Units Choreography 2 and Jazz 2
Teaching material for the Level 3 Year 1's
Teaching material for the Level 3 Year 1's
My HND units are now Choreography 2 (following from choreography 1 in HNC) and Jazz 2 (following from Jazz 1 in HNC). At the moment I am choreographing a jazz routine that is being taught to the level 3 first years around christmas time.
I stared a routine to a song called 'Carry you' by Union J, what I had of that routine so far I showed to Nicki and she gave my feedback to my teacher, then my teacher read it to me in a 1 to 1, Nicki felt the choreography in my first routine was more lyrical style and not jazz, so I've put that routine to one side and going to choreograph a new one that is more jazz style to replace the old one. (Video to that routine is at the bottom of the page)
Here is the feedback I received from Nicki:
Remember in these two units, taking feedback and acting on it is very important, so make sure that you make a note and reflect on it in your logbook. here it is:
1. You can use lyrical choreography in your piece, but there needs to be large parts of it that show classic jazz choreography. Nicki recommends Bob Fosse, who is the main choreographer that the L3 needs to know about in the jazz style.
2. Practice your technique and vocabulary, so that you know and use the correct terms when leading the group
3. Make a plan to split the group into 2 (confirm the details of this with Nicki)
4. Be aware of the different levels of ability in the group and create a choreograph to reflect this. Maybe observe the group before hand to look at the abilities
5. You can use more than one music track if you like and cut them together
6. Remember to take feedback and make changes to your work as required!
Receiving this feedback made me realise that the routine I was choreographing wasn't what she was asking off me so therefore I had to remove it from my plan.
Some of my plans had to change, first of all I started choreographing a routine to 'All that Jazz' from Chicago but when that routine was shown to Nicki she said she liked the choreography but to change the music so I did. Again im glad a routine was given feedback so that I knew if I was on the right track or not.
Above are my rehearsal videos for the routine I'm going to be teaching the Level 3 year 1 performing arts class. The first part of this choreography was something I learnt back in university for my year 1 assessment, choreographed by Joanne Roots who is a lecturer for the BA (Hons) Dance and Performance and BA (Hons) Musical Theatre courses at Buckinghamshire New University in High Wycombe. Learning this routine from her gave me a lot of inspiration in the hopes that one day I can teach it to other students and the fact that I've got her permission to teach her choreography at college really means a lot to me. I added some of my own choreography on to the end and as I explained in the video to the left of this text that after I've taught the choreography shown in these videos to the year 1 class I'm then going to let them choreograph the next 3-5 counts of 8 on their own in groups, it will help them to build teamwork and confidence skills so they also can learn what it's like to work together and help each other out with aspects such as strength, confidence and trust building.
Here is the first routine I started and nearly finished that I was talking about at the top of this page, the song is called 'Carry You' by a boy band known as Union J, this is the routine I performed to Nicki to see what she thought and she gave my feedback in a message to my college lecturer saying it felt too lyrical which wasn't what she was looking for. Overall I would still consider finishing and maybe one day performing this routine to an audience, as I did work really hard on it and it was a very fun routine to create.
Above are the videos of the jazz routine from my lesson with the Level 3 Year 1's. I personally think they did amazing, they picked up the choreography really well and they performed it with energy, passion and confidence. I'm really glad I got to teach them this routine, It was really fun to teach, although not completed yet, and I'm excited to teach the rest of it to them next time I'm with them. They performed it altogether and then I split them into three groups to perform the routine separately which they handled like champions.
Here is another rehearsal video of me just going over the counts for the part of choreography I added to the routine, to make sure I knew what the counts were so when it comes to teaching that part of the choreography the counts will be easy to establish when going through the routine.
Here is my video explaining the process of this teaching Jazz project, the video explains it all but to put it short it was a very long and fun process that I very much enjoyed because it helped me gather a bit more experience in teaching, even though I will admit I know I still have a lot to learn and a lot more experience needed. But It gave me a taster of what the teaching life is like since that is my end goal.
Here are the 3 performance videos of my jazz routine for my units: Choreography 2 and Jazz 2! As I mentioned in my process video, this teaching process has been long and very fun and here are the three vidoes I recorded of me performing the routine. In this routine I included technical jazz elements such as step ball change, parde boré, pirouettes, chené turns, a coupeé turn, a six-step, a slide, a fan kick, the Fossé walk, which was an iconic movement that Bob Fossé created, Jazz hands and a click which again are statement movements in especially theatrical jazz dance choreography. Teaching this routine gave me a lot of insight into what teaching is like and as I've already mentioned I know I still have a lot to learn and experience to gather before I achieve becoming a teacher/choreographer.
Who are the key innovators of Jazz dance??
As already been talked about, Bob Fossé was a big influence in the jazz dance community being known for his influential choreography style in Chicago, Sweet Charity and Cabaret, but who are the other important ones? Another one briefly mentioned is Gene Kelly, who also just happened to collab with tap and jazz legend Fred Astaire, where they both performed "The Babbitt and the Bromide", produced in 1945 and released in 1946.
A 1974 film known as The Little Prince of Bob Fossé's dance style and fashion actually influenced Michael Jackson in the way that he uses movement in performances/music videos from using movements inspired by Bob Fossé such as the fosse walk, where you're walking in a slow pace with arms flowing side to side behind you, and the use of bowler hats as props, that Michael Jackson started using in music video's and performances where with his hat that he'd wear he would place his hand on one side of the hat and slide across to the other side in a slow like manuver that fitted his style of pop.
Another key innovator is Gwen Verdon. She was the wife of Bob Fossé and creator/choreogrpaher of 'Single Ladies' (put a ring on it) by Beyoncé, very influential amongst music video's back when it came out in 2009. I realise now that the choreography shown in the 'Single Ladies' music video paved the way for Jazz choreography today and still very much inspires a lot of jazz routines and performances with such movements in the music video like her infamous Single Ladies walk with her arms moving in front and her head moving up and down or her Single Ladies hand movement emphasising about putting a ring on your finger, which is a very similar movement to Bob Fossé's iconic jazz hands movement since they are two hand movements that are very similar in the way they are used in jazz choreography.
Evolving from African ryhthms brought to America by enslaved people and blending with European styles such as ballet and modern to evolve it into the revolutionary style that it has become today. Such styles as the Charleston and the Lindy Hop are styles that are from the Jazz age and swing era, 1920's - 1940's, the older styles of dance are what its evolved from today with still using movements of relavance from that era, such as leaps, turns, hops, flics and jumps.
Below are two video's of my own demonstrating and explaining the type of movements that I've been talking about such as the Bob Fossé walk, Bob Fossé and Michael Jackson use of a bowler hat in choreography and Gwen Verdon arm and leg movement in Beyoncé's Single Ladies music video. Later realising that I included some of these movements in my jazz routine that I taught to the Level 3 year 1 group.
Some more useful information:
Below is all my research from when I did my Q&A on the history of jazz dance with the level 3 year 1 class before I taught them a jazz routine
Where did it begin?
Emerged in the USA in the late 19th to early 20th centuries that was shaped by a rich blend of cultures and musical innovations, also has roots in African and African-American traditions, has traces to origins from West African dance forms that was brought to the America’s by enslaved Africans. Fun fact: the first jazz solo was performed by an African dancer.
Who are the practitioners and Innovators?
The practitioners set the ground work for jazz dance through African American social dance and music culture moving it from a slavery activity to a style that evolved and spread worldwide.
Early jazz practitioners: (1920’s - 1940’s)
Bill “Bojangles” Robinson - Tap dancer who refined complex style influenced theatrical jazz.
Josephine Baker - She brought African American jazz movement to global audiences with her expressive and high energy stage presence.
Golden Age innovators: (1940’s - 1970’s)
Bob Fosse - Choreographer known for his unique dance style, angular shapes, isolations, turned knees and feet and his use of props such as hats during performances. Defined broadway jazz in works such as Chicago and Cabaret.
Katherine Dunham - Anthropologist, dancer and choreographer, integrated Caribbean and African dance forms into modern jazz. Created the Dunham Technique which is foundational to contemporary jazz training.
Jerome Robbins - Combined ballet, jazz and theatrical storytelling (e.g. West Side Story).
Late 20th Century innovators: (1980’s - 2000’s)
Gene Kelly - Merged ballet, tap, and jazz with an athletic and cinematic flair (e.g. Singing In The Rain).
Michael Jackson - As well as being the king of pop, he popularized jazz-based movement through iconic music video’s such as ‘Thriller’ and ’Smooth Criminal’. He also collaborated with choreographers who extended jazz vocabulary into pop culture.
How has it progressed?
It has progressed through several major phases. Evolving alongside American music, social change and the entertainment industry. Started off with African roots and then making its way to America through African slavery in the 1800’s - 1920’s and then evolving to theatrical performances such as broadway shows and choreographers creating their own dynamic techniques that they name after themselves to make a statement in the dance community so their creativity will live on and continue in their name. Jazz choreography we see in shows like Chicago also created the term known as sassy jazz which very much describes the choreography you see performed in Chicago.