Modern Dance Technique

Modern Technique baffles me.  There's no real structure to this type of dancing.  My first class left me feeling confused.  It probably didn't help that I thought I was going to a class where I was going to have a very structured learning experience.  I thought moves were going to be broken down and I was going to be given a lectured approach to dance.  My preconceived notions of my expectations were far from reality.  Class began with an assortment of strange moves to music that I'd never heard before.  The moves were far from what I'd previously considered as dancing.  I left my first class hating Modern Technique.  My second class experience went a little better.  All the moves from my first class were done again which allowed me to actually feel as though I was accomplishing something.  I have skipped what should have been my third class today as I ground my spine into the floor during my "X" pose in my second class.  My spine was rubbed raw and I have three areas that are healing with scabs that I don't want to reopen.  I'm hoping by my midweek class they will have healed.  In an attempt to grasp some kind of understanding on this dance form and why anyone would seek out a class to dance like this, I've decided to conduct some research on the topic.  I came across a video online that sort of explains Modern Dance Technique a little better.  Modern Dance Techniques introduces a brief history of the dance form as well as the type of movement one can expect in a class.  The instructor in the video mentions how Modern Dance Techniques are very much a melting pot of other dance forms when creating movement.  This explanation has given me a better sense of how I am able to identify with this type of dancing.  If anything, after experiencing Modern Dance Technique, I have been left feeling hungry for more structure which is why I am taking my first Ballet class this week. 

Post Third Class.  Modern Technique is beginning to grow on me.  For my third class, my instructor changed the routine.  I like this new routine.  It's full of whimsical spins that utilize the center floor.  Although I'd like to pretend and say I was wisked away by the art and performed the beautiful spins effortlessly, unfortunately I have to admit I flopped around like a fish out of water with no grace or elegance whatsoever.  I'm envious of the students who performed each move like it was as natural to them as breathing.  I'm puzzled at how I can be graceful at one form of dance and look utterly disasterous at another.  I guess I will be sticking to my Modern Tecnique.  It appears I have a lot of work to do.  I wonder if my instructor will let me film the segment of the routine with the pretty spin so I can practice this on my own and master the movement at my own pace?  I'm going to inquire about this in my next lesson on Sunday.