Why the buzz about jazz dance recently? Like ballet, you can learn more about this dance type on Superprof. Our Jazz dance classes offer the ideal foundation for anyone entering the dance world for the first time and the chance to try out a range of styles by combining the best of many different genres, from musical theatre to commercial street dancing.

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What is Jazz Dance?

Jazz dancing is a fun and simple dance form. It will also help you improve your fitness and tone your body if you consistently practice it.

People dancing
Jazz dance is one of the easiest dances to learn. Source: Pexels

The first step in experiencing jazz dance, a thrilling and energizing exhibition of physical skill, is learning the fundamental moves. Jazz dance is a fusion of classical ballet steps with steps from American popular culture, incorporating influences from African and Celtic dance.

Even the most fundamental jazz dance moves have a showy, exaggerated feel, even though it has evolved into a significant art form. This is because jazz dancing was created to entertain. Learn about the history of hip-hop dance.

The explosive, sensual, rhythmic, and grounded African dances served as the basis for jazz.

Jazz dance, like jazz music, was characterized by improvisation and a call-and-response structure that allowed dancers to establish a dialogue with the musicians, their instruments, and their bodies.

What is the History of Jazz dance?

Jazz music and dance are rooted in the enslaved Africans' rhythms, and movements brought to America. African dance is earthy; low, with knees bent; pulsating body movements highlighted by body separations and handclapping. Africans of many different cultures were separated from their families, languages, and tribal traditions as they were transported as enslaved people into America beginning in the 1600s. As a result, a new culture with characteristics of African and European civilizations was produced due to blending of African traditions.

Enslaved people were forbidden from playing African drums or dancing, but this did not stop them from wanting to hold on to those aspects of their cultural identity. As a result, the Slave Act of 1740, what we now refer to as jazz, was created by fusing the rhythms and motions of African dancing, including hand clapping, foot tapping, and rhythmic vocal sounds.

Do you want to learn ballroom dance at your convenience? Find a dance tutor on Superprof.

The best Dance tutors available
Becah
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5 (10 reviews)
Becah
$60
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1st lesson is free!
Onton
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5 (10 reviews)
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$25
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Mika and kaia
5
5 (12 reviews)
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$150
/h
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1st lesson is free!
Oxana
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5 (12 reviews)
Oxana
$130
/h
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1st lesson is free!
Sujaya
4.9
4.9 (24 reviews)
Sujaya
$20
/h
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1st lesson is free!
Drishti
5
5 (7 reviews)
Drishti
$25
/h
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Vanshika
5
5 (7 reviews)
Vanshika
$31
/h
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1st lesson is free!
Anja
5
5 (7 reviews)
Anja
$25
/h
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1st lesson is free!
Becah
5
5 (10 reviews)
Becah
$60
/h
Gift icon
1st lesson is free!
Onton
5
5 (10 reviews)
Onton
$25
/h
Gift icon
1st lesson is free!
Mika and kaia
5
5 (12 reviews)
Mika and kaia
$150
/h
Gift icon
1st lesson is free!
Oxana
5
5 (12 reviews)
Oxana
$130
/h
Gift icon
1st lesson is free!
Sujaya
4.9
4.9 (24 reviews)
Sujaya
$20
/h
Gift icon
1st lesson is free!
Drishti
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5 (7 reviews)
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$25
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Vanshika
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5 (7 reviews)
Vanshika
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Anja
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5 (7 reviews)
Anja
$25
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Where Can I Find the Best Jazz Dance Classes?

The best jazz lessons are the ones that focus on your needs and help you become a better jazz dancer. Beginner jazz dancers should learn classic jazz moves and fundamental motor abilities in a 45–65 minute class. Jazz may be presented in a combo lesson with ballet or tap for very young dancers.

If you find jazz dance lessons for beginners that help you eliminate the fear of rejection and build confidence, such jazz lessons might be all you need to take your dancing skills to another level.

The tutors on Superprof are good at what they do. You will enjoy every bit of jazz lessons you take on the platform and gain the skills you need to demonstrate fantastic dance skills before a cheering audience.

With our comprehensive database of tutors for jazz dance lessons in Canada and nearby, Superprof will help you locate the best suitable instructor that does not just fit your needs and has your best interest at heart.

What do You Learn in Jazz Dance Lessons for Beginners?

The module of each jazz lesson on Superprof may vary depending on the student's needs and the course length. However, the following subjects are typically covered:

  • Learn the foundational elements of modern jazz dance, such as turns, steps, and basic kicks.
  • Study dancing to learn about stance, coordination, and posture.
  • Get increased balance, flexibility, and strength while letting go of inhibitions.
  • Recognize many dance forms and fundamental footwork, coordination, and corner-to-corner technique.
  • Learn up to four basic routines in various styles, and participate in group activities.
  • Get a thorough knowledge of dance and performance methods.
  • How to take in choreography.

What Are the Different Types of Jazz Dance?

A few steps are always included in the jazz dancers' elementary curriculum, regardless of the teachers' differing views on what constitutes the curriculum. All jazz dancers must master these fundamental moves to develop their technique, even as they continue to learn new moves. See what you can learn in a tap dance class for beginners.

People dancing
Jazz dance could teach you a lot of skills. Source: Pexels
  • Jazz walk

The jazz style's improvisational component comes into its own at this point. Jazz is known for its freedom of expression in music and movement. Jazz walks vary from one dancer to another. As your technique develops and you acquire more jazz steps, please consider how other dancers have established their particular jazz walks. It's a matter of allowing your voice and sense of the music to flow when developing your method.

  • Lyrical Jazz dance

It was natural for dancers to let lyrics, as opposed to brass, guide their dancing routines as more jazz moves started dominating music videos.

Lyrical jazz choreography was first referred to as such by dance studios and competition programs like "so you think you can dance." Instead of employing big band music, this choreography combined jazz moves with lyrical substance. To fit the tune better, you can anticipate slower, more ballet-like movements in a Lyrical Jazz class.

  • Jazz Funk

Jazz was originally a black dance form, but when it came to be known as the "American" dance form, it became the ideal link between black and white culture.

"Jazz Funk" served as a crossover style for new, non-black dancers who wanted to learn Hip Hop or Funk but didn't feel comfortable learning a manner predominately influenced by black music.

Jazz Funk is often performed nowadays to Pop music with Funk and Hip Hop influences, and the moves combine classical Jazz steps and those made famous around 1970.

  • Modern Jazz

Jazz and modern dance, which is more technical but still grounded, are connected through modern jazz.

Many people credit Martha Graham's groundbreaking choreography as the foundation for modern dance.

Her movement technique is called "Contraction and Release," Depending on where the head is placed, each movement can convey either liberating or confining emotions.

Combined with weighted, rhythmic jazz steps, this contraction and release method is still widely used in modern jazz.

  • Commercial Jazz

The term "commercial," as used by dancers, refers to any paid, professional employment and goes beyond only advertisements.

Because of this, commercial Jazz lessons frequently concentrate on the approachable, jazz-influenced dancing featured in music videos.

Discover Five Fun Facts about Jazz Dance

Did you know that "jazz" used to apply to any dance performed to jazz music? However, jazz dance has developed from being essentially nonexistent in the United States to one of the most well-known art forms in the country. It is characterized by rhythm, clean, strong lines, and individual torso motions. These are five things about jazz you didn't know in honor of this week's celebration of this distinctive genre.

A boy playing ball
If you could dance. You could do a lot more with your body. Source: Pexels
  1. African folk dances are where jazz dancing got its start. With roots in African slave dances, it originated as a social dance and evolved into one with a distinct technique over time.
  2. Several other dance genres have characteristics that were influenced by jazz. Dances like the Charleston, jitterbug, twist, and disco originated from jazz moves, even though jazz is its entire dance. Even the traditional foxtrot in a ballroom was choreographed using steps from Europe and set to classic jazz beats. Jazz components can now be seen in modern dance, on Broadway, and even as inspiration for contemporary ballet.
  3. Among dance forms, jazz is one of the newest. Although jazz dance became widely popular in the 1930s and is now a mainstay in dance studios, it is a relatively recent invention. Nevertheless, it mirrored the beginnings and development of jazz music, which was made famous by the big bands of the swing era in New Orleans, Chicago, and New York City.
  4. Less than ten years after it gained prominence, Americans lost interest in jazz. Since social dancing was its origin, it declined after the United States entered World War II in the 1940s. The aesthetic did not resurface on theatrical stages until the following decade when it did so with a vengeance. As our society, music, and culture evolve, these factors still greatly influence jazz.
  5. One of the most recognizable and widely practiced dance genres today is jazz. Jazz routines are now performed on well-known television programs like So You Think You Can Dance and even in the ballroom on Dancing with the Stars. Jazz choreography is no longer restricted to the social scene and is now highlighted on stage in hit plays like Hamilton and West Side Story.

Are you interested in knowing more about jazz? The first step is to study famous jazz dancers and how they make their moves. An online dance classes jazz is all you need to transform your wish into reality. A jazz tutor from Superprof will be glad to help you get started.

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Aria Young

Aria Young is a freelance writer and editor. Over the past years, she has written content on education, business and family.