What is Jazz Dance? A Beginner’s Guide to the African-Rooted Style

Get ready to move! When you begin jazz dance, you’re embracing a profound, energetic, and joyous legacy that traces its roots deep into African American history and Black American culture. For us at Decidedly Jazz Danceworks (DJD), this tradition is a continuous, living history, a dynamic movement form built on the principles of African-rooted and swing-based aesthetics. 

Founded in 1984 by Vicki Adams Willis, Michèle Moss, and Hannah Stilwell, DJD was born out of a profound commitment to the roots, traditions and evolution of this extraordinary art form. Today, we’re 21st-century jazz people.

Where Jazz Dance Begins

When you dance jazz, the movement starts with the music. It’s a genuine, soulful conversation between your body and the beat. For us, jazz means keeping the roots and history alive. Every time you move, you’re connected to the deep, powerful legacy. 

That commitment to the roots while evolving with the times, is what shaped the “DJD style.” It’s a dynamic aesthetic we’ve spent decades developing through the research of our founding and current artists. It’s an expressive, powerful movement.

What Makes It Jazz?

You’ll recognize jazz dance immediately by its grounded approach, including:

• Bent Knees (Grounded Power): The bent knee is essential. It keeps you grounded, relaxed, and ready to respond instantly to the rhythmic pulse of the music. 
• Torso Movement and Isolation: Jazz utilizes complex movement and the isolation of body parts, meaning your hips, chest, and shoulders can all move independently. This layering creates a nuanced rhythmic sophistication that is key to the dance.
• Rhythmic Sophistication: At DJD, we work with live music every season, and have since 1988. We honour the essential jazz relationship between dancers and musicians by commissioning and performing with live musicians.
• Musicality: Jazz dancers dance to jazz music, and music from the family of jazz; groove is paramount to jazz. 
• Personal Style: Jazz dance asks you to be you, improvisation is an important part of jazz dance, and finding your personal style is an important part of being a jazz dancer.
• Community: Jazz needs community. When dancing in a group, we are dancing together, are in conversation with each other, and with the music.

A Really, Really, Really Short History of Jazz

Jazz dance and music were born of African American roots and the Black American experience. Seeds were planted in plantation dances long before minstrels and vaudeville, before jazz was called “jazz” in the early 1900s. Jazz music stormed the world and folks were DANCING to it—the Black Bottom, Charleston, Lindy Hop—during the Jazz Age (1920s and ‘30s). 

Several things happened in the 1940s: World War II, the “cabaret tax” in the USA (1944–65), which made it cost more to have singing and dancing in your venue. Jazz music evolved into bebop, and although there were people dancing to it (i.e.. tap dancers sitting in with musicians) it was harder for less sophisticated ears to move to, and it became more of a sit-down-and-listen-to music. 

The golden eras of movie and Broadway musicals (1930s-50s) required dancers and choreographers. A dance school industry began to flourish, propelled by White people who put European dance aesthetics above African aesthetics. “Jazz” dance became upright and rhythmically square, drifting away from its roots. 

Meanwhile, in the juke joints, clubs and streets, Black culture continued to evolve and thrive. Blues became R&B, then rock and roll, soul, funk, hip hop, house, etc., with dances to match. These dances were shaped by African traditions, European forms, and the unique cultural experiences of Black Americans, making them a powerful expression of culture.

Jazz is a contemporary artform that evolves with the times. We actively engage with it by remaining aware of the spirit and historical roots that define jazz. We consider ourselves progressive historians; our role is to keep the lineage alive while moving the form forward.

Ready to Get Moving? 

At DJD, we believe in human connection, personal expression, and the dignity of all people. We’re a home for jazz dance, but we’re also a community dance hub. Our state-of-the-art facility, the DJD Dance Centre, features spectacular floor-to-ceiling windows and seven dance studios. It’s a space designed to inspire creativity.

If you’re a complete beginner, know that you’re welcome here. Our focus is on providing high-quality instruction that passionately shares the love of dance. You’ll find a wide and inclusive community that believes in dancing to music, with bent knees, movement in the torso, a supportive community, and joyful grooves. 

Whether you’re looking for recreational Adult Dance Classes, Youth Classes, or an intensive Professional Training Program, we’ve got something for everyone.

Quick Answers: A Beginner’s FAQ on Jazz Dance Today

Here are the answers to some common questions you might have as you get started:

What defines jazz dance?

Jazz dance is defined by its deep connection to jazz music, its foundation in African American vernacular styles, and core movement principles like bent knees, torso isolation, rhythm, improvisation, musicality, personal style, and community.

What best describes jazz dance?

Jazz dance has a messy history. Much of the “jazz” dance danced and taught globally isn’t jazz. Described best, jazz is dance that is grounded, rhythmic, involves improvisation, celebrates community and the individual within that community. It’s danced to the music of jazz and its family, and is even better if that music is played live. 

What is jazz dance today?

Jazz music and dance are over 100 years old, there are many evolutions, fusions and cousins in the form. If we follow the history of jazz music—from Ragtime to Swing to Bebop, to the Black American music evolutions of Soul, R&B, Funk, Hip Hop, House—with all of the dances that go along with them, as well as numerous fusions such as Latin Jazz and Afro Jazz, and of course the blues, we’ll see that DJD artists have been digging into these styles since inception, and much of this movement lives in our vast vocabulary.

Is jazz dance like hip-hop?

Hip hop has its roots in jazz dance and is a part of the jazz continuum. Many hip hop movements can be seen in jazz dance and in West African dance.

You’ve got a fantastic journey ahead of you. We can’t wait to see you move!