Classical ballet is a codified system of techniques, rules, and positions: turned-out hips and feet, balance on a vertical axis, and the appearance of lightness often associated with pointe shoes. Its rules grew from Renaissance court dances and were developed from the seventeenth century onward.
Modern dance emerged partly as a break from that rigidity. Pioneers such as Isadora Duncan favored freer, more expressive movement, and Martha Graham asked dancers to work barefoot, with parallel feet and a weight closer to the ground—hallmarks of modern technique. Contemporary practice often blends these traditions; the boundary is not a single clean line.