Analytic post-modern dance rejects the theatrical and meaning-based aspects of modern dance. While modern dance usually has a meaning or plot behind its movement, post-modern dance emphasized the importance of movement of the body in any way, without all the glitz and glam that generally came with a modern dance performance. Post modern dance allowed anyone to be a dancer, and any movement to be dance – even if it was not always aesthetically appealing to the viewer. Music was also not a focus for post-modern dancers and choreographers. They considered simply the motion of the body to be art. Post-modern dance was an oppurtunity for dancers to move without many limitations on what was considered the proper way to dance.

Steve Paxton really embodied the idea of post-modern dance with his use of contact improvisation. This style of dance consists of two or more dancers moving with each other, exploring their bodies and the laws of physics. Many lifts and falls were involved, so it was important for them to really feel how the weight of a body reacts to gravity in different ways. The beauty of the dance lies in the un-choreographed  movement, which has an incredible flow even though it is sometimes interrupted. Although contact improvisation does not adhere to the ideals of modern dance, the dancers are still skilled in other areas of dance. The way they lift and fall with each other so gracefully requires true athleticism. Steve Paxton developed this style without music, and without a meaning. He simply used the collaboration and movement of bodies to create art, which displays what the post-modern dance movement was all about.

-Olga