Jazz Dance

Aims of the session  Understand how the unit will run/essential information  Listen to a brief history of the subject  Watch some examples of how jazz has been used in different contexts  Receive and talk through assignment briefs.  Participate in a warm-up  Practice some simple travelling steps in pairs from the corner  Start to learn a simple dance  Participate in a cool down

Aims of the unit  Be able to demonstrate the relationship between music, accompaniment and jazz dance  Be able to perform the key features of a jazz dance style  Be able to perform studies and combinations within the jazz style.

Dress code

History of Jazz Dance  Jazz dance is a classification shared by a broad range of dance styles.  Before the 1950s, jazz dance referred to dance styles that originated from African American vernacular dance. Every individual style of jazz dance has roots traceable to one of these two distinct origins.  Jazz dance is an American form of dance that developed in the early 1900’s as both African and European peoples began to mix their dance traditions. Africans focused on rhythms and torso movement and Europeans on musical harmonies, folk and social dances.

 The term "Jazz" was first applied to a style of music and dance during WWI.  Jazz, tap and musical theatre dance are “cousins.” These forms of dance are tied to everyday music, songs and rhythms. Jazz dance involves a range of lively, often sensuous body movement and percussion techniques, with a mix of tap steps, social dances and ballet. New forms of jazz dance developed with new music, such as the Charleston, swing, rock and roll, and the Caribbean reggae.

 Vaudeville, or the variety show, was initially a European tradition of traveling performers moving from town to town with their skits, songs and dances. In America, this provided opportunity for a range of popular entertainers to thrive, such as Bill “Bojangles” Robinson a black tap dancer. Show dancers Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers blended flowing ballet movements with more abrupt rhythmic movements of jazz. Concert jazz dance developed as a revue or series of separate jazz dance productions.  Musical comedy/theatre evolved from variety shows. Themes, story lines and chorus work developed into the musical theatre we know today. Agnes de Mille, who choreographed Oklahoma, elevated the importance of dance in the theatre production.

Notable Choreographers  Katherine Dunham: considered the grandmaster of jazz dance technique. She was a key inspiration to most modern jazz dance legends.  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.  Matt Mattox: a protégé of Jack Cole. He took the fluid, animalistic style of Jack Cole and merged it with his own vast background in ballet technique to create a technique for jazz dance that is clean, powerful, and extremely challenging.  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.  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.

Example of Jazz dance in different contexts  Chicago  8rIQA8 8rIQA8  A chorus Line  kT7GHQ&feature=fvwrel kT7GHQ&feature=fvwrel  Cats  itmlI&feature=relmfu itmlI&feature=relmfu

Disco  Today we will be starting by learning a dance to a disco track.  Disco was a popular dance form in the 1970’s as an alternative to Rock and psychedelic music  Even though it became unfashionable by the 1980’s there have been successful artists since then who have used a disco beat.

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