What is jazz dance?

Jazz dance is an extension of African dance, which was brought to the United States by slaves and gradually evolved into a localized popular dance in the United States. Because of the slave trade that lasted for about 300 years, African blacks were fired in the United States and all over the world. In the new environment and new life, I live a miserable slave life. Although in this painful situation, I still haven't forgotten their music and dance. No matter the joy, anger, sadness, joy and worship in life, whenever there is an opportunity, they will sing the songs of their hometown and dance their own national dances. Because of the constant innovation and invention of new dance steps, Americans are gradually interested in these rhythmic black dances. So over time, it gradually became an exultant and urban music and dance.

The word "jazz" was originally the name of a music. The word "jazz" in music terminology didn't come into use until after 1900. Before that, it seemed to be called "Jass". Jazz dance evolved naturally with jazz at the beginning of the 20th century, and because jazz has always been quite lively in performance, "jazz up" has a noisy, manic and lively meaning. The earliest jazz dance was performed by black ballroom dancing and jazz, which was popular in rural areas of southern America, especially some amateur dancers in New Orleans. They will perform jazz dance at parties or clubs. 19 17, when popular dancers performed according to the meaning of the lyrics, a man named W. Benton Overstreet wrote a song called "The Jazz Dance", and the "Jazz Dance" in this song became a permanent synonym for jazz dance, and the name of jazz dance was also the same.

When jazz dance appeared in the form of "dance music" accompanied by improvisation and lively jazz, those black and white dancers improved and changed their basic pace. In addition, they inspired the innovative inspiration of the latecomers, increased hip swing, shoulder jitter and independent movement of other parts of the body.

Since 1920, black people in New Orleans began to play their jazz music, many rock dances with mixed styles have been very popular, such as Charleston, Summer and Call. Later, due to the birth of Boogie-Woogie and Jitba, dance styles appeared.

From the late 1930s to the 1940s, jazz dance evolved into three forms: the first is modern jazz dance with strong classical ballet flavor, the second is jazz dance influenced by black people and Latin dance, and the last is mixed jazz dance with humorous music and tap dance. Although jazz dance was very popular at that time, it began to decline in the late 1940s, because the new jazz music replaced the old big jazz band, and its music rhythm was too complicated to match the dance steps. In addition, the invention of the phonograph and the heavy taxes imposed by the government (the United States) on the dance floor have led to the closure of many dance clubs that were once in the limelight.

Although it is the decline of old jazz dance, it only represents a ceremony connecting the past and the future. Based on the fact that the United States is a melting pot of a nation, new jazz dance also has a high degree of integration; It combines the jazz dance steps of the older generation with the new dance steps popular in the fifties, sixties and seventies, and also inherits the rise of mass media and promotes the prosperity of jazz dance.

The jazz dance we see today retains the characteristics of syncopated music melody (see note), throwing limbs or independent operation, but it can be performed not only with jazz music, but also with pop music, blues music, rock music or disco music. Today's jazz dance has great inclusiveness and plasticity, and can absorb the characteristics of the most popular music and dance at any time. Because of this, jazz dance is very entertaining and deeply loved by the public.

* Note: syncopation)-Usually, the order of strength in a bar is clearly defined by the beat mark, but in order to change the beat, the position of the strong sound can be changed, that is, the stress position in the regular bar can be temporarily moved to other beats. When the rhythm changes from normal strong beat to weak beat or pause or no beat, the rhythm is syncopated. This method of changing the beat is called syncopation. When the powerful beat falls on the unexpected syncopation rhythm, the action becomes very exciting and wonderful; It is also the conversion of stress and the basis of jazz.

Characteristics of jazz dance

The essence of jazz dance action is a free and simple expression, which directly expresses the inner feelings with the shaking, shaking and twisting of the body. Just like when we hear our favorite music, we naturally express our feelings from the heart, and our bodies can't help moving with the rhythm of the music, such as snapping our fingers and swinging our first foot, sometimes excited and sometimes slowly and gently dissolving into the music.

Jazz dance is a fast and dynamic rhythmic dance, which belongs to extroverted dance, unlike the introverted dance shown by classical ballet or modern dance. Jazz dance is mainly the expression of action and melody. Its main purpose is to entertain others and yourself, and it can bring you a good time to get along with others. This is also the reason why its performance is not publicity at all. The joyful atmosphere and spirit in the dance are very infectious. Although you must have very good skills to be a successful jazz dancer, almost everyone can master its basic dance steps, and the performance space of jazz dance is very broad. Personal color and unique style are the most striking places when dancing.

Jazz dance is mainly a dance that pursues pleasure, liveliness and vitality. Its characteristic is that it can dance freely, unlike traditional classical ballet, which must stick to one form and follow the inherent posture, but it is different from disco dance, which is completely entertaining itself and still has a modern law in freedom. For example, you can express your feelings with jazz music, and you can also use or imitate other dance techniques; For example, in footwork and movements, the position and principle of ballet, the sensitivity of tap dancing skills, the contraction and relaxation of modern dance body, the pace and hips of Latin dance, and the moving position of the upper body of oriental dance are applied.

The elements and characteristics of jazz dance movements can be summarized as follows:

Bend your knees to bring your center of gravity closer to the ground. Keep the center of gravity low, make the lower limbs elastic, and at the same time keep the joints of the upper body relaxed, and quickly make the movements required in the rhythm, so as to diversify the movements.

Moving the center of gravity quickly, especially horizontally, is the expression of jazz dancing skills.

Let the head, shoulders, waist, buttocks, trunk and other parts of the body do independent movements.

An action that emphasizes angle and linearity.

Use rhythmic and complex segmented actions to show the rhythm of the action. For example, in an action, we put the remake on our heads or hands, and the actions of our hands and heads are cut out from our own actions during the action, not at the same time. That is to say, an action can be completed in one beat, but now we divide it into four beats and the action is also divided into four parts.

Multi-rhythm quickly expresses two or three rhythms simultaneously with the body.

Different types of jazz dance

There are also many types of jazz dance, especially in the American dance world. The mainstream can be divided into tap dance, stage jazz dance, modern jazz dance and street jazz dance.

Tap dancing can be said to be the originator of jazz dance. As early as the middle of 1800, tap dance appeared, which inherited the complex and divided rhythm characteristics of African dance. During the prime time of jazz dance from 1920 to 1940, jazz dance is basically equivalent to tap dance, and tap dance is jazz dance. Professional kickers often perform with large jazz bands at this time. Later, due to the change of trend and the development of jazz dance genre, tap dance was gradually regarded as a dance other than jazz dance.

Stage jazz dance

Top hat and walking stick are commonly used props in stage jazz dance, but stage jazz dance is not limited to this. Jazz dance on stage is gorgeous in style, characterized by swaying to the accompaniment of syncopated jazz music. Stage jazz followed the development of Broadway musicals. They developed from dazzling and relaxed entertainment in the 1920s to well-managed and well-structured musicals in the 1940s and 1950s. In the 1920s and 1930s, jazz and tap dancing were often just episodes outside the opera plot.

In the 1920s, many "dance directors" knew nothing about dance. They only know how to choose women with sweet faces as actors. But in the mid-1930s, "choreographers" began to ban these "dance directors". George balanchine was the first person to use the name "choreographer" on Broadway; He is also the founder and choreographer of the New York City Ballet. Ballet was the first artistic dance that had an important influence on Broadway, and its success encouraged later attempts to make serious use of jazz elements. Blanche's classic works include 1936' s Slaughter on the Tenth Avenue, composed by Herbie Harper, a tap dancer.

Since the mid-1930s, Broadway is no longer a simple jazz dance, tap dance and chorus entertainment program, but requires dancers to receive formal dance skills training. The prosperity of this new stage jazz dance can be attributed to three outstanding choreographers: Katherine Dunham, Jerome Robbins and Jake Cole (he is known as "the father of American jazz dance"). Jia Fulian Duanxian University majored in anthropology and won a scholarship to study folk dances in West India and Africa. She is good at bringing the dance colors of primitive tribes to the audience with her unique costumes, lighting and choreography. Her dance lessons are often mixed with original dance movements in typical basic dance training exercises. Duan Xian even co-choreographed the musical Cabin in the Air with George blanchard. Jigall is an important figure in the development of stage jazz dance; 1942, he mixed the movements of East Indian dance and American Harlem ballroom dance, and appeared in front of the audience for the first time with the swing rhythm of jazz. Jagger's choreography works on Broadway and movies are numerous, such as Magdalena, An Interesting Event on the Way to the Forum, Cover Girl, merry widow, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Showbiz is Unparalleled, Les Girls and so on. Gore has trained several dance stars, such as Mitzi Gaynor, rita hayworth and Gwen Verdon. He also designed dance steps for actresses Marilyn Monroe and jane russell. Even dance celebrities gene kelly and Matt Mattox skipped Goyle's works.

Michael Bennett1975' s "A Chorus Line" is very popular and won the Pulitzer Prize. It is one of the enduring musicals on Broadway. "A Chorus Line" praised other Broadway dancers and dance styles-strong jazz dance, tap dance, dazzling ballet and performance skills and techniques. Other Broadway musicals, such as Caballe in bob fosse in 1972, Chicago in 1975 and Dan Xin in 1978, also promoted the popularity of jazz dance. Excellent musicals in the 1980s, such as Cat, Miss Saigon and Song and Dance, also gave Broadway jazz some opportunities to perform. However, because these plays are mainly songs, there has been no obvious breakthrough in stage jazz dance since then.

Modern jazz music

Shadow and action characteristics of common ballet and modern dance movements in modern jazz dance. In addition to the typical jazz-style angular movements and lively limb and trunk movements, smooth and continuous movements are also used to emphasize slender lines and curves. Wrist pressing, style and posture are equally important in stage jazz dance and modern jazz dance. There are several obvious differences between modern jazz dance and street jazz dance.

Modern jazz dance

Street jazz dance

The remake of the action is downward, which is synchronous with the remake of the music.

The action of remake plié upward, and bend your knees for half a beat before the remake.

Independent movement of the body (trunk, upper limbs, etc.). ) is opposite to the movement of the foot (such as in series).

Independent movement of the body (trunk, upper limbs, etc.). ) are the same as those of the feet (for example, moving forward at the same time).

The action is clear and accurate ("in place"), with the focus of remake.

The action is more free and slightly exaggerated.

The movement of the head emphasizes clear and neat direction changes.

The movement of the head is biased towards the rhythm of the swing or pendulum.

The pelvic swing has a clear direction goal.

The pelvis swings in a relaxed posture.

Modern jazz dancers always have a ballet training background, which enables them to freely combine one-legged rotation and leg bending balance with jazz walking and sliding. Dancers can highly coordinate the accurate swinging and twisting of the head, shoulders, trunk and hips, which makes this jazz style very ornamental.

Street jazz

Now we usually call it street jazz dance, but in fact it mainly includes break dance and hip hop.

As early as the 1970s, a novel action was called "Bang Bang &; Lock "has already appeared. This mainly includes quickly and forcefully protruding and locking the head, shoulders, arms, buttocks and other parts. There used to be a dance group called Lockers in Los Angeles, USA. They are the best performers of this dance. They performed this new dance style on TV programs, and their clothes were exaggerated like clowns. Although this dance group was only popular for a short time, the dance style at that time evolved into break dance in the late 1970s and hip-hop in the 1990s.

Break dancing is a free and open dance mode, and its main movements include: electric boogie (as if there is electricity flowing through the body), local pop-pin '- suddenly and violently moving local body parts, a bit like muscle spasm) and breaking'-pin'-rotating on the ground like gymnastics, sometimes supported by hands, but also with arms, back and knees. This dance originated in the black slums of new york in 1970s. It is actually a channel for street teenagers to challenge and communicate with each other. Whoever can do the most difficult rotation and dance the best will be recognized by his peers. The rise of electronic music and the skill that disc jockeys love to play with "erasing vinyl records" are also closely related to the prosperity of break dancing. With the sudden change of music, dancers make all kinds of freeze-frames and unexpected special movements under the control of the music program host.

In the late 1980s, break dancing began to be ignored and replaced by hip hop, a dance that also reflected the street culture of teenagers in the 1990s. The rise of almost every dance is closely related to the accompanying music, and Hip Hop is no exception. In addition to its unique music (Rap-rap music), it also has unique costumes (very wide pants, exaggerated T-shirts, and baseball caps worn upside down) and unique vocabulary. Hip Hop has something to do with the craze of professional basketball in the United States, because many rappers also love to wear NBA jerseys, so even dancers follow this trend of dressing up. Because jazz dance is a dance that keeps up with the trend, the influence of pop culture on jazz dance is obvious.

The action root of street jazz dance is also African action style, but it does not use the typical jazz swing beat. In addition, the action of street jazz dance itself is not arranged for stage performance, so it will abandon the tradition of paying attention to skill and beauty in typical jazz dance and pay attention to the interpretation of music and lyrics instead. Comparatively speaking, the movements of hip-hop jazz dance are not so complicated in music rhythm.

From movies to music videos.

Jerome Robbins used mambo dance and call dance in 1957' s west side story, which pushed jazz dance in the film to a peak. John travolta became an instant hit on 1977 with Saturday Night Fever. The film even set off a disco craze. The musical Grease from 65438 to 0978 reflects the dance craze in the 1950s (Grease 2 and Grease Sequel published in the 1980s are similar in route to Grease, but far less popular than the first episode). 1979 bob fosse directed the opening jazz choreography of "Jazz of All that"; 1980' s "fame" left a deep impression on the audience and made the public know more about the dancer's career (later, the United States made a film called "Fame L"). Answer: "TV series). In addition, break dance shines brilliantly in Flash Dance (1983), Break Dance (1984) and Break in; In the film, dancers freeze their movements, turn difficult gymnastics movements into tricks, and occasionally dance like puppets, challenging onlookers with dance skills. " Footloose (1984) is another group of films made in 1980s, which depicts rebellious youths and young people venting through dancing. The dance performed by mikhail baryshnikov, a top ballerina in White Night, and gregory hines, a famous black dancer, was wonderful. Gregory Hans did his best in the film "Tap Dance" of 1989, which is a model of modern tap dancers. Generally speaking, the 1980s can also be said to be the golden age of dance films.

When the MTV channel 198 1 came out, commercial jazz dance immediately took on a new direction. At first, this TV station only promoted new singers and songs, but it was unexpectedly popular and instantly became the darling of the younger generation, especially in North America. When the use value of music video increases, dance gradually becomes an important element in the video. Many black chanting song groups will naturally use break dancing as a foil, and even older mainstream singers such as elton john and Pat Netal will decorate their videos with different types of jazz dances. In just ten years, music videos have completely changed the image of jazz dance in the public mind. In the past, Broadway and old TV musicals were the models of jazz dance and the goals of young dancers, but now street jazz dance has become a symbol of touch trend. The king of early music videos was Michael Jackson, the "king of pop music", who combined a strong street style with the charm of old Broadway dance. Other outstanding dancers in the music video include paula abdul, Madonna, janet jackson, jennifer lopez, britney spears and Pink. In recent years, the music groups of boys and girls are popular again, and most of them use different types of jazz dances to accompany them.

Although the music video has successfully brought hip-hop and some jazz dances to many audiences, its main goal is to sell songs and sing, and there is not much room for choreography and creation, so it has not made much contribution to the artistic level of jazz dance.

In the past two years, there have also been several films about dance, including Center Stage (2000), which mainly describes Bootboy (2000), Dancer (2000), Saving the Last Dance (200 1) and Bojangles (20065438+0). Although Center Stage mainly describes the selection of ballet companies and the struggle of dancers, there is a scene in which the hero and heroine are taking jazz lessons in a dance studio in new york. The scene and atmosphere are very desirable for jazz lovers.

Requirements of Jazz Dance for Physical Fitness

Jazz dance, like modern dance and ballet, is a severe test of physiology, which makes warm-up preparation before practice extremely important. Warm-up exercises can also bring psychological and physical benefits to jazz dancers. From the physiological point of view, the functions of warm-up exercise include: increasing the speed and strength of muscle contraction, improving muscle coordination ability, preventing or reducing the injury of muscles, tendons and ligaments; Especially jazz dancers, back, chest, abdomen and other parts are also used quite frequently, so we should pay more attention when doing warm-up exercises. Psychologically, it can make learners have the psychology of preparing to start sports and a prelude to cultivate emotions, so that students can concentrate more and feel the motivation of learning.

The warm-up of jazz dance is very rhythmic, usually lasting 20-30 minutes. Ballet plié and relevés are often added to warm-up exercises to help prepare the muscles of feet and legs due to toe, quick kicking, rotation, jumping and continuous or rapid contraction of abdomen in jazz dance courses. In addition, independent and joint movements of upper limbs and trunk are needed to achieve the effect of whole body warmth and muscle flexibility.

Just as important as warm-up exercise is relaxation exercise. After the jazz dance class, the main joints and muscles should be stretched again, so that the tired muscles can be relieved more naturally and quickly, which will help to alleviate the muscle pain and fatigue the next day.

If analyzed from the perspective of physical factors, the relevant considerations of jazz dance include:

Cardiopulmonary endurance-Generally, the time of an action combination in jazz dance is not very long, but the rest time between groups is often very short. Therefore, if learners have good cardio-pulmonary endurance, they will generally maintain good dance skills after repeated movements, so as not to get tired prematurely.

Muscle strength and muscle endurance-Jazz dance has many quick and instantaneous movements, so basic muscle strength is necessary. In addition, because learning to dance often needs to practice the same movement many times, the requirements for muscle endurance are relatively high. In particular, the endurance of lower limb muscles must be well exercised, otherwise it is easy to cause damage to knees, ankles, hip joints and nearby muscles. Jazz dancers also strengthen their muscles through other auxiliary exercises (such as water exercises and yoga training).

Flexibility-No matter what kind of dance, if you want to dance beautifully, your body must be flexible, otherwise you can't give full play to the beauty of lines, and jazz dance is no exception. Be sure to pay attention to the stretching action of warm-up. Before the body muscles are fully warmed up, it is not appropriate to stretch in the form of elastic vibration, otherwise it will be counterproductive and strain the muscles. Static stretching is safer, but it also requires patience. Flexibility exercises should not reach the level of pain, as long as the muscles feel tight. The duration (angle) of the action can range from 10 seconds to 30-40 seconds. The longer the time, the higher the load of muscles and connective tissue near the joint.

Body composition-most excellent jazz dancers are muscular, but generally have less body fat. This makes their bodies show obvious muscle stripes, which makes them feel more energetic and powerful when dancing. The lower fat content also prevents the dancer from bearing unnecessary weight, making the dance action more chic and light. Although learning jazz dance can also be a way to lose weight, it is suitable for overweight beginners to lose weight in other ways first, otherwise it will cause a certain crisis to the health of muscles and joints.

Coordination-Coordination is very important in jazz dance. In addition to the coordination of hands and feet, there is also the coordination of head, trunk and limbs. In addition, in jazz dance, different parts of the body dance at different rhythms at the same time, which is really a great test for the dancers' coordination ability. For beginners, it is appropriate to practice the movements of different parts of the body first and then continue to cooperate with the required movements, so that the sense of success will be higher.

Dexterity-in jazz dance, different directions and levels of movements are often used to increase the sense of excitement and entertainment, so dancers must be dexterous and skilled, and the angle should be accurate and rapid when turning around.

Balance-the ability of dynamic balance is often more widely used in jazz dance than static balance, that is to say, dancers must clearly shift the focus of dance steps, in addition, they must skillfully position themselves with their eyes to help them keep balance when turning.