History
Where is the birthplace of jazz?
New Orleans
Pas De Bouree?
A transition step where the feet alternate back, side, front
Define the style of jazz dance?
A defining characteristic of jazz dance is its close relationship to the music that is used. Jazz dance technique explores rhythm, syncopation, isolation, vernacular movement, swing, pulse,
improvisation, musicality and emotional release through physicality.
What is a minstrel show and why is it racists?
The Minstrel show was a group
of up to fifty performers who travelled from town to town in a show that portrayed the Negro as
either a slow, shuffling idiot or a sharply dressed dandy. A minstrel show had three parts. In the
first, the performers (all male) sat in a semi-circle facing the audience and engaged in comic banter
led by a dignified "interlocutor" and two "endmen." The second section, or "olio," was a succession
of singing, acting and dance acts. The final section, the "afterpiece", was an extravaganza by the
entire cast that was a burlesque of a serious drama of the times. The minstrel show figured
prominently in spreading vernacular dances like the cakewalk, the essence, and jig dancing on a
wide scale.
Syncopation?
The removal or addition of a beat where least expected.
What is the importance of early jazz musicians?
The history of jazz dance cannot be discussed without also mentioning the huge part that jazz music played in
its conception. Jazz dance has its beginnings in the history of jazz music and the two evolved hand in hand. It
is agreed that the birthplace of jazz music is New Orleans, LA, with Congo Square being at the center of it all.
The two were equal partners in the developing jazz art. Musicians played the music and the dancers
determined what worked for them and what didn’t. It was a collaborative effort that helped both jazz dance
and jazz music to advance.
Isolation?
To set one part of the body apart from the others to move on its own.
Who popularized vernacular jazz dance in America?
The next major change in vernacular dance after minstrelsy came with the advent of ragtime music
and ballroom dancing after 1910. During this decade, songs whose lyrics described how to do a
dance were being written by Negro composers. A barrage of animal dances, indirectly inspired by
African animal dances, swept white ballrooms. Some of these were the Turkey Trot, the Monkey
Glide, the Chicken Scratch, and the Bunny Hug. Irene and Vernon Castle popularized the Turkey
Trot in the Broadway show The Sunshine Girl and made dancing popular in high society. The
invasion of ballrooms with vernacular inspired dances set the stage for the same process to occur in
the white world of Broadway.
In what ways has the African-American community influenced jazz dance?
The African-American influences on American Jazz Dance include movement and music fusion and the
encouragement of individual expression. The European-American influences on American Jazz Dance include
folk and rhythmic traditions, European harmonies and disciplined training regiments which led to the path of
commercialization and codification of these roots.
Chassé?
To chase, as in a gallop of the feet
What changes in the 1960's lead to a shift in the style of jazz dance?
The advent of rock n roll in the 1950s and pop
music of the 1960s changed the popular styles of dance and ushered in a new era of freedom in
movement. Social dances of the 1960s had dancers who related more to the floor and themselves
rather than their partners (like the lindy), and the beat didn't swing. As choreographers (like Fosse
and Bennett) used the new music, show dancing changed and the Cole style dropped out of style. A
new generation grew up not listening to swing music, watching old movies, or wanting to dance in
such a structured fashion. And Matt Mattox, the popular jazz teacher most associated with the Cole
style moved to London in 1970, breaking the continuum of the Cole lineage in America. The Cole era
was lost, seen as a relic to be treasured only by those with the knowledge and appreciation of real
jazz dance.
Pulse?
to move with a strong regular rhythm
What is Jack Cole's unique style?
One of the most important pioneers during this transition was Jack Cole, known as the “Father
of Theatrical Jazz dance”. The influence of classical Indian dance coupled with Cole’s grounded use of plie,
isolated body movements, compressed energy and a keen sense of manipulating rhythm and spatial levels
created a unique style of jazz that had not been seen before . Cole made great use of a wide and low second
position, as well as a parallel fourth position with both knees bent and the back knee close to the floor. This
wide stance dropped the dancer's center of gravity, and allowed the dancer to extend movement horizontally
across the floor.
Name two factors that restrained African dance in America?
In America, the dance movement of Africa was restrained mainly by two factors - the attitude of the
Protestant church towards dancing as being immoral, and the restricted use of the primary African
instrument (the drum). The church felt that dancing was sinful and any stimulation of the senses
was to be avoided. This included any type of spontaneous dance for joy that was part of the African -
American expression.
Flat Back?
To elongate through the back so that spine is flat like a table top while fully engaged
in the abdominals, usually parallel to the floor.
In America in the 1845-1900's this was the predominate form of entertainment?
Minstrelsy was the most popular form of entertainment in America from 1845-1900, and it greatly
increased the influence of African-American dance on American life.
Charleston?
A lively ballroom step in which the knees are twisted in and out and the heels are
swung sharply outward on each step
Vernacular?
A social dance of a specific time period
Why were African drums banned in America?
In 1739 after an insurrection by slaves that was mounted with the aid of
messages transmitted by drum signals, white plantation owners responded by banning all
drumming. This forced slaves to search for other percussion options to accompany their dancing.
The substitute instruments included quills (an assortment of pipes of different pitches), banjos,
clapping hands and stamping feet, and the fiddle (violin).
Camel Walk?
Early jazz vernacular step where you roll up to the ball of the foot bending the knee,
pulling the opposite foot under
Grapevine?
A series of steps that move sideways with a side, back, side, front pattern
Jazz Lock?
A position in jazz dance where one leg is crossed behind the body, the arms are
wrapped around the body, and the weight is on both legs while in plie.
Jazz Walk?
A stylized walk, grounded in plié, articulating the feet through toe, ball, heel
Where were African slaves able to retain more of their culture than in America? and why?
The American slave trade began in 1619 with the arrival of Dutch trading ships carrying a cargo of
Africans to Virginia. However, Africans were imported as slaves to the West Indies as early as 1518.
The retention of African culture by those in slavery was stronger in the West Indies than in
America, as the Spanish and French rulers adhered to the more lenient view of dancing taken by the
Catholic church. In America, the Protestant church strongly disapproved of dance of any kind.
Therefore, dances that occured in the West Indies retained more of the African dance structure than
did those of America. Traces of the African religious practice of possession, or voluntarily
disengaging from reality through the application of the combined effects of music and dance, can be
detected in the appeal of some forms of jazz dance.
Pirouette?
Turn on one leg either in plié /relevé or full relevé, with the gesture leg wither in
coupé or passé