Thank you so much for making this video. I'm thinking about potentially starting Jazz dance and I wanted to learn more about it. A nice informative video 😊
I just saw this video and it's really interesting! :) Thanks for sharing! I have a question: Is Jazz Dance also kind of faster than Modern, Lyrical or Contemporary or is that a misinterpretation of mine ?
I would say from experience it's true that "typically" jazz is faster than lyrical, but it is not a rule. You can definitely have a slow and soft jazz dance or a faster lyrical. If it wasn't confusing enough already haha
I enjoyed your explanations of the history and the differences between jazz/contemporary dance vs western dance/ballet. quite interesting, and you have a lovely humble approach to sharing your understanding. That said, it gets a little boring seeing you on your bed without having some visual examples to change up the rhythm of this video. That would really add a great "oomph" to this video. If you could do that, it would spend another 20min and watch again! thanks for posting. Cheers
African American jazz dance has many forms, but things that are referred to as "vernacular jazz" are styles more rooted in African American style, rather than ballet. Here is a video that shows some of the movements that have developed out of African American Jazz dance, demonstrated by Chester Whitmore (who has been a part of a lot of that history as a dancer, teacher, choreographer, etc): ruclips.net/video/jAIwJd2tQo0/видео.html
Hello. I've been teaching/researching/studying jazz dance for 30 years, and your oversimplification and misunderstanding is quite harmful to the form. A few things... Modern was NOT an evolution of ballet....it was an oppositional response to ballet. It strived to be everything that ballet was not. You say that modern pulled from West African dance....incorrect. Eastern styles, yes, West African dance, no Lyrical ONLY exists within the "studio"or "competition" spheres, so no need to clarify. The reason that you observe that lyrical and competitive jazz share the same technique is because the "jazz" that is taught within studios/competitions is the codified, Eurocentric version of jazz that erased all historical elements and foundations of the form and replaced true jazz technique with ballet technique. A jazz aesthetic is far more than "sharp, straight lines, and parallel" - this oversimplification paints the wrong picture of what jazz truly is Broadway jazz - lots of passé and forced arch, like in Singing in the Rain.....?????? I could go on....however, perhaps you would like to understand what true jazz technique is (essentially the elements that were all but erased)... - rhythmically sophisticated (often within the footwork) - grounded movement (not to be confused with a plié....bending of the knees is obviously important when grounding your movement, but so is a softened and responsive spine) - use of the torso (in opposition to the straight spine of ballet, torso movement is key within a jazz context) - isolation of body parts that lead into..... - polyrhythms (having those isolated body parts moving WITH one another in different rhythmical patterns) - improvisation that allows for personal style (but not the improvisation that is so often seen with disregard to the music or the group of dancers) - deep musical connection (going beyond the lyrics and truly understanding the form, instrumentation, feel, etc. and moving as an authentic part of the music) - groove (this goes beyond dancing to funk music, but feeling the connection and "pocket" of any piece of jazz or jazz adjacent music that is playing.) Those are only some of the elements of jazz technique. Can you blend the above with ballet technique, of course you can....you can blend any number of forms....but it is important to distinguish ballet technique (plié, tendu, pas de bourre, pirouette) is not jazz technique. Yes, jazz dance began as a social form, but so much of what truly makes jazz dance jazz was erased when white choreographers pulled what they liked (without true understanding, so it was all very surface with little nuance and true jazz aesthetic) and called it jazz. Yes, that's what we call appropriation at its finest. It is clear you are speaking from your personal experience...which is yours, no problem. But to paint yourself as an expert is harmful to those in the world whose life passion is a specific art form. I too grew up within a studio and was never led to believe that jazz dance was anything but sharp ways of doing ballet technique....but then with the help of my mentors, was able to research, experience, and then continue to evolve the art of jazz dance, all while staying true to the roots and foundations of the form. Thanks for reading. I'd be happy to point you in the direction of better jazz dance resources if you're interested in expanding your (very narrow) understanding of jazz dance.
@@margaretpughdance Happy to share.... - Jazz Dance: The Story of American Vernacular Dance by Marshall and Jean Stearns - this is a DENSE book, so best to pop in and out, but worth reading the full thing. - Jazz Dance: A History of the Roots and Branches by Lindsay Guarino and Wendy Oliver (editors) - specifically chapter 1 by Patricia Cohen (Jazz Dance as a Continuum) - but the whole book is worth a read - Rooted Jazz Dance: Africanist Aesthetics and Equity in the Twenty-First Century by Lindsay Guarino, Carlos R.A.Jones and Wendy Oliver (editors) - specifically chapter 1 by Melanie George (An Overview of Jazz Dance in the Twenty-First Century), Chapter 3 by Lindsay Guarino (Whitness and the Fractured Jazz Dance Continuum), and chapter 23 by Carlos Jones (My Truth, My Self, Our Way Forward) - but the whole book is WELL worth the read - Steppin' on the Blues: The Visible Rhythms of African American Dance by Jacqui Malone There are many other books, but the above is a good starting place. You can check out the film, Uprooted: The Journey of Jazz Dance (available online in the states on HBO max and other streaming platforms). While not a perfect film, it does a decent job of sharing the history and journey that jazz dance takes - specifically it's appropriation and how we have landed where we are today - with jazz dance looking nothing like how it started. It makes too big a deal (in my opinion) on West Side Story - which in my eyes is NOT a jazz dance film (don't get me wrong, I LOVE West Side Story and have watched it more times that I can count, but it is NOT jazz). If nothing else, the film highlights many jazz dance "names" that you can take to then research and come to your own conclusions about jazz dance. I urge you to familiarize yourself with the full spectrum of jazz educators and creators. I'm currently working on a movement/lecture to be shared in January entitled "Using the Language of Jazz Dance", where I examine the narrative of "jazz dance has evolved" and why people (specifically who teach from a Eurocentric perspective (aka Competitive dance) are adamant that what they teach is the "real" jazz. I graduated in 1992 with a BA in Dance from the University of Waterloo in Canada - concentrating on dance history and pedagogy. I have researched and studied jazz dance history, practice, performance and pedagogy for the past 30 years....attending many conferences, intensives, workshops, and master classes (including lectures) to build my knowledge of jazz dance. Prior to my university experience, I danced competitively at a studio in Canada.
I think it would be nice if you would show some clips of each dance for an example because that would be easier for beginners
Perfect !!!!! Also perfect english! ( I am Brazilian😀). Yeah, keep going pleaseeeee
You are amazing！I'm impressed about all the things you know and how vividly and clearly you explained it in front of camera. Keep going please.
thank you so much :)
That was really helpful thank you! :)
Thank you so much for making this video. I'm thinking about potentially starting Jazz dance and I wanted to learn more about it. A nice informative video 😊
Super interesting, thanks for making this video!
I'm so glad you enjoyed!
Please do a video about swing dancing I feel like that has a lot of elements of jazz in it
All your videos are so interesting Margaret!!! I love watching them!!❤️
That makes me so happy, I'm glad you found them! I hope you are doing well :)
@@margaretpughdance Hope you are doing well too❤️
I just saw this video and it's really interesting! :) Thanks for sharing! I have a question: Is Jazz Dance also kind of faster than Modern, Lyrical or Contemporary or is that a misinterpretation of mine ?
I would say from experience it's true that "typically" jazz is faster than lyrical, but it is not a rule. You can definitely have a slow and soft jazz dance or a faster lyrical. If it wasn't confusing enough already haha
I enjoyed your explanations of the history and the differences between jazz/contemporary dance vs western dance/ballet. quite interesting, and you have a lovely humble approach to sharing your understanding. That said, it gets a little boring seeing you on your bed without having some visual examples to change up the rhythm of this video. That would really add a great "oomph" to this video. If you could do that, it would spend another 20min and watch again! thanks for posting. Cheers
I'm glad you enjoyed! and thank you so much for the feedback I'll definitely keep that in mind in the future!
I'm a non-dancer who loves to watch dance, so educate me!
Where can I see a video of a normal social African jazz dance without the ballet in it?
African American jazz dance has many forms, but things that are referred to as "vernacular jazz" are styles more rooted in African American style, rather than ballet.
Here is a video that shows some of the movements that have developed out of African American Jazz dance, demonstrated by Chester Whitmore (who has been a part of a lot of that history as a dancer, teacher, choreographer, etc): ruclips.net/video/jAIwJd2tQo0/видео.html
Try saying more current, instead of modern/contemporary 😅
haha I never ending struggle for me!
Hello. I've been teaching/researching/studying jazz dance for 30 years, and your oversimplification and misunderstanding is quite harmful to the form. A few things...
Modern was NOT an evolution of ballet....it was an oppositional response to ballet. It strived to be everything that ballet was not.
You say that modern pulled from West African dance....incorrect. Eastern styles, yes, West African dance, no
Lyrical ONLY exists within the "studio"or "competition" spheres, so no need to clarify.
The reason that you observe that lyrical and competitive jazz share the same technique is because the "jazz" that is taught within studios/competitions is the codified, Eurocentric version of jazz that erased all historical elements and foundations of the form and replaced true jazz technique with ballet technique.
A jazz aesthetic is far more than "sharp, straight lines, and parallel" - this oversimplification paints the wrong picture of what jazz truly is
Broadway jazz - lots of passé and forced arch, like in Singing in the Rain.....??????
I could go on....however, perhaps you would like to understand what true jazz technique is (essentially the elements that were all but erased)...
- rhythmically sophisticated (often within the footwork)
- grounded movement (not to be confused with a plié....bending of the knees is obviously important when grounding your movement, but so is a softened and responsive spine)
- use of the torso (in opposition to the straight spine of ballet, torso movement is key within a jazz context)
- isolation of body parts that lead into.....
- polyrhythms (having those isolated body parts moving WITH one another in different rhythmical patterns)
- improvisation that allows for personal style (but not the improvisation that is so often seen with disregard to the music or the group of dancers)
- deep musical connection (going beyond the lyrics and truly understanding the form, instrumentation, feel, etc. and moving as an authentic part of the music)
- groove (this goes beyond dancing to funk music, but feeling the connection and "pocket" of any piece of jazz or jazz adjacent music that is playing.)
Those are only some of the elements of jazz technique. Can you blend the above with ballet technique, of course you can....you can blend any number of forms....but it is important to distinguish ballet technique (plié, tendu, pas de bourre, pirouette) is not jazz technique. Yes, jazz dance began as a social form, but so much of what truly makes jazz dance jazz was erased when white choreographers pulled what they liked (without true understanding, so it was all very surface with little nuance and true jazz aesthetic) and called it jazz. Yes, that's what we call appropriation at its finest.
It is clear you are speaking from your personal experience...which is yours, no problem. But to paint yourself as an expert is harmful to those in the world whose life passion is a specific art form.
I too grew up within a studio and was never led to believe that jazz dance was anything but sharp ways of doing ballet technique....but then with the help of my mentors, was able to research, experience, and then continue to evolve the art of jazz dance, all while staying true to the roots and foundations of the form.
Thanks for reading. I'd be happy to point you in the direction of better jazz dance resources if you're interested in expanding your (very narrow) understanding of jazz dance.
Hello would love to see your list of references
@@margaretpughdance
Happy to share....
- Jazz Dance: The Story of American Vernacular Dance by Marshall and Jean Stearns - this is a DENSE book, so best to pop in and out, but worth reading the full thing.
- Jazz Dance: A History of the Roots and Branches by Lindsay Guarino and Wendy Oliver (editors) - specifically chapter 1 by Patricia Cohen (Jazz Dance as a Continuum) - but the whole book is worth a read
- Rooted Jazz Dance: Africanist Aesthetics and Equity in the Twenty-First Century by Lindsay Guarino, Carlos R.A.Jones and Wendy Oliver (editors) - specifically chapter 1 by Melanie George (An Overview of Jazz Dance in the Twenty-First Century), Chapter 3 by Lindsay Guarino (Whitness and the Fractured Jazz Dance Continuum), and chapter 23 by Carlos Jones (My Truth, My Self, Our Way Forward) - but the whole book is WELL worth the read
- Steppin' on the Blues: The Visible Rhythms of African American Dance by Jacqui Malone
There are many other books, but the above is a good starting place.
You can check out the film, Uprooted: The Journey of Jazz Dance (available online in the states on HBO max and other streaming platforms). While not a perfect film, it does a decent job of sharing the history and journey that jazz dance takes - specifically it's appropriation and how we have landed where we are today - with jazz dance looking nothing like how it started. It makes too big a deal (in my opinion) on West Side Story - which in my eyes is NOT a jazz dance film (don't get me wrong, I LOVE West Side Story and have watched it more times that I can count, but it is NOT jazz). If nothing else, the film highlights many jazz dance "names" that you can take to then research and come to your own conclusions about jazz dance. I urge you to familiarize yourself with the full spectrum of jazz educators and creators.
I'm currently working on a movement/lecture to be shared in January entitled "Using the Language of Jazz Dance", where I examine the narrative of "jazz dance has evolved" and why people (specifically who teach from a Eurocentric perspective (aka Competitive dance) are adamant that what they teach is the "real" jazz.
I graduated in 1992 with a BA in Dance from the University of Waterloo in Canada - concentrating on dance history and pedagogy. I have researched and studied jazz dance history, practice, performance and pedagogy for the past 30 years....attending many conferences, intensives, workshops, and master classes (including lectures) to build my knowledge of jazz dance. Prior to my university experience, I danced competitively at a studio in Canada.