Jazz and Theatre Dancing Jazz is a style of dance that originated from African Plantation
dances starting as early as 1518. In the period after 1910, theaters
started to develop and in the '40s and '50s jazz dancing was combined
with drama and song. Jazz had included different popular moves
throughout the years such as the Charleston, Jitterbug, Swing,
and Twist. Now musicals and dance in theaters is popular everywhere,
especially in cities like New York.
Jazz dancing can be inspired by jazz
music. It is often done to up beat music or singing in performances.
Jazz started as a very social dance, then in the 1940s American
theater dancing and music underwent major developments, and a
new style of Jazz dancing began. This new style included elements
from Ballet, Tap, and Jazz dancing. For this Jazz/Theater dance,
dancers must have flexibility, fast, accurate feet, and power
for lifts, leaps, and movements.
Jazz Dancing differs from traditional
music because of the music beats that it highlights. It is swingy
and sharp with many quick movements that can require great flexibility.
Some of the basic moves are twists, kicks, rolls, turns, and steps.
Jazz is usually done in large groups of people.
Jazz is taught to dance students all
over the world, often in conjunction with ballet and tap dancing.
Jazz is still very popular today, and you can see it in theaters
all over the world.