Jazz dancing is a forever changing dance form of popular and creative dance movement since the 1920’s. It represents our popular culture and as the culture changes, so does the appearance of Jazz dancing. Bob Fosse style, Fred Astaire, Alvin Ailey; the movements are big and exaggerated and there is usually an attitude the dancer conveys to the audience, depending on the dance. Jazz dance originated in the 1800’s with the African-Americans who were brought over to America on the slave ships. It was an expression of their emotion and their physicality. They started using isolations and body movements that were indicative of their culture. From then New Orleans developed this great jazz music culture and jazz dance continued on in its form and development. In the 1030’s – 1960’s it surged into the musical theatre route and certain choreographers such as George Balanchine, Jack Cole, Jerome Robbins and Bob Fosse were using jazz in their musical theatre choreography and making it into their own expression of choreography and art. They started using their own style of isolations and contractions that really made a popular rise in the national eye. As jazz has progressed it has fed into a
progression of music. So as music enhances, jazz enhances and choreographers feel the jazz music in a different way and then create different movement. That’s where contemporary is coming into the picture and hip hop. Everything is sort of fusing together and it all stems from our jazz roots in America. It grew alongside the evolution of American culture.