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Learning Objectives 

Students will: 

• Explore jazz dance and jazz music.
• Demonstrate historical understanding of jazz music and dance.
• Learn basic jazz dance movements.
• Create a cinquain poem inspired by jazz.

Standards Alignment

National Core Arts StandardsNational Core Arts Standards

Common Core State StandardsCommon Core State Standards

Recommended Student Materials

Editable Documents: Before sharing these resources with students, you must first save them to your Google account by opening them, and selecting “Make a copy” from the File menu. Check out Sharing Tips or Instructional Benefits when implementing Google Docs and Google Slides with students.

Videos

Websites

Teacher Background

Teachers should familiarize themselves with the structure of a , as well as jazz music and dance using the following resources: ,  and 

Student Prerequisites

Be familiar with the genre of jazz, have a basic knowledge of poetry, and be familiar with the parts of speech (noun, verb, etc.).

Accessibility Notes

Modify movements and allow extra time as needed.

Engage

1. Have jazz music playing as students come in the room: , , or . Ask students: What kind of music is this? (jazz) What are the basic elements of jazz? (Melody, harmony, rhythm, timbre, and expression in jazz, instruments)

2. Ask students: How is jazz similar or different from other types of music? What are some of the specific instruments used in jazz? What do you know about the jazz dance form?

3. Tell students that jazz dance and jazz music both utilize improvisation. Ask students: What is improvisation? (Improvisation is composing or choreographing on the spot and coming up with melodies and movements in your head). Where else is improvisation used? (Theater, art, life)

4. Invite students to improvise movements while listening to jazz music. Play jazz music in the background and encourage students to show the class how they improvise. 

Build

1. Have students explore the  web resources to build their background knowledge. 

2. Discuss the history of jazz dance. Jazz dance is more popular in the United States than in Europe. It started with African-American dancers in the U.S. and it combines elements of tap and show dancing. Some important people in jazz dance were Katherine Dunham and Jack Cole. Jazz dance is based on Afro-Caribbean dance with a theatrical flair. It was influenced by dance forms from Indian, Brazilian, and Cuban sources. Jazz dance has rules like ballet, but the form arose from a need to be more free and flexible than ballet. You need to isolate parts of the body as well and keep a rhythm. Think of the body as a jazz instrument. There are many styles: clean and cool, abstract, sensuous, and energetic. Jazz dance may be fast or slow and lyrical. As a form, it is often associated with musicals.

Apply

1. Begin by demonstrating floor stretches from the . Stretches could include: pelvis rocks, alignment check (lying on the back), as well as sitting, butterfly, parallel, and 2nd position stretches.

2. Lead a class in the basics of jazz dance as abbreviated and appropriate for your class and grade level. You can also use elements from the instructional video . Include some aerobic dance routines in order to aid you in demonstrating the following movements. Demonstrate each movement and have students follow/mimic you.

3. Move to the center floor. Demonstrate plies (which use jazz hands, and also use parallel and turn-out foot positions), foot articulations, tendus (extend the leg away from the body with the tip of the toe touching the floor), and isolations. Add more movements to the center floor repertoire, such as three-step turns, slides, chassés. Refer to the Jazz dance video for movement support.  

4. Demonstrate movements across the floor such as walking patterns and jazz walk. Refer to the Jazz dance video for movement support.

Reflect 

1. Listen with students to several recordings of jazz music. has legendary examples of artists from the Harlem Renaissance. Explain to students that jazz dance and music both developed around the same time in the early 1900s. After listening to the first song, have students offer descriptive words for the music. Write these descriptors on chart paper or an interactive board, and follow the same process as students listen to each song. Students will use their words for their independent activity.

2. Assess students’ knowledge of jazz music and dance by having them write a poem inspired by jazz using the  template. Encourage them to incorporate the descriptive words about jazz they brainstormed. 

3. After all students are finished, have them read their poems to the class. Encourage them to pair dance movements with the cinquain poem.