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Jazz was first considered to be a dance style during the World War I. However, this dance originates from indigenous dances of the African tribes which were brought to America during the period of slave trade. In fact, Jazz was originally observed in the African American culture in the United States. This dance basically developed in the 1900s along Jazz music in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. It continued to evolve and from 1930 to 1960, the dance had transformed from its vernacular form to a theatre-based performance. During this period of time, modern choreographers and ballet dancers begun experimenting with the dance. Some of these choreographers included: George Balanchine, Agnes de Mille, Jack Cole, Hanya Holm, Helen Tamiris, Michael Kidd, Jerome Robbins, and Bob Fosse. All these choreographers played part in transforming the dance from its vernacular form of the 1900s to a more sophisticated dance with sophisticated moves requiring trained dancers to perform. Besides, during this time and specifically in the 1950s, Jazz dance was influenced by moves from the Caribbean and the Latin America. These new dance styles were introduced by Katherine Dunham, an anthropologist. Currently, Jazz is still a popular dance and many dancers visit New …show more content…
Some of the pioneer choreographers who pioneered it include: George Balanchine, Agnes de Mille, Jack Cole, Hanya Holm, Helen Tamiris, Michael Kidd, Jerome Robbins, and Bob Fosse. Some of the characteristics of jazz include: Syncopated rhythm, isolation, a low center of gravity and high level of energy. Also, there are two main forms of jazz dance which are lindy hop and shag. Last but not least, jazz dance is known to improve balance. This therefore means that in order to have good balance and evade the risk of falls in later years, one should get involved in jazz dance amongst other
Since the first emergence of Jazz in the late 19th century, new styles and versions of the genre have been popping up in various locations across the world. Jazz first appeared in New Orleans. This is because New Orleans was one of the only places in the world that allowed the slaves there to play musical instruments, most importantly the drums. People in New Orleans of all social groups attended VooDoo rituals, which was where European horns met African drums. The two sounds joining together was “like lightning meeting thunder”. The locals then put the two styles together and used music they heard in churches or in barrooms for inspiration, thus creating an entirely new style of music; Jazz.
Jazz was introduced directly after World War I by African-Americans (Boundless.com par. 1). Although jazz was composed by many different African-Americans the main founder of jazz was Ethel Waters (McCorkle par. 8). Jazz was first played in New Orleans, but as the African-Americans moved north, white citizens caught on and tuned jazz into a new craze (Lindop 107). Even though jazz was created in New Orleans, Chicago became the home of jazz music (Bingham 8). The first jazz players derived the tune from a mixture of Latin American, African, and European rhythms, making it very popular among many different types of people (“Latin Jazz” par. 1). Jazz was so well-liked because it gave the artists the opportunity to make the predetermined tune their own (“What is jazz par. 1). When listening to jazz the same song is never heard twice because the band members each put their own spin on the way they play their instrumen...
Jazz dance today is presented in many different forms. Jazz history and famous jazz dancers and choreographers have helped influenced what we know today, as jazz dance. It is incorporated in an assortment of styles including, hip hop and Broadway, Jazz dance today has its own movement, while there trendy modern types of jazz, traditional jazz never goes out of style. Over the years, jazz dance has become popular in the media and can be found in music videos, television, movies, and commercials. Jazz dance is always changing with the time periods, and can be found in social dance, musical theater, dance schools, and night clubs.
To understand the genesis of Jazz one must also understand the setting of its origin, New Orleans. The city was founded by the French in 1718, then in 1763 the city ceded to Spain and remained under Spanish control until later being returned to the French in 1803, and then was immediately sold to the United States under the Louisiana Purchase. New Orleans was also heavily populated by African slaves making up 30% of the total population of the city at this time; so New Orleans was experiencing a lot of cultural diversity and was being shaped and molded by the many different fashions of people who lived in the city. These different social groups along with their culture also brought with them their deep rooted musical traditions, the fusion and combination of these traditions would give rise to what we know today as modern day Jazz. Jazz is a genre of music that could only have formed in America; it draws from many different cultures and art forms creating a cocktail of traditional European and African music, mixed with a blend of Spanish tinge, with a strong base of blues filtered through the American experience.
“If you don’t feel it, you’ll never know it” – Louis Armstrong. Different kinds of music have been heard throughout centuries and the ever-changing sounds of music continue to appease mass audiences today and do not seem to slow down in sight. One type of genre that emerged in this case was the improvisation of black, white, and Creole musicians in New Orleans of what became known as Jazz. Jazz, which had international connections from Africa and European-derived music, emerged somewhere between 1890 and 1935 as a wide-ranging form of black expression of arts in the community, consisting of the blues and works of the spirituals. It eventually spread to other urban cities such as Chicago and New York, where similar styles were played, establishing Jazz as a popular genre in the United States. Jazz’s increase in popularity was correlated with the increase in black Southerners. Due to its increasing popularity, Jazz was received positively and gained mainstream attention as a form of music, while consisting of disparate styles. Notable and influential Jazz musicians like Louis Armstrong helped Jazz receive national attention. Different styles blended to the Jazz music. Due to its strong foundation and composition, it survived today.
Throughout the history of popular music, jazz and classical are some of the most influential styles of music. Many people, however, cannot distinguish the differences between the two styles and they are often carelessly lumped together during musical discussion. Jazz and Classical have very little in common and they both come from completely different backgrounds. The two genres utilize completely different ensembles of instruments to create a unique and distinct sound in their own right. They also have notably different methods of composition. Jazz and classical music are two different genres of music that are often overlooked and lumped into the same category, but both genres have distinct characteristics that set them apart from one another
On September 2nd, I experienced one of the most enjoyable folk dances, known as contra dance, at the First Baptist Church. Due to my cultural and religious background, this experience was new to me and full of mystery. However, it led me to wonder how social music, especially contra dance, is powerful enough letting strangers dance and communicate with each other in a perfect harmony.
In the early 1900’s African American musicians from various European cultures created a new style of music, known as Jazz. New Orleans is known as the birth place of Jazz with the French and Spanish migrants shaping early New Orleans’ culture. Settlers from other European countries including Italy, England and Germany combined Blues, Ragtime and Big Band Music to create what we now call Jazz.
The history of Jazz music is one that is tied to enslavement, and prejudices. It Is impossible to separate the development of Jazz music from the racial oppression that occurred in the United States as they are inextricably connected. Slavery was a part of our country’s development that is shameful and yet, lead to some of the greatest musical advances of the twentieth century.
In 1920, the Jazz music emerged in the City of New Orleans and from there, there were also many great New Orleans Jazz musicians. Jazz is a music style that combines three main elements: improvisation, bluesy flavor and swing feeling. Often, African Americans play Jazz on the streets of New Orleans and they start to form bands and perform for people without charging them money. In the early history of Jazz, there was one major artist that had major contributions to Jazz, his name was Louis Armstrong. Armstrong was one of the early jazz musicians who were born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Have you ever wondered where Jazz music originated from, or how it became a well-known genre of music? Well, Jazz music has been around for many decades. The United States derived Jazz music from the African American culture. According to the New Orleans Official Guide, Slaves practiced rituals that were well attended by African Americans and Caucasians. The African American’s music traveled to New Orleans where the spark met the plug.
Ironically, it is nearly impossible to find the pinpoint of where jazz got started. Many early types of music, such as: Blues, Afro-Latin Caribbean rhythms, work songs, Protestant church hymns, Jewish songs, silly contemporary tunes, English and Irish dance music, gospel and spiritual, and ragtime, all went into the creation of jazz. A lot of credit goes to the African Americans for the creation of jazz. (Taborelli, Giorgio). “Jazz was born out of the cultural experience of African Americans and can be traced in a direct line to the slave songs of the plantations through the Negro Spirituals, Ragtime, and the Blues”("Jazz Musicians as
I do think that Jazz can help spread awareness about the other type of music because as Wynton Marsalis pointed out the only other type of music that is associated with America nowadays is pop music. It would be good for jazz to become dominant in other countries that are not exposed to that type of music on the daily basis such as pop. Some people want to become musicians, but in today’s world not everyone has the money to pay a music instructor. Some just do not have the voice to become singers because pop is mostly about the singing and that is the dominant genre worldwide. Jazz gives them the chance to become musicians and the only thing they need is an instrument, their determination, their skills and others like them that like to play instruments.
At the end of the nineteenth century, there were African Americans whose traditions blended with American music. As a result of this, new traditions, such as jazz, were formed. Jazz has a lot of styles and genres included within it. Early beginnings of jazz came out of ragtime and blues music. A good example of ragtime is Scott Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag, which is still one of the most popular ragtime pieces to this day.
Other dance styles are often mixed with jazz because of influence from tv, movies and music videos. Every jazz dancer is different and they interpret and execute moves differently to create originality. To be a good jazz dancer, one must have a background in ballet dance.