The Art of Jazz Dance Improvisation: Creative Possibilities

Jazz dance improvisation over the past century is a virtually untouched area of exploration and research in the dance community. The majority of improvisation that is taught and performed today falls into the realm of modern dance. Modern dance improvisation usually follow principles of movement exploration with the concepts of space, time, and direction. One of the issues with this ideology is that modern dance improvisation often uses everyday movements such as walking, crawling, and even running; as opposed to jazz dance, which tends to follow a specific codified vocabulary as well as follow the rhythm. Some concepts that can be used to inspire jazz dance improvisation are the same motivations for jazz musicians such as chords, rhythms, and even tempo. By creating improvisation from the rhythm of the music rather than from other motivations I believe that the choreography can be invigorated by a new sense of freedom, vitality, and excitement. These qualities in improvised jazz music can provide a beautiful platform for improvised jazz dance. Despite the many layers of unknowns that can take place with improvised music and improvised dance, the challenges could provide new vocabularies and new ideas that can be used to teach children of any age in the classroom. Some concepts that jazz dance improvisation can enhance in young dance students are rhythm, creativity, artistic expression, deeper sense of self, as well as respect for their bodies.