The world of dance includes various styles, reflecting the emergence and dominance of popular music and dance styles in different eras and places. Jazz dance emerged due to the popularity of jazz music and consists of steps originating from Africa. In the 1950s, jazz dance evolved with the incorporation of Caribbean-style moves. Another dance style, contemporary, shares some similarities with jazz dancing. Although contemporary dance has not evolved from any specific music, it incorporates influences from many dancing styles. Despite these similarities, there are several differences between Jazz and contemporary dance.
Jazz
Jazz dance, as the name suggests, is a type of dance that evolved mainly to accompany jazz music. It is a modern, popular dance style often seen in TV shows and movies. Jazz dance is very expressive and individualistic, involving enhanced foot and body movements. It features a lot of fancy footwork that is exciting to watch and requires a lot of energy from the dancer. Although not necessary, having some knowledge of ballet can help dancers perform jazz dance more fluently.
Jazz dance is inspired by jazz music and its steps reflect the movements of the African American community. The dance style became very popular, influencing Broadway musicals and Hollywood movies. Jazz moves can be slow and dreamlike or abrupt, fast, and sharp, requiring agility and flexibility from the dancers.
Contemporary
Contemporary dance is a modern style that is not defined by any set pattern like jazz or ballet. It encompasses many different dancing styles and techniques and is difficult to define. Contemporary dance evolved as a backlash against the rigid techniques of ballet and jazz, although it incorporates many steps from these styles. Martha Graham and Isadora Duncan are considered the founders of this dance style, which emphasizes natural body movements and allows for more fluid and easy movements than rigid dance styles. Contemporary dance is also very versatile, allowing for a lot of improvisation. Often performed barefoot, contemporary dance makes good use of gravity, with dancers repeatedly pulling themselves down to the floor. Anyone from any dance background can learn contemporary dance.
Key Takeaways
- Contemporary dance is a modern dance style that originated in Europe a century ago as a backlash against rigid dance styles like jazz and ballet.
- Contemporary dance is more expressionistic and fluid than jazz, emphasizing natural body movements and allowing for more improvisation.
- Jazz dance is a dance form inspired by jazz music and follows the body movements of the African American community, making it more popular than contemporary due to its use in TV shows and movies.
