Lyrical dance
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Lyrical dance is a dance style that combines elements of ballet, modern, and jazz dance techniques. It is commonly set to popular music with vocals or just instrumental bars. The name lyrical comes from the word "lyrics" because dancers use the lyrics of a song or instrumental music to inspire them to do certain movements or show expression. The goal of a lyrical dancer is to use gesture, facial expression, and controlled movements in order to execute their movements and emotions fully. Besides emotional connection to music, lyrical dance typically encourages use of articulation, line, weight, and movement qualities.
Due to its demand for intermediate to advanced technical skill and emotional focus, it is popular primarily with teenage dancers. While lyrical dance choreography uses steps from ballet, modern, and jazz, it does not have the exactness of those techniques. Past historians of dance, such as Sarah Jarrett, say this new form of dance was thought to have begun on a dance floor at a high school disco when many of the students started dancing in more fluid and graceful movements. While lyrical dance focuses on genuine dance techniques, the style itself has no established technique or history. Possibly beginning in the late 1970s or early 1980s, lyrical is a style generated by private dance studio teachers and was most likely developed as a more accessible entertainment for judges at local and regional dance competitions.
As an alternative to actual ballet, lyrical is typically performed at competitions and can only be seen performed at private studio recitals. Unlike studio atmospheres, lyrical dance is not taught or performed in pre-professional, professional, college or university dance programs. Lyrical dancers wear a range of costumes because it depends on the theme and emotions the choreographer is trying to portray. At competitions or recitals, an audience can never know what to expect; for example, lyrical dancers could wear all black costumes with red strips of fabric hanging off of them with fake blood as makeup, or on another spectrum, one act could have their dancers wearing beautiful pink dresses with classic stage makeup. Typically in a lyrical dance class, the attire is usually a leotard with tights and shorts or loose clothing.
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