Jazz dancing is one of the most popular, fun, and energetic dance styles known today. With music styles ranging from pop and hip hop to classic rock and Broadway show tunes, jazz class is always upbeat and exciting.

At KDC, dancers may begin jazz classes starting at age five. A typical jazz class begins with a warm-up of stretching exercises, body conditioning, and isolation movements, followed by across-the-floor progressions, and a center combination. As dancers grow and improve, more technique is introduced and movements and combinations become more complex.

Every jazz dancer has the opportunity to add their own individual style and personality to their dancing. To excel in jazz, it is important for dancers to have a strong foundation in ballet technique. Balance and body placement learned in ballet is applied in jazz technique to help dancers execute complicated movements and achieve the beautiful lines created by jazz choreography.

A Brief History of Jazz Dance

Jazz dance emerged alongside jazz music in the 1900s in New Orleans. The early movement and style of jazz was inspired by the vernacular dances of African slaves. Originally, jazz dance referred to all types of dancing done to jazz music including jitterbug, tap dance, and others. Jazz has always been influenced by popular culture and, over the years, it has grown to encompass bits of African dancing, ballet technique, contemporary dance, musical theater, and social dancing.