This research aims to study into the change in the new aesthetic concept and the forms of expression through the absence of movements, trivialism performance, contingency of happening, minimalism, theatricality of tanztheater, over-appearance and existentialism of nudity, convergence with different arts and so on, which has emerged in the European contemporary dance in the 21st century. Today the performances in the European contemporary dance has taken the combined forms of creation transcending the boundary of arts, featuring the encounter, convergence and acceptance of various cultures and different arts. These external features of the European contemporary dance has often shaken the codes that the audiences have expected.
Can the new aesthetic concept and forms appearing in the trend of contemporary arts of the day be placed under the category of dance? While the dance of the day is gradually changing through the creation process, does the encounter and convergence with the different arts suggest the new inter-face of the choreographic arts?After the Nouvelle Danse in 1980s, there has been changes to the movements of choreographic reform assumed as the cognition change and the new concepts of the body, focusing on body and surroundings, body and mind or emotion, rather than the forms of complicated, formal and standardized composition. It may be somewhat early to give a specific definition or title to this flow. Since 1990s, however, there has been a growing trend of less or almost not dancing, which is classified as ‘'non-danse’'.
The key young choreographers associated with the non-danse movement are Jerome Bel, Xavier le Roy, Boris Charmatz, La Ribot (Spain), Vera Mantero (Portugal) and more. Among the older generations, the choreographers like Jan Fabre, Sasha Waltz and Meg Stuart can be told according to the tendency of the works.
It is the mode and major feature of the artistic expression in the 21st century to break the mould of the artistic categories and to transcend its boundaries, and the European contemporary dance cannot be an exception. Through the change, chaos and acceptance of the choreographic codes in the contemporary dance, with the phenomena of de-coding and deterritorialization observed, this research will investigate into the aesthetic change and expression forms of European contemporary dance.