All that Jazz: When, Where, and How Jazz Started

Jazz entered the mainstream dance in theater-loving cities in the United States during the 1920s. During that time, music was categorized as sad, happy, fast, or slow. And so to add zest, the African-American songwriters during that time developed dance songs with steps patterned after African animal movements. They added rhythm, and jazz was born and became widely appreciated.

That time, jazz dance was a synthesis of contemporary and traditional dance. This form transcended generations and different cultures. It swept the hearts of dance aficionados and was raised on a pedestal of class and culture. Because of jazz dance's immense versatility, it gave birth to an array of dance forms apt for theater and social gatherings.

The East Coast is relatively more conservative when it comes to jazz dance. Since the popularity of jazz dance in the 1920s, several cities in the United States have been claiming the birthrights to jazz, particularly New York. Hence, the popularity and the determination to preserve the art of jazz dance were believed to have started in New York.

Currently, there are three major jazz dance styles. These are the Luigi Jazz, Mattox Styles, and Street Jazz.

The Luigi Jazz and the Mattox Styles are the old-school jazz techniques often performed in Broadway productions.

The MTV Generation ushered in the Street Jazz, an offshoot of Los Angeles' modernization of jazz dance. It basically utilizes the steps of both Luigi Jazz and Mattox Styles, but is faster, quicker, and sharper to catch up with the faster contemporary music. In contrast to the smooth strokes in the old-school jazz dance, the hand and feet switches and transition movements are swift in street jazz.

They may be different in some ways but all three forms contain the same basic elements, and still use the foundation of ballet.

What probably makes jazz popular is that the music accompanying it is very common. Also, the steps are easy to follow and flexible.

Do you know that aside from fostering social relations, jazz has health benefits too? It develops fitness and enables you to isolate and strengthen certain body parts. It is an effective cardiovascular workout. It helps develop leaner, stronger, and more flexible muscles.

So tone your body, take care of your heart, and express yourself with jazz. This may be the perfect time to finally jazz up your life!

Sources:

"Jazz", Wikipedia.com
"Origins of Jazz", InfoPlease.com