Like many dancers, I’ve taken jazz classes for years, along
with ballet, modern and contemporary.  I used to take jazz for granted, assigning it significantly less artistic credibility than contemporary.  (I still remember my first “jazz ballet” class in the late 70s at the YMCA, dancing to The Milkshake by the Village People.  That definitely wasn’t a very authentic jazz class!).  But over the last year or two, I’ve become fascinated with jazz.  What is it exactly?  What are its roots?  Where is it going?  And why do I love it so much?

Why is it often overlooked as a dance tradition as rich in history as ballet and modern?  You wouldn’t teach a ballet class that wasn’t based on an upright stance, clear positions of the arms and feet, a thorough barre to prepare for center adage, pirouettes, petit allegro and grand allegro.  Neither would you teach a modern class without drawing on contraction and release, fall and recovery, the principles of succession and rebound, or parallel alignment.

So why are some jazz classes taught without a warmup section, a turn section, and a travelling section to prepare the class for the combination at the end? And why do those combinations so often lack the grounded feeling, inverted leg lines, syncopated rhythms and angular lines of truly authentic jazz?

I’m not arguing that jazz classes should remain static, endlessly rooted in the past, churning out dated choreography and less than safe technique.  But the artform should progress from its foundation.  As Ambrosio (1993) put it, we need to “… keep the legacy of jazz dance alive…”.  Students should know its roots, traditions and hallmarks.  The dance – the technique, the style, the rhythm - should be developed from there.  Otherwise, it should call itself something other than jazz.

Now I’m not saying that jazz as a dance form is stagnating.  It is certainly developing. There are street, latin, lyrical and contemporary forms, to name a few.  They all have something distinctive, yet share common elements – an emphasis on width and depth, a low centre of gravity, parallel hips, and stylish poses and gestures.

So what should you include in your jazz class?  What is jazz?  And where did it come from?

Let me start with a description …
The most fundamental hallmark of jazz is a low centre of gravity produced from a wide stance with bent knees.  Parallel and inverted leg lines are dominant.  Angular lines and sharp movements are juxtaposed with long, curving lines and flowing movement.  Complex rhythms including polyrhythms and syncopation are paramount; as are isolations of body parts such as the head, shoulders, ribs and hips; stylish poses and gestures; and fast, complex foot work.

Now to where it came from …
Jazz is a swirling amalgamation of numerous dance and social influences (7).  In fact, heavy referencing and parody of other dance forms is one of its unique stamps (3).  Its earliest roots can be traced back to the dance traditions imported with the early African American slaves.  Over time, jazz has evolved to incorporate the humour and absurdity of vaudeville; the strong core, clean lines and high extensions of classical ballet; the agile footwork of tap; the contraction and release of modern dance; the undulating hip movements of latin dance; and the torso isolations of eastern dance (6).  Jazz dance evolved from merely staged performances of social dances to a device for advancing the plot of the latest musical (2), while simultaneously entertaining both the dancer and audience (6). Jazz dance often created a breathtaking spectacle of high kicks and agile leaps, and in the work of some of the great choreographers, like Bob Fosse and Jerome Robbins, resulted in a work of art that has had enduring influence.

The zenith of jazz, at least the form of jazz now known as classical jazz, was in the 1950s (6).  It was during this time that the choreography developed on Broadway began to require the technique and skill of a trained dancer.  Cross-over choreographers like George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins and Agnes De Mille required dancers who had a strong balletic background, but the style and personal charisma of the musical theatre star (2).  The late 1940s were the peak of the swing era.  Having evolved from ragtime and blues, swing was the perfect inspiration and backdrop for jazz dance.  Swing was upbeat, lively and exciting.  Both the music and dance featured exciting rhythms, syncopation, high energy and buckets of fun.  But in the middle of the twentieth century, the path of jazz dance diverged from that of jazz music, which veered into bebop, cool and modal jazz.  These later, more progressive forms of jazz music had even more complex rhythms that were not particularly suited to dance (6).  Jazz dance began to lose its footing as it diverged from jazz music, and rock and roll swept the world.  But ever the adaptive beast, jazz dance evolved and began to be taught, choreographed and performed to popular music (1).

A word on technique …
Judging from the number of young dance students who opt for jazz instead of ballet or modern, it would be easy to conclude that jazz lacks the rigour and technique required of these other dance genres.  But as students grow older and advance, they find that a strong technical foundation is absolutely necessary to achieve the dizzying heights of advanced jazz choreography.

The foundation of jazz dance technique is a strong centre that enables the dancer to move their limbs freely, travel quickly and stealthily across the floor, and maintain balance despite any manner of apparently off-balance antics (3).  Some claim that ballet training is the only way to achieve the technique required of the advanced jazz dancer.  I’m not so sure.  I think the problem is that people accept the technical exercises that are de rigueur in a ballet class, but don’t accept the same in a jazz class.

Maybe this is because jazz has a reputation as being entertaining.  Its swing era and vaudeville roots established it as a fun approach to dance.  For one thing, jazz dance is generally associated with popular music – from before it diverged from jazz music in the swing era, right through rock and roll and the MTV generation (6).  Jazz dance also knows how to poke its tongue out at society and itself.  The cartoonish antics of the three dancers in Fosse’s famous Steamed Heat from The Pyjama Game is a classic example of jazz dance as parody (3).

So people expect to have fun when they go into a jazz class.  They don’t expect hard work and repetition.  But I don’t believe these two are mutually exclusive.  A well planned warm-up, logical and consistent strengthening and stretching exercises, and combinations that develop the dancer’s ability to turn, kick and jump will prepare the dancer’s body to launch into the pinnacle of the class – the final combination.  Even the hard yakka (ie the technical stuff) is exhilarating when accompanied by the right music.

A more detailed background on the history and major players in the development of jazz is beyond the scope of this article, but I encourage jazz students, teachers and choreographers to dig a little deeper.  The bibliography of this article is a good starting point.  A cursory internet search on some of the big names in the history of jazz dance (Jack Cole, Luigi, Gus Giordano, Matt Mattox, Bob Fosse and Jerome Robbins) will bring plenty of background information.  And my very favourite source of material – Youtube. It doesn’t matter if you are based in New York, Sydney, Adelaide or Kangaroo Island.  With Youtube you can view some landmark jazz choreography, from the cartoon-like Girl Hunt Ballet from The Bandwagon, featuring Cyd Charisse and Fred Astaire, and Steamed Heat from the Pyjama Game; to the spectacular Barn Dance scene from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, featuring famed choreographer Matt Mattox; to the sleazy, slightly sad but oh-so-funny Big Spender in Sweet Charity.  Or you can search for lyrical jazz, broadway jazz, contemporary jazz, street jazz, latin jazz – you name it – to see dozens of examples of what is happening in the studios and stages across the world in the current day.

As Ben Stiller so aptly put it in Starsky and Hutch – “Do It!!” – it’ll open a world of information, inspiration and ideas that you can share with your students, incorporate into your own dancing, build into your own choreography …. or whatever it is that you do in the world of jazz dance.

References

1) Ambrosio, N (1993).  Jazz dance in the dance curriculum: what educators should know. The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, 64(2), p41+.

2) Boross, B (1999). All that’s jazz – the art of jazz dance. Dance Magazine, August 1999.  Available from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1083/is_/ai_55292586?tag=untagged, accessed 21 July 2008.

3) Card, A (1998). The “Great articulation of the inarticulate”: Reading the jazz body in Australian and American popular culture in the 1950s . Journal of Australian Studies, p18.

4) Fosse: A Celebration of the Choreography of Bob Fosse. (2001). [DVD] Warner Vision Australia.

5) Horosko, M (1997). Technique: steps, styles & stars. Dance Magazine, 71(6), p112+

6) Hong Kong Baptist University (nd). Origins of Jazz Dance.  Hong Kong Baptist University.  Available from http://www.hkbu.edu.hk/~pesubj/purple/e_jazz/ejz_bri.htm, accessed 31 August 2007.

7) Marshall, L (2008). Where it’s at: jazz dancers, choreographers and teachers talk about the state of their artform and where it’s headed. Dance Spirit, September 2008, p100-102.

8) Netting, LD (1998). Lyrical jazz dance defined. The Journal of Physical Eduction, Recreation and Dance, 69(3), p7+.

9) Straus, R (2007). Luigi, Gus Giordano, and Matt Mattox: Jazz Masters. Dance Magazine, 81(7), p68+

10) The jazz dance of Matt Mattox (1999) [videorecording]. Creative Arts Television.