Jazz, tap, and theatrical dance

1. Jazz, tap, and theatrical dance

2. JAZZ DANCE • Jazz dance evolved along lines parallel to jazz music. • Jazz dance, like jazz music, is a blend of European and African traditions in an American environment. State of Louisiana Department of Education A Fine Arts Survey 1992

3. JAZZ DANCE • Tribal songs and dances were brought to America by slaves and, with freedom, blacks performed native dances and music in New Orleans, borrowing European tunes and mingling them with black rhythms and improvised jazz melodies. • These spirited jazz sounds changed white dances. • Jerky, lively, unexpected movements became popular. State of Louisiana Department of Education A Fine Arts Survey 1992

4. JAZZ DANCE • In the 1950s as rock’n’roll superseded jazz as the most popular music, movements to this new contemporary music form changed but continued to be called jazz dance. State of Louisiana Department of Education A Fine Arts Survey 1992

5. JAZZ DANCE • Today dances performed to rap and other contemporary music forms continue to be called jazz dance. • Jazz dance has no single, simple definition. • It is an approach, rather than a style of movement. • There is improvisation, great variety and constant vitality. State of Louisiana Department of Education A Fine Arts Survey 1992

6. JAZZ DANCE • It is always changing. • It is found in social dancing, Broadway shows, Hollywood movies, television spectacles, the concert stage; it is used to catch the consumer’s eye in television advertisements. • Perhaps because jazz dance is seen so often by the general public, it is less likely to be seen in a concert setting. State of Louisiana Department of Education A Fine Arts Survey 1992

7. TAP DANCING State of Louisiana Department of Education A Fine Arts Survey 1992

8. TAP DANCING • Tap dancing is a blend of the syncopated rhythms and tribal dances of the African slaves with step dances brought to America in the forms of the Irish jig, reel, and hornpipe, and the English clog. • Tap dancing concentrates on intricate, rhythmical footwork accented my metal “taps” attached to the bottoms of the dancers’ shoes. • It has been used in minstrel shows, vaudeville, and nightclubs, and most recently in films and on Broadway. State of Louisiana Department of Education A Fine Arts Survey 1992

9. THEATRICAL DANCE State of Louisiana Department of Education A Fine Arts Survey 1992

10. THEATRICAL DANCE • Theatrical dance refers to dance used in musical theatre productions. • Its style varies depending on the style of the music. • In the early days of musical theatre, dancers were entertaining but separate from the plot. State of Louisiana Department of Education A Fine Arts Survey 1992

11. THEATRICAL DANCE • Agnes De Mille is the choreographer given credit for first using dance to advance the plot. • She did this by incorporating vernacular or everyday, characteristic gesture and acting into her dances as seen in “Oklahoma,” “Carousel,” and “Brigadoon.” State of Louisiana Department of Education A Fine Arts Survey 1992

12. THEATRICAL DANCE • Musicals incorporate several styles of dance into one production. • De Mille’s choreography for “Oklahoma” used both ballet and modern, while “Cats” uses both jazz and ballet. • One of the longest-running shows in Broadway history, Michael Bennett's “A Chorus Line,” uses tap, ballet, and jazz. State of Louisiana Department of Education A Fine Arts Survey 1992

13. OKLAHOMA State of Louisiana Department of Education A Fine Arts Survey 1992

14. CATS State of Louisiana Department of Education A Fine Arts Survey 1992

15. A CHORUS LINE State of Louisiana Department of Education A Fine Arts Survey 1992

16. State of Louisiana Department of Education A Fine Arts Survey 1992