Written Report in Jazz

History of Jazz
History The term "Jazz" was first applied to a style of music and dance during World War I. Jazz
in a dance form, however, originates from the vernacular dances of Africans when they were
brought to the Americas on slave ships. This dance form developed alongside jazz music in New
Orleans in the early 1900s. Beginning in the 1930s and continuing through the 1960s, Jazz
dance transformed from this vernacular form into a theatre-based performance form of dance
that required a highly trained dancer. During this time, choreographers from the modern and
ballet dance worlds experimented with the jazz dance style. This includes choreographers like
George Balanchine, Agnes de Mille, Jack Cole, Hanya Holm, Helen Tamiris, Michael Kidd, Jerome
Robbins, and Bob Fosse. All of these choreographers influenced jazz by requiring highly trained
dancers to perform a specific set of movements, which differed greatly from the colloquial form
of New Orleans in the 1900s. Also during this time period (circa. 1950) jazz dance was
profoundly influenced by Caribbean and other Latin American dance styles which were
introduced by anthropologist and dancer Katherine Dunham. Jazz is also like choreography too.

Meaning
The term “Jazz Dance” is a popular theoretical and music dance which came to America in the
20th century. This is a rhythmic dance which is characterized by syncopation, improvisation and
forceful rhythm. The various instruments associated with the Jazz dance include the piano,
brass, and woodwind to achieve seamless performance every time. The diverse styles of the
Jazz are Dixieland, swing, bebop, and free jazz.

Characteristics
Movement Characteristics of Jazz Dance can be summarized as follows:
• Use of the bend knee position (plie), to bring the body weight closer to the ground. A lower
centre of gravity allows more flexibility for the lower limbs, while the upper body could remain
relatively relaxed and thus be able to perform quick rhythmic actions. This permits more variety
in movement patterns.
• Ability to shift/move the centre of gravity quickly; indeed, the ability to move the body weight
quickly in a horizontal fashion is a typical jazz technique. • move individual body parts in
isolation, i.e. the head, shoulders, rib cage, hips. • an emphasis on angular and linear
movements.
• syncopated movements.
• polyrhythmic movements.

Music
Jazz, musical form, often improvisational, developed by African Americans and influenced by
both European harmonic structure and African rhythms. It was developed partially from
ragtime and blues and is often characterized by syncopated rhythms, polyphonic ensemble
playing, varying degrees of improvisation, often deliberate deviations of pitch, and the use of
original timbres.
Any attempt to arrive at a precise, all-encompassing definition of jazz is probably futile. Jazz has
been, from its very beginnings at the turn of the 20th century, a constantly evolving, expanding,
changing music, passing through several distinctive phases of development; a definition that
might apply to one phase—for instance, to New Orleans style or swing—becomes inappropriate
when applied to another segment of its history, say, to free jazz. Early attempts to define jazz as
a music whose chief characteristic was improvisation, for example, turned out to be too
restrictive and largely untrue, since composition, arrangement, and ensemble have also been
essential components of jazz for most of its history. Similarly, syncopation and swing, often
considered essential and unique to jazz, are in fact lacking in much authentic jazz, whether of
the 1920s or of later decades. Again, the long-held notion that swing could not occur without
syncopation was roundly disproved when trumpeters Louis Armstrong and Bunny Berigan
(among others) frequently generated enormous swing while playing repeated, unsyncopated
quarter notes.
Jazz, in fact, is not—and never has been—an entirely composed, predetermined music, nor is it
an entirely extemporized one. For almost all of its history it has employed both creative
approaches in varying degrees and endless permutations. And yet, despite these diverse
terminological confusions, jazz seems to be instantly recognized and distinguished as something
separate from all other forms of musical expression. To repeat Armstrong’s famous reply when
asked what swing meant: “If you have to ask, you’ll never know.” To add to the confusion, there
often have been seemingly unbridgeable perceptual differences between the producers of jazz
(performers, composers, and arrangers) and its audiences. For example, with the arrival of free
jazz and other latter-day avant-garde manifestations, many senior musicians maintained that
music that didn’t swing was not jazz.
Most early classical composers (such as Aaron Copland, John Alden Carpenter—and even Igor
Stravinsky, who became smitten with jazz) were drawn to its instrumental sounds and timbres,
the unusual effects and inflections of jazz playing (brass mutes, glissandos, scoops, bends, and
stringless ensembles), and its syncopations, completely ignoring, or at least underappreciating,
the extemporized aspects of jazz. Indeed, the sounds that jazz musicians make on their
instruments—the way they attack, inflect, release, embellish, and colour notes—characterize
jazz playing to such an extent that if a classical piece were played by jazz musicians in their
idiomatic phrasings, it would in all likelihood be called jazz.
Nonetheless, one important aspect of jazz clearly does distinguish it from other traditional
musical areas, especially from classical music: the jazz performer is primarily or wholly a
creative, improvising composer—his own composer, as it were—whereas in classical music the
performer typically expresses and interprets someone else’s composition.

Technique
Learning basic jazz dance steps are the first part of exploring jazz dance, an energetic and
exciting display of physical prowess. Jazz dance itself is a combination of classical ballet moves
mixed with steps from American popular culture, including African and Celtic dance influences.
While it has become a fine art form, originally jazz dance was designed to entertain, and even
the basic steps have a showy, extreme feel to them.
Learning Basic Jazz Dance Steps
Teachers may have different opinions of what makes up the elementary curriculum for jazz
dancers, but there are a few steps that are always part of the repertoire. These steps are basics
for all jazz dancers, and they remain an important series of steps to continue working on to
perfect your technique, even as you go on to learn new steps.
Jazz Square
This iconic move consists of a few basic walking steps, but done in a particular order:
1. Step forward on the right or left foot
2. Cross the other foot over the first foot
3. Step back with the first foot
4. Bring the feet side by side.
A jazz square is often done with some attitude in the upper body, accenting the motion. Jazz
squares can be executed in groupings of two or more, repeated on the same side.
Isolations
One of the key skills for any jazz dancer is to be able to move parts of the body individually. For
hands and other extremities this is pretty easy, but to master jazz you need to be able to isolate
the chest and hips as well, and this is almost always a part of any jazz dance warm-up.
To isolate your hips as an exercise, follow these steps:
1. Loosen your knees
2. Extend your arms out to the sides
3. Holding your chest and your legs as still as possible, swing your hips from side to side
It's easiest to learn isolations in front of a mirror so that any movements you make with the rest
of your body can be corrected immediately as soon as you see them.
Chassé
Drawing from the ballet tradition, the chassé is literally a "chasing" step:
1. Step one foot forward (or to the side)
2. Bring up the second foot behind the first foot
3. As you bring up the second foot to join the first one, immediately step off the foot to
create a skipping movement across the floor
Your chassé step can take on a variety of different looks based on the speed with which you
execute it. Accent the step with your arms to create artistry for this movement.
Jazz Layout
This is another classic move, and is often used in posters and images to convey some of the
excitement of jazz dance. This dramatic move is performed by:
1. A straight kick high up in the air
2. Simultaneously doing an extreme back bend, head arched back and arms extended.
This iconic jazz step requires excellent balance and flexibility when done in this extreme
manner. Simpler versions involve doing a back bend without any sort of kick.
Jazz Walk
This step is where the improvisation element of jazz shines through. One of the defining
features of jazz, both in music and movement, is the room for individual expression. Every
dancer's jazz walk is different. As you learn increasing numbers of jazz steps and your technique
improves, observe how other dancers have defined their own jazz walks. Developing your own
technique is a matter of letting your inner voice and feel for the music flow.
Learning Basic Technique
If text and video instruction is insufficient for you to learn these steps, consider attending
classes at a local studio. Jazz dance has become popular enough to be offered in most dance
studios. One of the advantages of a hybrid form such as jazz dance is that taking other classes
such as ballet and hip hop can only improve your technique. Jazz dance is also a great way to
exercise and stay in shape, and "jazzercise" classes are offered at gyms around the country.
Even though their focus is on exercise, these classes can also teach a great deal about
technique for the beginner.
It is also possible to learn some of the basic forms through DVDs, though there is the major
drawback of not having any feedback as you learn the moves. Picking out a DVD with a
reputable teacher and good production values can get you started on the road to enjoying jazz
dance.

Founder
Jack Cole
Considered the Father of Jazz Dance Technique and The Father of Theater Dance, Jack
Cole (1911-1974) began as a modern dancer. Switching to jazz style dance during the Great
Depression, he was the first dancer to combine the popular jazz steps of the time, aspects of
modern dance and ethnic influences, creating artistic and technical jazz dance. He was the first
dancer to formalize a theatrical jazz dance technique. His style was explosive and animalistic,
full of emotion and movement. He choreographed Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend, shown
below with Marilyn Monroe, preceded by commentary from dance writer Debra Levine.

Submitted by: Kian Torrefranca

Cindy Villamor
Jona Ann G. Barbosa