What is jazz dance?
Jazz dance is energetic, rhythmic and theatrical: isolations of the head, shoulders, ribs and hips, sharp accents, kicks, leaps, turns and a showy performance quality. It grew from African American social dances of the jazz age and became the language of Broadway, film musicals, music videos and competition studios.
History
Vernacular jazz dances such as the Charleston and Lindy Hop gave way to theatrical jazz. Jack Cole, often called the father of theatrical jazz dance, built a technique from East Indian, Afro-Caribbean and Lindy movement for film musicals. Bob Fosse added turned-in knees, hats and isolations; Luigi, Matt Mattox and Gus Giordano each developed teachable jazz techniques used in studios today.
Basic technique
- Isolations of head, shoulders, ribs and hips
- Jazz walks, chassés, pas de bourrée and jazz squares
- Kicks, leaps (jetés) and turns in parallel and turned-out positions
- Contraction and release borrowed from modern dance
Music & tempo
Swing and big-band standards, Broadway, soul, funk, Motown and contemporary pop.
Songs for jazz dance
| Song | Artist | BPM | Key | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown Skinned Gal | Merle Haggard | 100 | F# major | 1970 |
| Corrine Corrina | Merle Haggard | 100 | A# major | 1970 |
| Hurt | Parov Stelar | 100 | D# major | 2009 |
| Neon Lights | Señor Coconut y su conjunto | 100 | A# minor | 2000 |
| How Y'all Doin' | Kyle Eastwood | 100 | D major | 2006 |
| Les Paul, more John | Farmers Market | 100 | A# major | 2000 |
| Trifonov's 5th | Farmers Market | 100 | F major | 2000 |
| Amor unilateral | Bebel Gilberto | 100 | G major | 1991 |
| Bette Davis Eyes | Jazzystics feat. Karen Souza | 100 | F major | 2009 |
| Gimme Gimme Gimme | Kloud 9 | 100 | G# minor | 2007 |
BPM as measured by audio analysis; some tracks read at half or double the danced tempo.
All 1,568 jazz dance songs by BPM →
What to wear
Jazz pants or leggings and a fitted top; slip-on or lace-up split-sole jazz shoes, jazz sneakers for commercial jazz.
How to get started
Jazz classes are a common second style after ballet. Adult studios often split levels into beginner, intermediate and "jazz funk" (a hip-hop–influenced commercial style).
We list 41 studios that teach jazz dance, or browse all dance studios by state.
Jazz Dance in historic images
Matt Mattox amerikai balett-táncos a jazzóra vezetője
Matt Mattox amerikai balett-táncos a jazzóra vezetője, az általa vezetett órán
Matt Mattox amerikai balett-táncos a jazzóra vezetője
Jazzóra II. Budapesti Téli Tánctanfolyamon
Openly licensed images via Europeana; rights statements on each item page.
Notable figures
Goyo Montero
Spanish ballet dancer, ballet director and choreographer
Chris Elam
American choreographer
Cesare Negri
Italian ballet dancer
Maya Plisetskaya
Russian ballet dancer (1925-2015)
Margot Fonteyn
British ballerina
Jackie Chan
Hong Kong actor and martial artist (born 1954)
Vasili Vainonen
Russian choreographer (1901–1964)
Vyjayanthimala
Indian actress, dancer and parliamentarian
Recent research
- Neurocognitive control in dance perception and performance. — Acta psychologica, 2012
- Dance for neuroplasticity: A descriptive systematic review. — Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews, 2019
- Readiness for Dancing En Pointe. — Physical medicine and rehabilitation clinics of North America, 2021
- The virtuoso foot. — Clinical rheumatology, 2013
- Bone mineral density in pre-professional ballet dancers. — Journal of science and medicine in sport, 2018
Books about jazz dance
- Jump into jazz by Minda Goodman Kraines, Esther Pryor (1983)
- Modern jazz dance by Fred Traguth (1977)
- Dance Appreciation by Amanda Clark, Sara Pecina (2020)
- The dance workshop by Robert Cohan (1986)
- Jessica the Jazz Fairy by Daisy Meadows (2007)
- Black dance by Lynne Fauley Emery (1980)
Encyclopedia summary
Jazz dance is a performance dance and style that arose in the United States in the early 20th century. Jazz dance may allude to vernacular jazz, Broadway or dramatic jazz. The two types expand on African American vernacular styles of dance that arose with jazz music. Vernacular jazz dance incorporates ragtime moves, Charleston, Lindy hop and mambo. Popular vernacular jazz dance performers include The Whitman Sisters, Florence Mills, Ethel Waters, Al Minns and Leon James, Frankie Manning, Norma Miller, Dawn Hampton, and Katherine Dunham. Dramatic jazz dance performed on the show stage was promoted by Jack Cole, Bob Fosse, Eugene Louis Faccuito, and Gus Giordano.
The term 'jazz dance' has been used in ways that have little or nothing to do with jazz music. Since the 1940s, Hollywood movies and Broadway shows have used the term to describe the choreographies of Bob Fosse and Jerome Robbins. In the 1990s, colleges and universities applied to the term to classes offered by physical education departments in which students dance to various forms of pop music, rarely jazz.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need ballet to take jazz?
Not to start, but ballet technique helps with turns, leaps and clean lines, so many schools recommend taking both.
What is jazz funk?
A commercial style that blends jazz technique with hip-hop grooves and attitude, used in music videos and concert tours.
What BPM is Jazz Dance?
Jazz Dance is usually danced to music between 100 and 140 beats per minute. Browse 1,568 songs that fit on our Jazz Dance music page.
How many calories does jazz dance burn?
About 331 calories per hour for a 155-lb (70 kg) person, based on a MET value of 4.5 from the Compendium of Physical Activities. See calories burned jazz dance for every body weight.
Related styles
Ballet
Italian Renaissance courts; codified in 17th-century France
Ballet & Theatrical DanceTap Dance
United States — African rhythmic traditions meet Irish and Scottish step dancing
Ballet & Theatrical DanceMusical Theatre Dance
Broadway and London's West End
Ballet & Theatrical DanceLyrical Dance
United States competition studios
Street & Club DanceHip-Hop Dance
The Bronx, New York, and California funk styles
Ballet & Theatrical DanceContemporary Dance
Europe and the United States, mid-20th century
Ballet & Theatrical DanceModern Dance
United States and Germany, early 20th century
Last reviewed October 2026 · Editorial policy