Dance Styles
Dance encompasses a rich variety of styles, each with its own history, technique and character. On this page you will find information about the most important dance styles — both styles that Danshuis Haarlem teaches and styles that form part of the broader dance world.
Dance styles at Danshuis Haarlem
At Danshuis Haarlem we teach the following styles:
- Classical ballet
- Modern dance — Graham, Cunningham, Limón
- Jazz / modern jazz
- Contemporary dance
- Improvisation & composition
Want to know which classes cover these styles? See the schedule or read about the dance academy.
Below you will find a comprehensive overview of all styles. Styles not taught at Danshuis Haarlem are included for informational purposes.
Classical ballet ✓ taught at Danshuis Haarlem
Classical ballet is the oldest and most codified dance form in the western tradition. It originated in the Renaissance court spectacles of Italy and was further developed at the French court, most notably under Louis XIV, who founded the world's first ballet academy in 1661. Ballet combined dance, mime and music into a fully-fledged art form.
The technique is based on five foot positions (parallel, 1st through 5th) and an extensive vocabulary of steps and jumps — from plié and tendu at the barre to grand jeté and pirouette in the centre. The outward rotation of the feet enables rapid movement and high jumps. The use of pointe shoes, in which dancers balance on the tips of stiffened shoes, was introduced in the 19th century by ballerinas such as Marie Taglioni.
Lessons follow a fixed structure: warm-up at the barre, followed by combinations in the centre (allegro and adagio) and diagonal work. Technique, strength, flexibility and musicality are systematically developed over the years.
Modern dance ✓ taught at Danshuis Haarlem
Modern dance emerged in the early twentieth century as a reaction to the strict conventions of classical ballet. Pioneers such as Isadora Duncan and later Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey and José Limón sought movement forms rooted in inner expression rather than formal prescription. The body as a means of expression and communication — that was the core of modern dance.
Graham technique
Martha Graham developed one of the most influential techniques in dance history. Its basis is contraction and release — the tensing and releasing of the abdominal muscles in rhythm with the breath. Graham danced barefoot to maintain contact with the ground, in direct contrast to the floating aesthetic of ballet. The floor was her dancer's landscape: many movements are performed sitting or lying down.
Cunningham and Limón
Merce Cunningham broke further with narrative traditions and treated movement as autonomous — independent of music, story or emotion. José Limón focused on dramatic expression and gravity, with a rich technique combining balance, fall and recovery. Both techniques remain part of the core training of professional dancers to this day.
Jazz dance & modern jazz ✓ taught at Danshuis Haarlem
Jazz dance has roots in African and Caribbean dance traditions and developed in the United States through the black dance culture of the early twentieth century. Pioneers such as Katherine Dunham and Pearl Primus connected ethnic themes with theatrical jazz dance. The style is characterised by rhythmic precision, physical expression and the use of isolation technique — in which one part of the body moves independently of the rest, such as the head, shoulder or ribcage.
Jazz dance is eclectic by nature: it combines elements from ballet, modern dance, tap dance and popular dance. The technical foundation draws on ballet and modern dance, but the character is freer, driven by musicality and performance energy. Jazz encompasses a range of directions: theatre jazz, lyrical jazz and modern jazz. At Danshuis Haarlem, modern jazz is taught as part of the broader dance programme, with attention to stylistic clarity and musical expression.
Contemporary dance ✓ taught at Danshuis Haarlem
Contemporary dance is not a single defined style but an approach: an open, investigative use of movement that draws on classical ballet, modern dance, release technique and floor work. Techniques such as floorwork and flying low — in which the dancer works close to the ground, using momentum and gravity — are characteristic.
The distinction from modern dance lies less in technique than in artistic approach: contemporary dance is often more conceptual and interdisciplinary, placing emphasis on the individual voice of the dancer. In the professional world and at higher professional dance institutions such as Codarts and the AHK, contemporary dance is central. The classes at Danshuis Haarlem prepare students for this level.
Improvisation & composition ✓ taught at Danshuis Haarlem
Improvisation is not the absence of technique but the application of it in the moment. In dance education, improvisation is a crucial element of artistic development: students learn to trust their own movement instinct, respond to music and to each other, and develop their own movement language.
Composition goes a step further: it involves the conscious structuring of movement material into a dance or choreography. Students learn how to organise movement in time and space, how to translate an idea or feeling into dance, and how to communicate with an audience. At Danshuis Haarlem, improvisation and composition are fixed elements of the preparatory course, the top year and the dance artist programme.
Breakdance — not offered at Danshuis Haarlem
Breakdance — also known as breaking or b-boying — emerged in the late 1970s in the Black neighbourhoods of New York. Together with rap, graffiti and DJing, it forms the four elements of hip hop. DJs such as Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash and DJ Kool Herc looped the break of a track endlessly; b-boys danced to this rhythm within a circle of spectators.
The dance form consists of four main categories: toprocks (standing dance), footwork (rapid steps on hands and feet), powermoves (acrobatic rotations using hands or shoulders as support) and freezes (static held positions). Breakdance incorporates movements from African dance, Brazilian capoeira and Chinese martial arts. Competitions are called jams or battles; groups of dancers are called crews.
Street & club styles — not offered at Danshuis Haarlem
The collective term street & club styles covers a diverse range of forms: old school and new school hip hop, voguing, waacking, locking and popping. What connects them is their origin outside the academic dance circuit — on the street or in clubs — and the culture of respect, self-expression and community that accompanies them.
Waacking and voguing emerged from the LGBTQ+ club scene, where dance was a way to express oneself in an environment that felt safe. Hip hop grew on the street as a social dance practice, with steps named after the movement itself — such as the running man or the wop. A central element in hip hop is the bounce: a grounded, rhythmic base posture that underlies all movement.
Importantly, street & club styles are more than technique. They are a culture in which respect — for the origins, for one another and for the movement — is central.
Take classes at Danshuis Haarlem?
View the class schedule for a full overview, or read more about the professional dance academy for talented young dancers.