Arts Of Dance.

Throughout history, art has been inspired by dance, from the cave paintings in Central India to the beautiful oil paintings of Degas and many works of Toulouse-Lautrec. The relationship between the Arts and Jazz is longstanding, The Harlem Renaissance and Beat Poetry for instance. The record label Blue Note Records use of the beautifully realised photography of Francis Wolfe along with the ground breaking cover designs of graphic designer Reid Miles, the quirky creative illustrations of David Stone Martin and the photography of Herman Leonard are all prime examples of the connection between The Arts and Jazz.

Arts of Dance Will draw together elements from the British Jazz Dance and evolving Jazz inspired Black Music scenes. It will looks at the expanding relationship between the evolution of Jazz related music, dance and art, how how these areas inspire and feed into each other and have no boundaries of age, culture or gender.

Born in post-punk do-it-yourself Britain, Jazz dance has its DNA set in moves from the Boogie scene (knee drops and tightly bound spins), the break and locking scene, modern dance, tap and heated competition. Fertile imaginations collided with inspirational historical footage of the Nicholas Brothers, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly and the choreography of Jerome Robbins, finding a place to rest with intricate, break neck speed fusion of Barry Miles, Chic Corea and Be-Bop from Dizzy Gillespie and Art Blakey, to name but a few.

As the music has evolved, encompassing elements from other musical genres, so have the passions and movement vocabularies of the dancers and in recent years Jazz influenced House, Latin, Afrobeat, Broken Beat, Funk and Soul music have enriched the creative energies of the club scene, artists and film makers.

The mid 80’s saw the movement come to the attention of Robert Elms, culminating with the inclusion of I Dance Jazz (IDJ- a formidable jazz dance troupe) in the movie Absolute Beginners in 1986, and Jazz dance troupes Brothers In Jazz and the Back Street Kids could be seen doing battle on mainstream TV. Before that first peak of media coverage Jazz dancers decked themselves out in Adidas sportswear, pixie boots, leg warmers and stretch jeans and for the lucky ones, trainers sent from relatives living in the USA. The mid 80’s heralded the Blue Note back catalogue and the introduction of the Zoot Suit and Spats as the Jive movement ran alongside jazz dance. The rise of the Rare Groove movement saw the Jazz dancers look appropriated and 1950’s cut suits and Docker hats could be seen everywhere. Today, the look of the Jazz Dancer is all encompassing; distinguished by the way they dance not by what they wear.

For street and underground dance styles a new era is developing, young people are still inspired and dancing, with the rise of international movements such as Juste Debout, it is clear that people are still willing to travel hundreds even thousands of miles in order to pursue their passion. The influences of Hip Hop, House, Funk and Soul music are all well documented, and within this eclectic mix the Jazz Dance movement proudly takes its place within British club culture.

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