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Jazz Dance
Jazz classes for children, teens and adults
Jazz has become one of the most popular dance styles in recent years, mainly due to its popularity on television shows, movies, music videos and commercials. People enjoy watching jazz dancers, kids, teen and adults alike, as the dancing is fun and energetic.
History of Jazz Dance
Jazz dance is a classification shared by a broad range of dance styles. Prior to the 1950s, jazz dance referred to dance styles that originated from African American. In the 1950s, a new genre of jazz dance—modern jazz dance—emerged, with roots in Caribbean traditional dance. Every individual style of jazz dance has roots traceable to one of these two distinct origins.
Jazz Class Structure
A good children’s jazz class explodes with energy. With music styles ranging from hip-hop to show tunes, the beat alone will get you moving. Our teen jazz classes and adult jazz classes encourage expression of individual style and originality. Our jazz teachers begin with a thorough warm-up and then lead the jazz lesson in a series of stretching exercises and isolation movements. Isolations involve moving one part of the body while the rest of the body remains still. Jazz dancers also practice the art of suspension. Suspension involves moving through positions instead of stopping and balancing in them. The teachers will end the class with a short cool down to help prevent muscle soreness.
What to Wear to Your Jazz Class
Kids jazz dance classes require dancewear where a teacher can see the dancers body lines, so baggy clothes are discouraged. Teen and adult jazz classes also require a tighter fitting outfit. A dancer's body lines need to be visible for proper correction. Tights and leotards are fine, but most jazz dancers prefer to wear jazz or dance pants. Jazz pants are usually boot-cut or flared styles, as tight bottoms would restrict ankle movement. Tops usually worn for jazz include form-fitting tank tops, t-shirts or leotards. Jazz shoes or jazz sneakers are the required shoe for the jazz lesson.
