Development of movement material is facilitated through a variety of creative explorations including body mapping through levels, shape and dynamics schema.
Improvisation is a free, seemingly unstructured, less technically strict and impulsive form that draws inspiration from everyday dance practices and influences.
Dancer and singer Michael Jackson combined improvisation in both of those definitions, insisting that he had an interest in performing a dance to Billie Jean only if he could do it a new way each time.
Through the emphasis of instinctual, unpredictable, free movement that improvisation is centred upon the mover is able to explore authentic feelings and inspirations.
In performance-based settings in the 15th century, dancers used improvisation to alter or replace various steps or motions, particularly hand gestures, in choreography for the purpose of creating variety.
Slightly later in the early 20th century, movement choruses, especially those under the direction of Mary Wigman and Rudolf Laban used improvisational techniques intensely in training, and to varying degrees in performance in accordance with the director's preference and opinion on the subject.
In the second half of the 20th century, improvisation in dance exploded once more and was explored even more deeply by creators including but not limited to Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, Merce Cunningham, and Paul Taylor.
[3] It is important to note that although Isadora Duncan is often cited as having improvised her performances, this may be based more on the free, natural quality of her movement rather than fact.
Because of its improvisational nature, lindy hop heavily relies on lead and follow connection, rather than each partner knowing the steps and doing them together.
Unlike the pas de deux of classical ballet, in which the male partner lifts and supports the female, contact improvisation does not assign differential roles to each dancer.