Contemporary dance is a genre of dance performance that developed during the mid-twentieth century. Since then, it has grown to become one of the dominant genres for many dancers throughout the world, especially in the U.S. and Europe. The dance move of contemporary dance was originally borrowed from classical, modern and jazz styles, but now it come to incorporate elements from many styles of dance. It is often perceived to be closely related to modern dance, ballet, and other classical concert dance styles due to it technical similarities.

In terms of focus of its technique, contemporary dance combines the strong but controlled legwork of ballet with modern stresses on torso. Contemporary dance stresses versatility and improvisation, it focusses on floor work, using gravity to pull them down to the floor. This dance genre is often dance with bare feet.

In today’s contemporary dance, it is a mix of styles, with choreographers taking steps from ballet and modern forms of dance.

Source:  What is Contemporary Dance?