinking and creating a dance. An analysis of research into the problems of contemporary dance shows that it is not positioned as a limited technique, but rather as a way of choreographic thinking, thinking about dance from the point of view of various poetics. The study showed that in the scientific dimension of the 21st century there is no single concept that could explain the complexity of modern dance, and the question of defining the concept of this phenomenon generates discussions. Since modern dance supports diversity, which in itself is a form of relationship, a way of heterogeneous coexistence, this gives reason to consider modern dance not so much as a dance style, but as an experiment, experience, research, and manifestation of the inner state of a modern person in body language; as a composition, the mode of which is an event. Accordingly, the meaning of modern dance lies not in the characterization of its codes, but in the study of the complexity of the boundaries of its possibilities, the relationship of its own deformations and conditions.