Dance is a form of expression without speaking a word. With those hand and body movements on rhythms, it has always been a pleasure to watch. You see a person dancing, and you want to follow the steps, no matter how good you can move yourself. In Indian culture, dance is considered a language to express joy and happiness; folk, traditional, and classical dancing is the way of celebrating seasons, occasions, moods, and has been an age-old method to tell tales. Just like every state has its language, in the same way, it has its dance form, defining the roots of the culture. Last some decades have witnessed a shift in the traditional form of dancing, with overall cultural swing in favour of the western dance forms. One of them is Jazz, a contemporary form of dancing that has been appreciated and practiced by many.
Jazz dance is originally from Africa. It was brought in by the ‘then’ Black slaves into America. This African dance was performed in religious ceremonies and social gatherings to preserve their tradition, history, and culture in America. The 1600s was the first time when this art form caught public attention, as a sensuous, grounded, and rhythmic dance. Within a short time, this art form was migrated to Vaudeville, then the Broadway, to mingle into the styles of ‘then’ present dance forms, through fusions.
In the 1930s, Jack Cole, a renowned dancer influenced by East Indian and African dance had begun to add some of its styles to his choreography. He turned out to be the influencer for some of the greatest 20th-century Master of Jazz Performance, that later sparked up Hollywood and Broadway with their innovative dance moves.
Jazz is widely diverse and usually holds bits and pieces of Ballet, Tap, Hip-Hop, Lyrical and Latin styles into urban funky styles. There are no limits to what a choreographer can explore with this style, it just keeps reinventing and finding new ways of existence.
Here are the different variations of Jazz present today:
- Street Jazz: It is one of the fastest-growing dance styles influenced by street style and attitude, usually performed on pop music. Its use of the technique is much more flexible than other forms, and the essence lies in its diversity and accessibility.
- Funk Jazz: This style of dance is a fusion of Hip-Hop and Jazz Funk. It is fast-paced, powerful, and dynamic, one can easily relate to it. The form gives more scope to develop a personal style and aims to keep the fun alive.
- Contemporary Jazz: This form is choreographed on lyrics of a song and performed with expressions and grace. It is also known as Lyrical Jazz that includes ballet and Jazz techniques, with the modern touch of contemporary style. The Contemporary style has natural yet technical moves to make it look more professional.
- Broadway Jazz: It is an advanced form of dancing that includes experiments with different levels and qualities of movements. Cunningham, Limon, and Horton Graham are some of the popular techniques used while choreographing. It develops a deeper knowledge of movement qualities like sustaining, collapsing, releasing, swinging, etc.