Brief History of Jazz
& Musical Theatre Dance
By Wendy Oliver
Origins of Jazz Dance
Adzido Pan-African Dance Co.
• Found in the rhythms and
movements of African dance
brought to the US by slaves.
• As slaves, Africans were cut off
from families, languages, and
tribal traditions.
• Slaveowners forbade
drumming and African dancing,
yet slaves found ways to
express their cultural identity by
stamping, clapping, and making
rhythmic vocal sounds.
• African Americans created new,
hybrid forms of dance that
blended elements from new and
old cultures; eventually these
dances evolved into jazz dance.
Characteristics of Jazz Dance Today
• Bent knees, low center of
gravity
• Body isolations
• Syncopation
• Pirouettes & high kicks
• Movement emanating
from torso and pelvis
• Percussive movements
• Jazz shoes
1920’s
• After WWI in the 1920’s,
jazz dance and music
became part of the
American social scene.
• Dixieland jazz music was
popular, along with the
Charleston (first use of
isolations in social dance)
• Partnered social dance to
jazz music was the
“popular dance” of the
era.
• Bill Bojangles Robinson
was a master tap dancer of
this era
1930’s: Swing Era
• The time of Duke
Ellington, Louis
Armstrong, and big bands.
• Well-known dances of this
time were the jitterbug and
the boogie-woogie.
• Ginger Rodgers and Fred
Astaire danced in many
famous movies during this
time.
• Jazz music and jazz dance
were inseparable.
1940’s: WWII Era
• WWII put a stop to the
popularity of social jazz dance.
• Also, jazz music was evolving
into a style called “bebop,”
which was rhythmically
complicated and hard to dance
to.
• Jazz dance moved from the
dance halls to the stage,
becoming prominent in
Broadway shows and movies.
• Jazz dance became influenced
by ballet and modern dance as it
became more professionalized.
• Jazz choreographers developed
specific techniques to train
dancers for shows.
Fred Astaire & Ginger Rodgers
1944
Katherine Dunham
• An African-American dancer
who studied towards a doctorate
in anthropology
• Researched Caribbean dance
and brought vocabulary back to
US
• Rekindled an interest in Black
roots of jazz dance
• Had her own dance company
and dance technique;also
choreographed for Broadway
• Her 1939 show Tropics & Le
Jazz Hot was an immediate hit
• Eventually established a school
in East St. Louis
Cabin in the Sky
Mid-century Musicals
• In 1943, Oklahoma marked the
beginning of dance as a major
part of musicals; choreographed
by Agnes DeMille.
• Singin’ in the Rain was
choreographed by Gene Kelly
in 1952, starring Kelly and
Debbie Reynolds.
• West Side Story was
choreographed in 1957 by
Jerome Robbins, also known
for his work in ballet.
• Musical theatre choreographers
blended jazz with other dance
forms to create dances that
worked with a specific story.
Oklahoma
Singin’ In The Rain
Donald O’Connor, Gene Kelly,and
Debbie Reynolds (only 18 at
the time) starred in this 1952
classic movie about the early
days of talking pictures.
Dance (including tap, soft shoe,
ballroom) played a large role in
this movie. The title number
shows Kelly kicking and
splashing in the gutter during a
downpour, brandishing his
umbrella and jumping on a
lampost to express his
exhuberance.
Jack Cole, “Father of Jazz Dance Technique”
• Developed an innovative
training technique using
body isolations and
movements borrowed
from Eastern culture
• Choreographed for film
and Broadway including
the shows Kismet (1953),
Man of La Mancha
(1966), & Gentlemen
Prefer Blondes
• He also served as a
movement coach to
Marilyn Monroe and other
actors.
Luigi
•In the 1960’s, dancer Luigi became famous
•Developed his technique as result of car
accident which left him
paralyzed on right side. Doctors said he’d
never walk again, but operations, physical
therapy, and his own dance technique brought
him back to health.
•His technique requires extreme muscle
control, and grace; it is influenced by ballet.
•In his youth, he danced in many movies
including “Singin’ in the Rain,” “Annie Get
Your Gun,” and “White Christmas.”
•Known as a master teacher rather than a
choreographer
Bob Fosse
• Performed in vaudeville and
Broadway beginning as a child
• Became famous in the 1970’s
for shows such as Sweet
Charity (1967) and Chicago
(1975).
• Movie All That Jazz (1979) was
about his life in the fast lane
• First director to win an Oscar,
Tony, and Emmy in one year
(1973).
• His style has been called “slick,
erotic, and intense.”
Jazz Dance & Music
• Most jazz choreographers today
work with current popular music,
not jazz music; jazz dance has
mostly separated from its original
source
• However, there are a few jazz
choreographers who believe that
jazz dance should be done to jazz
music
• Danny Buraczeski says “Jazz is
such rich music. I don’t use it as
atmosphere or background. The
music is the subject matter.”
Danny Buraczeski
More About Music
Billy Siegenfeld
• Billy Siegenfeld says that jazz
dance must have “swing,” which is
a syncopated rhythm (accents on
the offbeat)
• He says “jazz dance must be
judged for its “jazzness” by the
same criterion applied to jazz
music…It’s the rhythm…not the
melody, and not the harmony.”
• “As a proponent of swinging jazz
dance…I feel that this yoking of
rock music and jazz movement
constitutes a paradox. I am
interested in challenging this
practice.”
• His company is the Jump Rhythm
Jazz Project
Mia Michaels
• Has her own company,
Reality at Work (R.A.W.),
and choreographs
musicals
• Has toured Korea, Europe,
and US
• Unisex style which
sometimes requires
women to lift men
• Uses huge dynamic range,
ear-high extensions, and
balletic leg beats.
Twyla Tharp
• Choreographer/director of Movin’
Out, (opened in 2002) on Broadway,
with music by Billy Joel; about a
group of friends as they move
through the decades
• Named “Best Show of the Year” by
Time Magazine
• Tharp also has her own modern
dance company, and has
choreographed for ballet companies
• She has choreographed films
including White Nights with
Barishnikov and Gregory Hines, and
Amadeus
• She has been awarded 17 honorary
doctorates
Susan Stroman
Contact
The Producers
• Directed & choreographed
Mel Brooks’ The
Producers, winner of the
2001 “Best Musical” Tony
Award
• Created Contact (1999), a
Broadway musical based
on three stories told in
dance; she says, “Every
step I do is plot-oriented.”
• Has also choreographed
for the Martha Graham
Dance Co. and the New
York City Ballet
Savion Glover
In 1996, at the age of 22,
Glover created (with
George Wolfe) Bring in
Da’ Noise, Bring in Da’
Funk. This show traced
the history of Black
Americans including
slavery, chain gangs, and
street life, but didn’t have
a plot or characters.
Dancing was the primary
focus of the show.
Jazz & Musical Theatre Dance Today
• Musical Theatre Dance today is
still strongly based on jazz
dance, although other
influences are also apparent
• There are many varieties of jazz
dance today, including African,
lyrical, modern, and rock
• Jazz dance has responded over
the decades to the needs and
desires of those doing it, from
social dance to professional
performance
• Related trends like break
dancing and hip hop have also
influenced jazz dance
• Jazz dance remains strongly
linked to the popular music of
our time
References for Images
http://www.adzido-pan-african-dance.co.uk/images/sepdanc.jpg
www.miracosta.cc.ca.us/Dance/jazz.gif
http://www.lindyhopping.com/pics/charleston.jpg
www.swingdanceuk.com/Simon.htm
http://membersaol.com/movieboy3/bin402.jpg
http://members.aol.com/mgmfanatic/stlouis1.jpg
www.rnh.com/news/spring2002/graphics/oklahoma.gif
Hometown.aol.com/starwarse/fan/images/honesty-image(1).jpg
www.theatredance.com/choreographers/jcole.gif
www.100megstree4.com/csministries/moviepics/gentlemen.jpg
www.encoremusic.com/piano/1700516.htm
www.streetswing.com/histmain/gif/1lndyhp2.gif
http://www.lcqworks.com/movies/pictures/singing%20in%20th
e%20rain.html
www.pbs.org/wnet/freetodance/behind/images/4a.gif
http://www.luigijazz.com/images/testil.gif
http://www.uttyler.edu/cowan/season/gifs/fosse.jpg
www.imagination.com/moonstruck/chicago.gif
Web2.htrigg.smu.edu/…/Fall97/DC.09-10-97/jazz.gif
References cont.’
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www.talentcastmodels.com/images/mia_dance.jpg
http://www.dancespirit.com/images/backissues/ang01/ontap.jpg
http://www.arborweb.com/images/twylatharp.jpg
www.nytheatre.com/nytheatre/moving_out.jpg
http://citypaper.net/articles/012402pcis/th.contact.jpg
http://www.jorgeplace.com/SusanStroman_producers2.jpg
http://www.dance-centre.com/images/opening
http://www.richardavedon.com/editorial2004 (Glover)
Reynolds, Nancy & McCormick, Malcolm. No Fixed Points. New Haven:
Yale University Press, 2003.
Stearns, Jean and Marshall. Jazz Dance. New York: Schirmer Books, 1964.
Ambrosio, Nora. Learning About Dance. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt
Publishing Co., 2003.
Sigenfeld, Billy. “If Jazz Dance, Then Jazz Music!” in Dance Teacher Now,
October, 1990, pp 50-54.