History
Social Dance Form
This type of movement focuses on one body part at a time, such as the shoulders or hips. It is one of the core movements of vernacular jazz.
Isolations
Jazz dance movements are often performed with bent knees keeping the dancer low to the floor. What cultural dance form is this modeled after?
African Dance
Known as the "The Father of Theatrical Jazz Dance" for his role in codifying African-American jazz dance styles as influences by the dance traditions of other cultures, for Broadway & Hollywood.
Jack Cole
A combination of ballet and jazz creates this fluid and highly expressive style.
Lyrical
What is the name of the popular social dance from the 1920s that greatly influenced Jazz.
The Charleston
This dance step can be done by taking four steps in a square pattern on the floor.
Jazz Square
Extension of a performer's hands with palms toward the audience and fingers are splayed with energy.
Jazz Hands
An American dancer, actor, singer, director and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessible to the general public, which he called "dance for the common man"
Gene Kelly
A dynamic, theatrical dance style blending traditional jazz technique with storytelling, character development, and dramatic choreography.
Broadway jazz (Musical Theater)
In the early 1900s families could attend these shows and see many talented dancers, singer, acrobats, etc. perform on stage.
Vaudeville Shows
This dance step is a type of jump that starts off on one foot and lands on the opposite foot.
Leap
This a term for when dancers perform random dance movements spontaneously and without any prior planning.
Improvistion
An American jazz dancer, teacher, and choreographer. He performed on Broadway, in theater and television and founded a training school in 1953 in Chicago, which still exists today.
Gus Giordano
A blending of jazz technique with influence from hip-hop and funk, creating a high-energy and expressive style which features sharp isolations, intricate footwork, and powerful gestures, reflecting urban culture's raw energy.
Jazz funk ( Street jazz)
When this invention became the popular form of entertainment in the early 1900s, dancers had more opportunities to share their talents to world wide. However, this invention also lead to the decrease in Vaudeville Show.
Film/Movies
This dance step is a French word that means to chase.
Chasse'
Syncopation or Syncopated Rhythms
She won four Tony Awards for her musical comedy performances, and she served as an uncredited choreographer's assistant and specialty dance coach for theater and film. She formed one of the most iconic partnerships in the history of jazz dance, with Bob Fosse.
Gwen Verdon
Influenced by popular culture, this style blends jazz technique with hip-hop, funk & pop to create dynamic performances suitable for music videos, commercials, and live entertainment.
Commercial jazz.
The origins of Jazz Dance began when movement and rhythms were brought to America and shared by these influential people.
African slaves
An essential element of jazz dance, this movement is done by executing a strutting action reaching with the toe first and maintaining a low level.
Jazz walk
Two of the main characteristics of jazz dance, these movements are done by shortening or lengthening the muscles, to create dynamic and expressive movements which contribute to the fluidity and versatility of jazz dance.
Contractions & expansions
Known for his work on stage and screen, he is arguably the most influential figure in the field of jazz dance in the twentieth century.
Bob Fosse
A blending of Salsa, samba, and mambo, creates a dynamic fusion of movement that features intricate footwork, isolated hip movements, and expressive partnering, to reflect the passion of Latin American culture.
Latin jazz