Essay On Jazz Dance

There are many different “worlds” on this planet we live on called Earth. Everyone alive lives in some kind of little “world” of their own. There is the celebrity world, the “Disney” World, “Wally-world”, lots of different sports worlds, scholastic worlds, and so many others. There is a particular world that some live in, and that is the World of Dance. When you are a part of that world, you literally live and breathe it. Every aspect of the dance culture is wrapped up in that world. To those looking in from the outside it is beautiful, filled with lights, lovely costumes, mesmerizing music, and graceful movements.

Jazz initially began in the south among African American. It wasn’t till the 1920s when it began to become famous. Many of the whites at that time referred to the music as “nigger music”. Jazz was part of the black culture. During the migration era when the blacks began to move up north, jazz was mixed with the white culture. It was in that time when

Jazz has always been a part of the American tradition. Some may say they like Jazz for its rhythmic twist and turns. Others may love the soothing melodies from an improved Trumpet solo. All in all, Jazz has been an American staple and has molded today’s popular music, into what it is today. It’s very different from classical music, which is written out and strict. Jazz is much more. It’s made up of spontaneity and improvisation, which makes up an idea on the spot. There are many wide varieties in Jazz. There is Bebop Jazz, Avante Garde Jazz, Acid Jazz, Free Funk Jazz, Soul Jazz, Swing Jazz, and many, many more! These forms of Jazz can be seen and heard in some of your favorite music of Today. It’s been widely used by the world. There is an important reason as to why this genre contributes to the growing of music. We first take a look into the root of all Jazz. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, the country of Africa was the first known country to use rhythm primarily for the element of musical expression, and ensembles composed entirely of percussion instruments created extended polyrhythmic works. These polyrhythms, which means the “layering of multiple rhythms.”, were record in Western music. African music did not use paper, or sheet music. Instead, they relied on Aural rituals, learned by ear and also used” spontaneity, which is later said to be known as improvisation”. In Africa, most of the music that was expressed was for religious

music alike ( Windfield 240). A lot of musicians were involved, from Louis Armstrong to Duke Ellington. The Jazz movement affected United States history and the future music industry in a variety of ways.

Jazz music is a blend of white middle class thoughts and African American traditions. Jazz originated in New Orleans in the beginning of the 1920’s. The Jazz Age was from 1920 through 1929. During the 1920’s, the First World War had just ended in 1918 and the Great Depression was affecting the citizens of the United States. Jazz music and dancing helped people forget about the terrible Great Depression. It gave the citizens a reason to be happy and love life during the 1920’s. The new form of music allowed people to express themselves in new ways. Jazz music was influenced by African American musicians, changed the music industry all over the world, and affected the society.

A 2017 study found that more dancers had positive changes in mood than any other sport. Not unlike a "runner's high," rhythmic movement has been shown to trigger the release of endorphins, which can boost your mood. As much of a mental exercise as a physical one, dancing keeps the mind sharp. In adolescent females, a regular dance class positively impacted their mental health. A study by the American Medical Association found that adolescent girls had more positive thoughts and felt more confidence after dancing. They reported better feelings about their overall health after participating in structured dance classes that focused on enjoying movement rather than perfection and performance

To begin with, jazz is an all American dance that has some African rhythmic influences. The first group that portrayed jazz to the American society were a group called the flappers in the 1920’s. This group was young western women who wore short skirts and bobbed hair and were considered wild based on the image

Jazz emerged towards the beginning of the 20th Century, but didn 't just spring up out of nowhere. Instead, it was a creation that developed from popular music styles of the 1800s that blended and combined them to entertain the nation and social dancers. The two main music styles that jazz consisted of were ragtime and the blues. Both ragtime and the blues had their beginnings in African-American communities. While both of these music styles strongly contributed to the creation of jazz and have a lot of similarities, they do have their differences. These differences lie within their origins, their elements that make up their styles and how these elements influenced jazz, and their artists and composers.

One of the most memorable cultural changes to occur during the Jazz Age was its eponymous musical genre. First played in New Orleans, the lively, swinging style and danceable rhythms

The first jazz was played in the early 20th century. The work chants and folk

The varieties of jazz dance reflect the diversity of American culture. Jazz dance mirrors the social history of the American people, reflecting ethnic influences, historic events, and cultural changes. Jazz dance has been greatly influenced by social dance and popular music. But, like so much that is “from America”, the history of jazz dance begins somewhere else.

Over time there have been many eras of music and many genres. One could say that the Classical music, or the Romantic era has been the most significant in music history. Although those times are very important to the music world, Jazz in the early 20th century is very significant to the history of music in the United States. Next is a little bit of history and what makes Jazz music Jazz.

A series of set of movements to music, either alone or with a partner. That is the definition of dancing. Dancing is a way to express one's feeling and to get active.

For most elementary age students around the country the core subjects such as science, math, and reading are separated from the arts. However, schools across the country are slowly combining the arts with the other subjects and are finding success. Dance is one form of art that would have multiple benefits for students. Dance and physical movement should be incorporated into elementary education because it improves students’ attention and interest in learning, improves learning in core subjects, and promotes a healthy lifestyle in students.

I attended DancePlus show On Friday December 2, 2011 at 7:30pm at night. It was performed in the Victoria K. Mastrobounno Theater in New Brunswick, New Jersey. There were four different parts that I saw that day. All of the dances were very interesting and very different from each other. All of the dances had its own unique key factor that separated it from each other. I enjoyed the entire show very well. Out of all the dances I had strong reaction to “Lapa’s Lament”. I believe this specific dance stood out to me compared to the other dances from the show. This show had many different factors that stood out from other shows in the entire performance.