Jazz & Modern Jazz
Jazz Dance
Jazz dance is suitable for all ages. Though a foundation in ballet is important, jazz encourages the dancer to embrace personal expression with enthusiasm.
Jazz dance originated in African American dances during the early 1900s. It incorporated unique moves, fancy footwork, exaggerated leap and turn sequences, and creative improvisation which elevates the performance experience to unexplored levels. Through the years , Jazz Dance has been spotlighted in movies, on stage performances, in urban areas and has more recently has reignited its presence on the small screen.
Modern Jazz
Jazz dance took on a metamorphosis during the 1950s with innovators such as Katherine Dunham, Jake Cole, and Bob Fosse. It drew demands for studio instructors and created a rival to the fashionable classical ballet. Jazz music and dance were also infused with Broadway musicals and gained mainstream popularity with Chicago and Cabaret.
Modern is a mix between jazz and lyrical, with the moves of jazz and gracefullness of lyrical. While traditional Jazz dance is a mix of ballet and hip hop, with moves from ballet and the modern quick steps of hiphop.
