The style of Jazz was developed during both the 19th century and 20th century and it radically altered the style of American and European stage and society in the 20th century. On the stage, the minstrel show performers, who were white people who would paint their faces black and they would perform, comedic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performances, and these people created what we know now as tap from a combination of, Irish Jigging, English clog dancing and African rhythmic stamping. Tap dance and many other dances like the catwalk and the shuffle became popular in Broadway and musical comedies as these replaced most vaudeville acts in the early 20th century. Vaudeville acts were American entertainment that was very popular between the 1890’s to the early 1930’s. They consisted of 10 to 15 unrelated acts and these could go from, magicians, acrobats, comedians, trained animals, jugglers, singers, or dancers. The Vaudeville is similar to the music hall and variety show we have here.
Even though Broadway popularized some dances, many dances got themselves into social gatherings. The dances that gave rise to social forms of jazz dance developed from rural slave dances. The Eagle Rock, the Slow Drag, and the Charleston, for example, both have many elements that look very Caribbean and African. Also, the slow drag contributed to the fish lift in the 1950s and the ring which survived from the 18th to the 20th century in many isolated areas. This then influenced the cakewalk.
Some very famous jazz choreographers are Bob Fosse, Jack Cole, and Fred Astaire. Bob Fosse was an American dancer who was born on the 23rd of June 1927 and died on the 23rd of September 1987. He was the first person ever to with an Oscar, Emmy, and Tony in the same year which was 1973 and it hasn’t been done since then. He was a choreographer, director, and dancer himself. He revolutionized musicals with his extremely unique and provocative dance styles. He often uses props; signature moves that are still around today and provocative steps. Foss's dance style, which incorporates complex moves and imagery drawn from vaudeville, was instantly popular. When you see a Bob, Fosse move in modern-day musicals you instantly know it’s a Fosse move because he has done so much for the musical world. Some of his best-known musicals are Sweet Charity, Pippin, and Tony award-winning Chicago and Cabaret.
Jack Cole was born on the 27th of April 1911 and died on the 17th of February 1974, he was also a dancer, choreographer, and theatre director and he was known as the “father of theatrical jazz dance” because he would mix ethnic which he called urban folk dance. movement with jazz moves. Jack Cole’s first musical he choreographed something for the boys in 1943. Lots of Coles musicals that he choreographed did poorly or flopped with the critics but still, his choreography was always singled out and praised by many. Coles's signature style involved huge leaps from deep pliés, rapid direction changes, long knee slides, syncopation, and isolations of the head, arms, and fingers. Most of his work would feature a soloist, who would most likely be female, who is backed up by male dancers, who would be male. Some of his Broadway and film choreography include Gilda which was a film in 1946 and Cole choreographer “blamed Mame” which is a glove strip tease, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes was a film made in 1953 and he worked with Marilyn Monroe on the song “diamonds are a girl's best friend” and this led to many partnerships between the two. Also, Cole was nominated for a Tony on the musical Man of La Mancha in 1965 for his choreography on the show.
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Essay on Father of Jazz Dance.
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