Dance: Jazz

Origins of Jazz?

-rhythms and movements brought to America by African slaves

-intertwine of African cultures

-influenced by musical genre

Slave Act of 1740

prohibited slaves from playing African drums or performing African dances

Minstrel Shows

-white performers mimicking slaves lives and doing black face

-it was difficult for a black dancer to gain stature as part of a dance troupe

• Because of this Black performers migrated to Europe and were well received than America

Dixieland jazz music

fast regime beat

The Charleston

dancers used body isolations for the first time in a social dance and the hand clapping and foot stamping

Bill “Bojangles” Robinson

black tap dancer who achieved world fame through the clean and clear percussive rhythms of his feet

early forms of tap dance evolved from where?

Irish jig

“symphonic jazz”

-Paul Whiteman

-Syncopation places the accent or emphasis on normally unaccented beats of music. It adds to the surprise and spontaneity of jazz dance