jazz dance

jazz dancer, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged


[jaz-dans, ‐dahns]
verb (used without object), jazz-danced, jazz-dancing.
to perform jazz dance.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Cite This Source Link To jazz dance
Encyclopedia Britannica

jazz dance

any dance to jazz accompaniments, composed of a profusion of forms. Jazz dance paralleled the birth and spread of jazz itself from roots in black American society and was popularized in ballrooms by the big bands of the swing era (1930s and '40s). It radically altered the style of American and European stage and social dance in the 20th century. The term is sometimes used more narrowly to describe (1) popular stage dance (except tap dance) and (2) jazz-derived or jazz-influenced forms of modern dance. It excludes social dances lacking jazz accompaniment-e.g., the rumba and other Latin-American dances.

Learn more about jazz dance with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Students were taught a brief jazz dance, taken at a moderate tempo.
Copyright © 2014 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature