Jazz dance is no doubt a very popular style of dance today. There are many different renowned artists that incorporated jazz dance in their music such as Michael Jackson and Jack Cole and ended up being known worldwide for jazz dance. But what really makes jazz dance to be different from other styles of dance? What is the secret behind jazz dance that makes it to continue getting more popular as years pass by? Many would suggest it is because of syncopation element of the jazz dance while other always argue it is because of the freedom of expression that one enjoys. Jazz dance, unlike many other styles of dance, always encourage individuals to develop their own moves, jazz dance also has a way of connecting the dancer with the music as it is not boring or predictable. As such, there could be no one element that can be said to make jazz dance be different than other styles of dance. Jazz dance has a unique way of incorporating all of its elements to strike a balance that ends up making the jazz dance to be unique. The jazz dance form is unique as exhibited in its versatility throughout its history and development.
The word ‘jazz’ initially originated from the type of music that individuals were accustomed to listening to. It is the type of music that led the people at the time to come up with a specific type of movement that originated from African American vernacular dances. These movements were made in a physical way as a manner of reaction to the music being listened to. The movements were unique and were done by many people almost in the same way. Such movement could be expressed through tapping of feet or making certain movements and noises with the hands. As such, jazz dance is a form of personal expression that is created and maintained through movements and certain improvisations that exhibit certain characteristics such as isolation that come with propulsive rhythm movements that give the dance a swinging quality to the movement (Cohen).
The jazz dance’s versatility is shown in its movements which are energetic and fun to watch. Many people enjoy watching jazz dancers, as the dancer’s movements are full of vigor and fun (Davenport 154-155). Jazz dance is more of a dance style that showcases a dancer’s individual style and originality. It is more like asking the dancer, “What unique thing can you do with a certain type of song”. Since its inception, every jazz dancer including all renowned dancers and artists have always been known to interpret and execute their movements in their own way. There is simply no limitation whatsoever. A dancer can pull almost anything as along as it goes along with the music background and the message that is intended to be conveyed. It is this kind of freedom that is afforded by the dance’s form that makes jazz dance highly changeable.
Jazz dance gives a dance the freedom to express the music with movements that appeal to him or at the spur of the moment, a characteristic which makes the dance form all-round. The one thing that always makes jazz dance to stand apart from other dance styles apart from it being popular over the years is because of its elements. Jazz dance has a unique trend of developing in parallel to popular music. This way, jazz dance always takes place with an existing song allowing the dancer to react to the music and express it with certain movements that appeal to him/her at the time. The audience present always enjoy the movements as they listen to the music making the music receive a better response from the audience. This explains why when big band influence and their dance were declining, new jazz dance styles such as the monkey soon entered into the picture and became popular within a short period of time.
Spontaneity and improvisation of the jazz dance, just like in the music itself gives the jazz dance an unparalleled versatility compared to other dance forms such as R&B and rock . Much of jazz is about impromptu invention: the way players and dancers are influenced by the audience together with other factors, as they dance and play against a backdrop of specified chord changes as well as rhythms. Despite there being improvisation in other dance forms, it is not as pronounced as it is in jazz dance. This aspect is a salient aspect of jazz dance and gives it its distinctive feel and touch.
Isolation also gives jazz a unique versatility in its movement that lacks in most other dance forms. Isolation also plays a key part in jazz dance. Jazz dance always stands out as it requires the dancers to move different parts of their body individually. Moving hands is not quite a task but the hard thing comes in isolating chest and hips movements. As such, mastering the techniques of isolations always makes jazz dance to stand out. This is not a type of dance where you can wear anything and enter a stage and give a performance. It requires patience and a lot of mastering of the different elements.
The jazz dance distinctive versatility in its movements is aided by a background of ballet techniques as well as movements. Just like any other dance movements, jazz dance also requires technique in order to pull it off successfully. A strong technical foundation continuously enables a dancer to focus more on one’s style as well as the expected performance. Jazz dance always involves a lot of leaps and turns thus, assuming correct posture is always the key to pulling off any jazz dance (Marshall). But this time upbeat of music is not the one emphasized but rather the music’s downbeat.
Jazz performance is also unique in its own way. In order for one to really enjoy and practice jazz dance then they need to learn to let their bodies grow with strength and suppleness. Turns together with leaps are always very ubiquitous in jazz dance. Improvisation of jazz dance always comes in and explains why jazz dance, since its inception, has always received admiration by all dancers of all ages. It requires dancers to be courageous enough to alter classical jazz steps so as to fit their own styles and personalities and, in the process, making it both entertaining to create and also endless fun for one to watch. Classical dance is probably the easiest to spot currently in chirographies done in theatres . That is the main reason why jazz dance will never go out of fashion and will be here to say for many generations to come. What makes jazz dance also to be a beauty is that there is no limitations to the creativity allowed and the dancer is free to improvise as he or she wishes.
Jazz dance has throughout its history and development incorporated a lot of versatile movements, which add to the dance form’s unique flexibility. Jazz dance always involves a myriad movements which makes it all-important for dancers to wear flexible and tight wear that allows movements. The jazz dance has for a long time been known to fuse different cultures to create unique feel in the movement. For instance, according to Card (18), this dance style was known to develop profound passions that made native Australians to go dancing for many days, after being hypnotized by rhythms of Africa. This cross-cultural fusion together with the passions evoked by the dance style makes it come up with adaptable movements time and again. That versatility in movement is still evident today, as formal dance technique classes strive to give dancers a strong foundation for the dance form’s “eclectic feeling” .
Although Jazz involves varied movements that express differing emotions and feelings, its evolution throughout the years was rich with adaptable movement vocabulary. In mid-20th century, the jazz body was comprised of numerous principles which were considered essential. They were especially considered essential due to the unrestrictive nature of jazz throughout its existence over the years. The principles during this time were angular limbs that were broken, isolated collapsed joints, and the hunching of the upper body as well as staccato movements of the foot, which would all be rotated around a raised and pronounced center. Just like the music from which this dance got its name, the body would be characterized by the application of isolation as well as syncopation. During dance, the involved individuals are ever catching movement, delaying the completing of the movement, hold back the step until a point it almost topples the dancer off-balance. The dancer would then use the next step to recover his or her balance. These elements were incorporated into dance routines by choreographers such as Fosse, but were long present and characteristic of jazz dance before such choreographers started emulating them .
Jazz dance is adaptable in the contexts in which it is performed. The 20th century further saw a massive evolution of the jazz dance. As mentioned earlier, the dances that were massively adopted at the time included the Lindy. Together with others such as Jitterbug, these dances did not just stay within the social dance confines. These dances were adopted outside their social context and incorporated into performance. The American Whitey’s were one group that took jazz in this direction, as the group performed varied Lindy versions at movies such as Hellzapoppin’, at exhibitions and on stage. Other groups fused it with more formalized ones like ballet and modern dance, producing fascinating jazz dance styles .
Jazz dance is adaptable in that it is an art form that is not only cross-cultural, but is used as a society’s form of expression . This makes jazz dance evolve over time to reflect a society’s values and ideals as time progresses. This means that jazz dance changes as time goes. As pointed out earlier, jazz dance always comes along with a popular music. This explains why there have been various artists who came and revolutionized the jazz dance. The jazz dance that is being practiced today is not the same as that was being practiced in the 1950s and will most certainly not be the same as the one that will be practiced 50 years from now (Garofoli). World icons such as Michael Jackson came and changed the way jazz was seen and practiced at the same. He, together with other artists, did not add anything new to the jazz dance but rather made it even better by doing more than what could be imagined. In order to come up with his unique and famous dance styles, Michael Jackson brought different techniques of various dance styles that he knew together, taking whatever impressed him and made it his own. In so doing, Michael Jackson was able to change how jazz dance was viewed and people liked it. He was not the first one to come with the moon walking movement, but he made it look even better by adding one or two things that made it unique. He wanted to master his movements, which explains why he made a global name for himself. He inspired other dancers who picked up from where he left and there will be also other dancers who will come in the future and change the jazz dance on their own. Currently, more and more hip hop is taking a strong stand in jazz dance .
As explored throughout this essay, jazz dance is versatile and ever-evolving, just like fashion evolves. Despite the fact that jazz dance was initiated by slaves, it has gone a long way to receive worldwide admiration as it keeps on getting better and better. The reason why the jazz dance stands out from other dance styles can be attributed to its ability of going along with new and popular songs. Jazz dance movements also gives a lot of freedom to the dancer and the dancer can make any movement that expresses what he or she is feeling. The ability of its creativity being limitless ensures that it is here to stay and will always get better and better. Jazz dance allows room for improvisation and as long as one wants to communicate a certain message, then he/she is sure of using any movements to communicate the same without being limited, making jazz dance the preferred dance style by many.
Works Cited
Card, Amanda. "The ‘great articulation of the inarticulate’: Reading the jazz body in Australian and American popular culture in the 1960s." Journal of Australian Studies (1998): 18-26. Print.
Cohen, Selma Jeanne. International Encyclopedia Of Dance. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Print.
Davenport, Donna. "Book Review: Jump Into Jazz: The Basics And Beyond For The Jazz Dance Student (Fourth Edition)". Journal of Dance Education 1.4 (2001): 154-155. Web.
Garofoli, Wendy. Jazz Dance. Mankato, Minn.: Capstone Press, 2008. Print.
Kraut, Robert. "Why Does Jazz Matter to Aesthetic Theory?" The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 63.1 (2005): 3-15. Document.
Marshall, Lea. The state of jazz. 1 September 2008. Web. 14 March 2016. <http://www.dancespirit.com/uncategorized/the_state_of_jazz/>.
