Jazz dance is a form of modern dance which is heavily influenced by the sounds, rhythms, and techniques of jazz music.

Like jazz music, jazz dance is highly individual, with an emphasis on showcasing individual skills, and jazz dancers are skilled at improvisation as well as working with other dancers to achieve a desired look and feel. Many regions of the world offer jazz dance classes and performances, and some very accomplished dancers and choreographers work in this field. Like the music which inspired it, jazz dance has its roots in the African-American community in the United States. Various forms of jazz dance were being performed as early as the late 1800s, and by the First World War, jazz dance had become an accepted and well known genre. This dance form went on to heavily influence Broadway choreography and, in turn, Hollywood choreography, and it has also seeped heavily into ballet and modern dance.

Most talented jazz dancers start out in the field of ballet. In ballet classes, they learn control, skill, and grace, and they tone and condition their bodies for dancing. Once dancers have mastered the discipline of ballet, they can pursue additional training in jazz dance, which hones improvisation skills, teaching dancers to move with the beat and to riff off each other in performance. Skilled jazz dancers can be in great demand, appearing in films, Broadway productions, and dance performances all over the world, with some noted choreographers working in a wide variety of genres, from television commercials to drill teams. Jazz is known for being heavily syncopated and unpredictable, thanks to its African influences, and jazz dance is the same way. Jazz dancers may be slow, dreamlike, and graceful, or they may move abruptly and sharply, executing fantastic leaps and other feats. As a result, they must be physically very flexible, and very attuned to the music they dance to. Some jazz dance is heavily structured and choreographed, while other performances build in room for improvisation. In group performance, improvisation must be carefully executed, with the dancers working together so that they do not clash or distract from the harmony of the piece, just like jazz musicians. This form of dance does not necessarily have to be performed to jazz music, although it often is, and it can integrate skills from other fields of dance, like tap; the original jazz dance, in fact, was tap dance, with dancers branching out into other styles only in the early 1900s.

Jazz Dance Instruction on wiseGEEK: Like jazz music, jazz dance is highly individual, with an emphasis on showcasing individual skills, and jazz dancers are skilled at improvisation as well as working with other dancers to achieve a desired look and feel.

For beginners, it's best to focus on one dance genre at a time, such as ballroom dancing, ballet, or hip hop. For those who do not plan on taking formal dance classes or dance instruction, numerous videos available can help. When learning to dance, it's important to practice dancemoves regularly.

Jazz Dance

Jazz dance, an often contested term that generally refers to a fusion of European and African movement traditions performed to the rhythms of jazz music, has been a visible presence in Chicago since the early twentieth centuryas both a social dance form and a theatrical art.

Jazz dance accompanied the northern migration of jazz music to Chicago in the period immediately following World War I. As this new music thrived in the Prohibition era, jazz dancing turned up in cabarets, nightclubs, and rent parties, especially on the city'sSouth Side, and on vaudeville stages such as the Pekin, Regal, and Grand Theatres. During her company's Chicago engagements in the forties and fifties, Katherine Dunham further exposed audiences to popular jazz steps like the Charleston and the Black Bottom as part of her evening-length dance concerts.

By the 1960s, when jazz music had become less danceable, a new phase of jazz dancing, one which blended jazz-based vocabulary with ballet and modern techniques, emerged on the Chicago scene. The founding of local dance companies like Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago (1968), Joel Hall Dancers (1974), Joseph Holmes Dance Theatre (19741995), and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (1977) exemplified this trend. In the 1990s, the confluence of several eventsthe establishment of the Jazz Dance World Congress, held initially in Chicago, the relocation of the Jump Rhythm Jazz Project from New York to Chicago, and finally, the resurgence of swing dancing in local nightclubsindicated Chicago's continuing role in the growth and development of jazz dance.

the Early History of Jazz Dance

Jazz dance is often credited as an American creation, however in actuality it originates from African American vernacular dance that came about during the late 1800s. The first official American "jazz dancer" was Joe Frisco around the year 1910, who performed in vaudeville, however its roots trace much further back than this, with many moves being created by the slaves as a much needed physical and emotional outlet. Slave traders often allowed them to dance during their journey over to America, as an attempt to keep them physically fit. Not only did it work, but it formed an impressive series of dance techniques and steps that made history. The original steps were exemplified out in the plantations, and jazz dance itself came about as a crossbreed of American culture, European jigs and the music and movement tradition of the African slaves. Jazz music obviously inspired some of the first documented jazz dance choreography, and this further adds to the rich and diverse history of jazz dance. Europe lent elegance to the technique, Africa gave it its movement and rhythm, and America allowed it to have the exposure and growing popularity that has sustained it as a cherished dance style today.

Jazz Dancing History

The term "jazz dance" has been used to describe a forever-changing form of popular and creative dance movement ever since the 1920s. It represents our popular culture, and as the culture changes, so does the appearance of jazz dance. Jazz dance has character and the ability to make changes as a main fragment. It is this element that allows itself to shed its skin and take up another for every passing era. This means that the social dances of the 1920s like the Charleston and Back Bottom are known as jazz dances, but so are the theatre dances of choreographer Bob Fosse. The style of Fred Astaire comes from jazz dancing, as well as many dances by the modern dance choreographer Alvin Ailey. The shortened sounds of tap dancing can be considered as jazz dancing, but so can the body

popping movements of breakdancing. The common subject binding these obviously different things together is rhythm, or to be more exact, rhythm that is composed in African influences.

Traditional
Until the mid 1950s jazz dance referred to the dance styles that originated from the African American vernacular dance of the late 19th century to mid-20th century. Jazz dance often referred to tap dance because tap dancing, set to jazz music, was one of the predominant dances of the era. Jazz dance evolved over time to spawn a diverse range of social and concert dance styles. During the later jazz age, popular forms of jazz dance included the Cakewalk, Black Bottom, Charleston, Jitterbug, Boogie Woogie,swing and the related Lindy Hop. Today, many of these dance styles are still popular and continue to be practiced and taught.

Modern
After the 1950s pioneers such as Katherine Dunham took the essence of Caribbean traditional dance and made it into a performing art. With the growing domination of other forms of entertainment music, jazz dance evolved on Broadway into the new, smooth style that is taught today and known as modern jazz, while tap dance branched off to follow its own, separate evolutionary path. The performance style of jazz dance was popularized to a large extent by Bob Fosse's work, which is exemplified by Broadway shows such as Chicago, Cabaret, Damn Yankees, and The Pajama Game. Modern jazz dance continues to be an essential element of musical theatre, and it can often be seen in music videos and competitive dance.

What to Wear: Jazz classes are casual and relaxed, so feel free to select your own clothing. A dancer's body lines need to be visible, however, so baggy clothes are generally discouraged. Tights and leotards are fine, but most jazz dancers prefer to wear jazz or dance pants. Jazz pants are usually boot-cut or flared styles, as tight bottoms would restrict ankle movement. Tops usually worn for jazz include form-fitting tank tops, t-shirts or leotards. Check with your teacher before buying jazz shoes, as many classes have preferences.

Attire and Grooming - Proper dance wear and proper grooming of hair is an essential part of a student's dance training. Students are required to be properly attired and groomed for each class. Hair must be worn up, away from the face, off the neck and secured for all classes. No jewelry or gum is allowed in class.

PIONEERS OF JAZZ DANCE TECHNIQUES

Mahoney cites the early 1950s as when the theatrical jazz dance craze hit New York. The primary teachers were Peter Gennaro, Jon Gregory, and Katherine Dunham. Gennaro's style was "light, quick, loose, and flexible ... with a warm-up at the barre, with plies and various ballet based leg exercises". Gregory had a limited dance background, and began his class with a series of arm gestures and across the floor movements, and rapidly progressed to a set combination of "spectacular leaps and falls that burst out of unorthodox spins". Katherine Dunham operated a school in New York from 1944 to 1954 (closing because of financial difficulties). Her classes were accompanied by conga drumming and involved step patterns across the floor that included isolated movements of the shoulder and hips. Although her technique is one that trains the body in an organic, well-planned fashion, she was considered a modern dancer and her style would appear to be too ethnic to appeal to the emerging Broadway theatrical jazz championed by Fosse, Robbins, and Michael Kidd (choreographer of Guys and Dolls). In 1955, two teachers emerged who formalized theatrical jazz dance training in New York, Matt Mattox and Luigi. Mattox had taught for Eugene Loring's School of American Dance in the early 1950s, and then began teaching "everything I knew from Jack Cole" at New York's Showcase Studios. His classes were strict, demanding, and inspiring. Nat Horne, a veteran of sixteen Broadway shows, remembers his first exposure to a Mattox class. "It was an open studio at the time, so I just walked down the hall and I looked into the door and there was a man beating a drum and these students were doing isolations and it fascinated me...I said 'My God, this is great because this is not only just dancing, it's also a structuring of the body and a way to learn about the body'...They were doing all these things that were so controlled, and when he demonstrated he did it so cleanly and expertly..." Mattox's exercises worked on acquiring the ability to isolate movement of body parts while training the body in a systematic progression - as in the structure of a ballet class. Eugene Facciuto, who is known simply as "Luigi," was an aspiring dancer who suffered a near fatal car accident that left him paralyzed on his right side. He developed a series of dance exercises as rehabilitation, and they became the basis for his technique. The Luigi style visually recalls the fluid, lyrical quality of ballet, and emphasizes "the line of the body with arms lifted, chest high, and head thrown back". Jean Sabatine feels that "the main thought behind Luigi's technique is that the body should look beautiful at all times". Two other teachers noteworthy for developing their theatrical jazz dance techniques after careers in modern dance are Ruth Walton and Gus Giordano. Walton was "influenced by Martha Graham and much interested in tap and primitive". She prefers to call her style "modern jazz dance", and is the author of A Ruth Walton Course In Modern Jazz Dance. Giordano was a student of Hanya Holm and Alwin Nikolais, but he also lists the clean balletic style of Jerome Robbins as an influence. To Giordano, "the jazz dance form is movement ... that starts in the stomach or solar plexus and creates a mood." His classes aim to "create a regal look in the torso and head" and his technique "incorporates the relaxing study of basic Yoga". After warm-up exercises, Giordano asks for barre exercises, isolation exercises, and jazz walks across the floor.

Modern jazz dance is frequently influenced by other dance styles such as acro, ballet, contemporary, lyrical, and hiphop. In turn, many other dance styles are influenced by jazz dance. As in most forms of dance, technique is the foundation for all modern jazz dance movement. In particular, jazz dancers benefit from a sound working knowledge of ballet technique and, consequently, hip hop dance curriculum commonly includes ballet training. Modern jazz dance encompasses various techniques, including: Center control

By treating the center of balance as the point from which movements emanate, it becomes possible to maintain balance and control while executing movements that would otherwise take the dancer off balance. Spotting This enables dancers to maintain balance and control while executing turns such as pirouettes and fouetts, by reducing the dizzying effect of repeated rotation. Pointing When pointing, dancers stretch their ankles and point their toes so as to align their feet with the leg lines in an aesthetically pleasing manner

The Roots of Theatrical Jazz Dance

The next major change in vernacular dance after minstrelsy came with the advent of ragtime music and ballroom dancing after 1910. The Stearns say that before 1910, there were only two types of songs, happy or sad. During this decade, black composers were writing songs whose lyrics specified how to do a dance. Many animal dances, partly inspired by African animal dances, swept ballrooms. Some of these dances were the Turkey Trot, the Bunny Hug, the Monkey Glide and the Chicken Scratch. Irene and Vernon Castle made the Turkey Trot in the Broadway show The Sunshine Girl, and dancing popular in the upper class levels. The raid of ballrooms with vernacular inspired dances set the stage of the same process to happen in the white world of Broadway.

Modern Theatre or Jazz Dance is a rhythmic dance style, which originated in America before travelling to the rest of the world. It is often seen on the stages of musical productions and is known for its theatrical qualities. Flexibility and Theatre Dance The style uses utilise strength finesse are the building blocks of Jazz and Modern and they are blended with an accent on performance. travelling steps, high kicks, leaps and turns which all and flexibility.

This is a highly energetic dance style, creativity and self-expression are the goals of this discipline.