Jazz Dance
Overview
Jazz dance was inspired by the African slave dances in the United States that Southern plantation owners
would encourage their slaves to perform. Even then, dance was seen as an
uplifting, recreational activity, and was therefore healthy for both the slaves’
psyche as well as their bodies.
First brought to the stage by white dancers mimicking the black slaves they
had seen, jazz has since gone through a turbulent history; transforming from
what was once considered one of the most lewd and inappropriate forms of
dance to one of the more widely known and practiced.
Today jazz is even blended with other forms of dance and music to create slightly different flavoured
styles such as theatre jazz, contemporary jazz, lyrical jazz, and jazz funk.
Traditional and Modern Jazz dance
Before the 1950s, jazz dance referred to dance styles that originated from African American vernacular
dance. In the 1950s, a new genre of jazz dance—modern jazz dance—emerged, with roots in Caribbean
traditional dance. Every individual style of jazz dance has roots traceable to one of these two distinct
origins.
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The History of Jazz Dance
African origins
Early roots of jazz dance came from African culture imported by
slaves. In Africa, natives danced to celebrate cycles of life: birth,
puberty, marriage and death. Children, adults and the elderly all
depended on dance to express their cultural beliefs. Drums, string
instruments, chimes, reedpipes and other percussion instruments set
the beat for the dancers.
Slaves continued to interpret life through dance. However, their dances, while based on the traditions of
Africa, were influenced by the European background of the plantation owners, so the dances changed.
The only place where African dances remained outside this influence was Congo Square in New
Orleans. From 1805 to 1880 slaves were permitted to dance by the French and
Spanish Catholics who inhabited the area. They felt that providing
slaves with an opportunity to dance under supervision would make
the slaves happier, monitor plans for revolt, and prevent secret
voodoo dances from being performed.
A scene portrayed of Congo Square
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The History of Jazz Dance
Adoption by white people
Watching slaves dance led whites to stereotyping. Whites began blackening their faces and imitating slave
dancers as early as the 1800s. John Durang, one of the first American professional dancers, described parts
of his routine in 1789 as containing "shuffles," a movement of slave dancers.
The first worldwide dance imitating slave dancers was the "Jump Jim Crow" by Thomas
Rice in 1828. This dance copied the movement of a
crippled slave and became the basis for an era of
American entertainment founded on the crude
stereotype of the dancing slave.
Another big influence on dance in America was the
Minstrel show, which was popular from 1845 to 1900.
Composed of a troupe of up to fifty performers who
traveled from city to city, the Minstrel show portrayed
blacks as slow, shuffling idiots or sharply dressed dandies.
Other influences
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.
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Modern Jazz Dance
Development
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.
Katherine
Dunham
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 important element of musical
theatre, and it can often be seen in music videos and competitive
dance.
A scene from Chicago
Jazz dancers often wear leather jazz shoes, to help them move smoothly when
executing turns (e.g. pirouette).
Prior to dancing, dancers typically perform exercises in order to warm up and stretch
muscles so as to prevent injuries. In addition, core strengthening exercises are often
used for conditioning.
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Modern Jazz Dance
Modern jazz dance is frequently influenced by other dance styles such as acro, ballet, contemporary,
lyrical, and hip-hop. In turn, many other dance styles are influenced by jazz dance.
Technique
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:
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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.
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Spotting: This enables dancers to maintain balance and control while executing
turns such as pirouettes and fouettés, 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.
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Example of a Toe
Rise
Toe rise: In a toe rise, the dancer rises from a kneeling position while supporting
the body on the tops of the toes.
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Modern Jazz Dance
Notable directors, dancers, and choreographers
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Michael Jackson, or "The King Of Pop" revolutionized the dance, introducing the moonwalk,the tip
toes and the spin.
Katherine Dunham, a pioneer in Black theatrical dance.
Jack Cole, considered the father of jazz dance technique. He was a key inspiration to Matt Mattox, Bob
Fosse, Jerome Robbins, Gwen Verdon, and many other choreographers.
Eugene Louis Facciuto (aka "Luigi"), an accomplished dancer who, after suffering a crippling
automobile accident in the 1950s, created a new style of jazz dance based on the warm-up exercises
he invented to circumvent his physical handicaps.
Bob Fosse, a noted jazz choreographer who created a new form of jazz dance that was inspired by
Fred Astaire and the burlesque and vaudeville styles.
Gus Giordano, an influential jazz dancer and choreographer.
Jerome Robbins, choreographer for a number of hit musicals, including Peter Pan, The King and I,
Fiddler on the Roof, Gypsy, Funny Girl, and West Side Story.
Gwen Verdon, known for her roles in Damn Yankees, Chicago, and Sweet Charity.
David Winters, known for his role as A-Rab in West Side Story and as an award winning choreographer
for movies and TV programs.
Michael
Jackson
Jack Cole
Bob Fosse
Gus
Giordano
Jerome
Robbins
Gwen Verdon
David Winters
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