Bob Fosse: Jazz Dance

There are many important contributors to the jazz genre that have changed the way it is performed today. Two of the most famous jazz choreographers are Bob Fosse and Katherine Dunham. They introduced unique techniques that are recognized in today’s theatrical jazz productions. Although, there are many contributors to modern jazz, Fosse and Dunham dominated the culture of the mid 1900s Broadway productions and left a lasting impact on producers and choreographers of and after their time.

“Stripping the Emperor: The Africanist Presence in American Concert Dance”, and excerpt from Moving History/Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader, was written by Brenda Dixon Gottschild. Gottschild is a well-known author, dance historian, performer, and choreographer as well as a professor of dance studies at Temple University. She has also written multiple books including The Black Dancer Body, Waltzing in the Dark, and Digging. In her article “Stripping the Emperor: The Africanist Presence in American Concert Dance”, Gottschild explores the similarities and differences in the characteristics of Africanist and European technique, and how they draw from each other.

The music changes now as the musicians start to play a march. The dancers then remove the flower from their hats pull their hats down low to resemble a soldiers headwear. In addition, they turn their canes upside down holding them as if they were guns and start marching off stage. Simultaneously, the lights turn dark blue on stage and the dancers faces turn serious. Their once extravagant and lighthearted movement is now stiff and somewhat serious. The audience however, laughs at this shift in theme. All the dancers march off stage except the center girl, she continues to march in a circle making faces and poking fun at the others. Finally, she leaves the stage laughing loudly and dramatically at herself. She comes on one more time only to

Throughout the world, there have been several different dances created and people do not fully know the origins of the dances. For example, the twist was created by Chubby Checker in the 60s. There have been several different ways to show the rhythmic ability as a whole and the most different thing that people were doing was several different ways of dancing. In the late 1700s and the early 1800s, African Americans were starting to do different dances as a whole. However, they were not fully called as a dance or as they were referred to as contra dances, reels, and jigs when the cadence was called out. The difference was when there was a change in general if there was no cadence, then the African Americans would be dancing. African Americans

The ever so sharp, showbiz man himself, Bob Fosse, strategically choreographed his personal movement styles on his dancers in order to achieve his meticulous vision. This flashy man was not looking to put something on the stage that is easy; he wanted the audience to experience the realistic, graphic, and relatable scenarios that life throws at you, on a stage and in 3D. Fosse misrepresented cultural styles, which he included into his pieces and even altered most of the styles he was trained in. The basis of his work was shown through comedy, and in his translation, he tweaked the movement of his technical training in order to attain the comedic center of his work. He never truly meant to make fun of distinctive cultures by utilizing their forms, but because of the circumstance that he never formally trained in these various cultural practices or studied their form and meaning, he used them in his choreography, which almost always used either sexual content or comedy, his choreography is a misrepresentation because it does not properly embody the cultures.

Harker, Brian. “Louis Armstrong, Eccentric Dance, and the Evolution of Jazz on the Eve of Swing.” Journal of the American Musicological Society, University of California Press Journals, 1 Apr. 2008, jams.ucpress.edu/content/61/1/67. Accessed 13 Apr. 2017.

The 20th century saw a shift in dance as new forms were created and artists began entertaining audiences in new ways. The rise of Jazz music and the swing era allowed a couple of tap dancers, commonly known as the Nicholas Brothers, to gain fame. The Nicholas Brothers questioned what dance could be by pushing the human body to the limits the likes of which had not been seen before. Other innovations in their dance such as their vernacular style, informal training, and unique musicality directly opposed many of the virtues of classical ballet. Through my own interpretations of their work as well as through the use of primary and secondary sources it is clear to see that the Nicholas Brothers opposed classical ballet through their style, musicality,

One thing that contributed to the popularity of dancing in the 1920s is how universally simple they made the dances. If these dances would have been harder to learn, not as many people would have been doing them. Many people know that, during the “Jazz Age, almost everyone danced so they did a dance almost anyone could do”(Nelson). When Billie Putman was growing up, there were dances every weekend at the big auditorium in the middle of town. Everyone in her small town would show up to dance. She remembered going to the dances with her mom to help her serve refreshments downstairs, while most of the town was upstairs dancing. If dancing was so popular in such a small town in Idaho, it’s unimaginable how influential it must have been in big cities(Nelson).

“Walkin and Swingin” is a piece of jazz performed by Andy Kirk and his band, the Twelve Clouds of Joy, that could be described as light, bouncy, and perhaps easy or even uncluttered. This was written by Mary Lou Williams for Andy Kirk and is a thirty-two bar piece with four choruses. However, the length of the sections is handled differently, with the last chorus section being shortened to six bars after the transitions between different instruments, from the saxophone and brass to the piano (seen from 2:16 to about 2:24). The song overall has a light tone, and has many instruments that contribute, including two alto saxophones, one tenor saxophone, three trumpets, two trombones, a guitar, a piano, a bass, and drums, as observed from the written sheet music. The piece is different from others in multiple ways, perhaps the most noticeable being the piano solo played by Mary Lou Williams, the multiple solos played by members of the brass instrument section, very quick but effective transitions, and the overall swing groove of the music. There is also a walking bass used at the bridge, and a very intriguing trumpet lead of the brass instruments.

Whether you are dancing for passion, to get into shape or to just attain some mental peace, jazz is an excellent option to choose. This highly energetic dance form is unique and has revolutionised the way we look at dance.

Dancing had long been a backbone of New Orleans nightlife, and Bolden’s popularity was based on his ability to give dancers the music they wanted to swing to. During the nineteenth century, string bands, led by violinists, had conquered dance, offering dancing styles such as waltzes, quadrilles, polkas, and schottisches. By the turn of the century, an instrumentation borrowing from both brass marching bands and string bands was predominant: usually a front line of cornet, clarinet, and trombone with a rhythm section of guitar, bass, and drums (National Park). Dance audiences, especially the younger ones, wanted more excitement in their movement. Since the jazz clubs were being filled with young folk a demand for newer faster music was the challenge

Bob Fosse was a dance prodigy; with pigeon toes and slouching posture, Bob Fosse hardly fit the dance ideal so he focused more on rhythm and style to make up for what he lacked physically. Bob

It was during this time that man who later came to be known as the “Father of Theatrical Jazz Dance”, Jack Cole, was busy developing his technique. Jack Cole had studied modern, ballet, and ethnic dance, had been a student at Denishawn and had done choreographic work in the nightclub scene. In the 1940’s there was a serious demand for groups of trained dancers for film work and Jack Cole was the one who started developing these trained jazz dancers for the Hollywood movie musicals. Also, during this time Gene Kelly, began making his mark as a dancer in Hollywood musicals. His impact on jazz was his individual, energetic dance style that combined athletic, gymnastic qualities with jazz and tap.

Mark Morris managed to become a successful dancer in spite of several obstacles, though his parents were very supportive Morris’ body was atypical for a dancer. By his own description in

It is thus indisputable that Balanchine’s revolutionary choreography is still revered to this day. In addition, Symons personally recognizes Balanchine as historically, the most influential figure who contributed to modern dance. In a recent questionnaire she wrote of how ‘He transformed dance into unconventional classical lines, turned in (parallel) shapes and revolutionised costume design away from the traditionalism of the classical tutu’ (Symons, 2017). His choreography was considered unorthodox as Balanchine took traditional classical steps and experimented with them in a way that people hadn’t seen before (Kisselgoff, 1983). After failing at many attempts to open a modern classical school, an opportunity to co-fund a strictly regimented and traditional ballet society was offered to him, he gladly accepted and eventually incorporated his neo-classical style into the traditional performances. Soon his work became famous amongst ballet associates around the world (Kisselgoff, 1983). When Balanchine’s choreography is compared to that of typical romantic ballet, there is clearly a difference between the unyielding fundamentals of ballet and the constant changing details in Balanchine’s work. The main element that set Balanchine apart from other contemporary choreographers at the time was his use of music (NYCB, 2002). Balanchine grew up with a composer as a father, when he began devising routines he used music to set the tone of the performance (NYCB, 2002). Balanchine