JAZZ DANCE HISTORY AND CULTURE 1 2 (1) Jazz (102 of 442) by Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, CC BY-NC 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/), Flickr®, accessed April 9, 2014, http://www.flickr.com/photos/mwpai/7562418864/ (2) Jazz Dancers – 0829 by Lieven SOETE, CC BY-NC 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/), Flickr®, accessed April 9, 2014, http://www.flickr.com/photos/lievensoete/2599912588/ (3) a-l-ck by Barry Crabtree, CC BY-NC 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/), Flickr®, accessed April 9, 2014, http://www.flickr.com/photos/dotbaz/109366632/ All That Jazz by Prayitno, CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/), Flickr®, accessed April 9, 2014, http://www.flickr.com/photos/prayitnophotography/5418130134/ 3 JAZZ DANCE HISTORY AND CULTURE DEEN LES Resource Bank Project 2013-2014 Released under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

History Early roots of jazz dance are from African culture imported by slaves in the late 1800s These dances were created by slaves as a much needed physical and emotional outlet Slave traders allowed them to dance during their journey to America in an attempt to keep them physically fit Africans danced to celebrate cycles of life: birth, puberty, marriage and death African dances evolved as they were influenced by the European background of the plantation owners Joe Frisco claimed to be the “World’s First Jazz Dancer” around 1910 DEEN LES Resource Bank Project 2013-2014 Released under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

History White Americans enjoyed the dance style the Africans had created From 1845 to 1900, minstrel shows popularized African styles of dance and music Composed of a troupe of up to 50 white Americans Portrayed blacks as slow, shuffling idiots With white dancers as the star performers of minstrel shows, it was difficult for black dancers to gain stature as part of a dance troupe Many black performers emigrated to Europe, where they were better received The minstrel show evolved and was eventually absorbed into the 20th-century musical comedy DEEN LES Resource Bank Project 2013-2014 Released under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

History By the late 1920s, Dixieland jazz music, with its fast beat, spread from New Orleans to Chicago and New York The growth of jazz dance was directly influenced by this musical genre The Charleston was born in 1923 Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, a black tap dancer, achieved world fame through the clean and clear percussive rhythms of his feet The music of the black American bands of Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong gave birth to swing music Beginning of the Swing Era Lindy Hop and Boogie Woogie were born (found in hip hop dance today) Fred Astaire became the leading man for movie musicals in 1933 DEEN LES Resource Bank Project 2013-2014 Released under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

History During the 1960s, two jazz greats came to fame: Luigi and Gus Giordano In the 1970s, Bob Fosse became the outstanding name in jazz dance His work includes the films Sweet Charity and All That Jazz The 1970s also saw the huge impact of John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever and the Broadway shows Grease and A Chorus Line A major influence on jazz dance came out of the ghetto neighbourhoods of New York City: breakdancing DEEN LES Resource Bank Project 2013-2014 Released under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

History Andrew Lloyd Webber is acclaimed for shifting the focus of the musical from Broadway to the London stage His musical hits include Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats and The Phantom of the Opera In the 1980s, jazz dance received a tremendous boost from the movies Fame, Flashdance, Staying Alive, Footloose, Breakin’ and Dirty Dancing The 1980s also saw the introduction of MTV, a new medium for dance and professional dancers Major choreographers of the period include Lester Wilson, Toni Basil, Paula Abdul, Madonna and Janet Jackson Michael Jackson was the supreme video star of the 1980s: his creative dance steps had a major impact on the direction of jazz dance DEEN LES Resource Bank Project 2013-2014 Released under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

Jazz Dance Today Jazz dance, hip hop and ballet fused in the box office success Center Stage (2000) Music videos and television productions such as award shows still prominently use jazz dance. The current jazz dance performance world has sought a wider variety of performance platforms, such as cabaret, lounge shows, cruise ship entertainment and touring dance companies. Jazz Dance – 0619 by by Lieven SOETE, CC BY-NC 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/), Flickr®, accessed April 9, 2014, http://www.flickr.com/photos/lievensoete/2447808367/ DEEN LES Resource Bank Project 2013-2014 Released under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

Influence of African American Culture Charleston Lindy Hop Jitterbug Watusi Breakdancing Hip Hop Jitterbug DEEN LES Resource Bank Project 2013-2014 Released under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

Basic Jazz Dance Steps Ball change Cat walk Catch step Jazz drag Jazz run Chasse Pivot step Dancing in the Streets by John Henderson, CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/), Flickr®, accessed April 9, 2014, http://www.flickr.com/photos/jbhthescots/6858612077/ DEEN LES Resource Bank Project 2013-2014 Released under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

Jazz Steps, in Motion Jazz Dance: https://www.youtube.com/e mbed/P9ruNmaTAg0?rel=0 Lyrical Jazz: https://www.youtube.com/e mbed/FDE40v2QWiw?rel=0 Broadway: http://www.youtube.com/em bed/mx0Lkh-Uh9g?rel=0 Street Jazz: https://www.youtube.com/e mbed/uzK-ytzwXTI?rel=0 Jazz Funk: https://www.youtube.com/e mbed/x3sjdqs4wrI?rel=0 https://www.youtube.com/e mbed/fl5iZUKLDmc?rel=0 Jazz Contemporary: https://www.youtube.com/e mbed/-CYgy3tFTLA?rel=0 https://www.youtube.com/e mbed/DdsTQoN4WcQ?rel=0 https://www.youtube.com/e mbed/FxP9AJqVohg?rel=0 DEEN LES Resource Bank Project 2013-2014 Released under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/