An insight into the people who shaped jazz dance into what it is today.
1. Jack Cole
Known as the 'father of theatrical jazz dance", he forever changed the face of theatre dance by combining ethnic movement with jazz. This is now recognised as American jazz, used in all dance studios.
What is Cole's signature style?
His signature movements are huge leaps into deep plies, rapid direction changes long knee slides and isolation of head, arms and fingers. Cole's challenging warm-up is still used today and his movements are quite vital in jazz dance.
He became a pioneer of female dancers dominating in the modern day which is really important historically. However, jazz/theatre dance is arguably lacking male dancers - let me know your thoughts below on this.
2) Lester Horton
Horton was influential to jazz dance as he was one of the first choreographers in the US to insist upon racial integration within his work. Lester Horton developed a modern dance technique based on Native American dances during the 1920s, 30s and 40s. I used to do solely modern jazz so I know he had a big influence on me.
What is Horton's signature style?
His signature movements are: flat backs, lateral stretches, tilt lines and lunges and incorporates lyrical, circular movements focusing on stretching in opposite directions. Jazz teachers often use these movements in jazz warm-ups, speaking from experience!
3) Bob Fosse
Fosse was an American dancer who revolutionized musicals with his distinct style of dance. This includes his frequent use of signature moves and provocative steps. Without him, some iconic and well-known musicals would've never aired. Such as Sweet Charity.
What is Fosse's signature style?
Some signature moves he used in choreography are turned-in knees, the sideways shuffle, rolled shoulders and the splayed finger 'jazz hand'. The jazz hand being iconic from then on. I did a workshop recently in the style of Bob Fosse and it was rather different to what I am used to.
4) Katherine Dunham
She was an American dancer, choreographer and anthropologist who was most influential for creating the Dunham technique. Dunham revolutionised American dance in the 1930s by going to roots of black dance and rituals and transforming them into significant artistic choreography..
What is the Dunham technique?
This is a fusion of ballet, modern jazz and Afro-Caribbean dance over drum rhythms. In the warm up it focuses on movements like rib, hip and head isolations. Also, movements like arabesques, pirouettes, abstract jumps and plies. These are quite abstract movements which are used currently and allowed people to be more open to new styles within jazz.
(Link to blog post from someone’s personal experience at a Dunham technique class here https://www.essence.com/entertainment/dance-class-katherine-dunham-technique/)
5) Luigi (Eugene Louis Faccuito)
1950s saw jazz dance evolve in what we now know today as modern jazz dance. (A style I grew up learning). Luigi was often named as 'father jazz' because he created the first formal jazz technique. After getting into a car accident, his disabilities robbed him of balance and coordination. He decided to pretend there was an imaginary bar that he was pushing down on and that helped him keep upright and poised. This is something dance teachers often tell us to do to help build balance and posture.
The Luigi Technique
One of his innovations straying away from movement is him counting in 8s. Since then, dance teachers count '5,6,7,8' in dance combinations. When he was in shows, he used his own stretches and strengthening exercises which other performers followed. The Warm-up, Technique is a training program that promotes body alignment, balance and core strength.
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