Jazz Blog - 1st Year 2019/20 School Year

Bob Fosse is a hugely influential choreographer who has no doubt changed the way that we see jazz today. His unique and mesmerizing movement made history within the choreographic world and is still greatly appreciated by many.

Fosse was brought up around theatre and cabaret night clubs meaning performance came easily to the theatrical boy. His later appearance in several films gave him a strong understanding of the visual aspects needed to create a connection with the audience. This knowledge drove Fosse to create a sensual and provocative performance quality that was immediately eye-catching and suggestive to the targeted audience (Bedinghaus, 2019). Naming his dancers as “actors” highlights the significance of performance in his work, emphasizing the intention behind each piece (Wilson, 2014). When completing our “Juggernaught routine” we will use aspects of Fosse’s performance quality to enhance our overall character. Showing that we have a secret towards the audience is executed with a suggestive smile and lowered eye-line. This provocative smile and intense eye-line reflect on Fosse’s sensual dance qualities, making his style so distinctive. 

Fosse’s struggle with scoliosis and arthritis pushed him to pursue his passion rather than hold him back. He strived to use this as a stimulus for his new, undiscovered style allowing his creativity to influence many of his movements. He would often use turned in knees and a slanted stance when executing simple steps, such as walks and hand gestures, which would relieve areas, such as his back from strain. This gained Fosse comfort within the movement and gave him an interesting edge to the usual jazz style (Metcalf, n.d.). Fosse’s invaluable attention to detail using maximum precision allows the subtlest of steps to look effective. To execute the desired effect of unification with clear steps suggests that the mentality of the dancer must be efficient throughout the training process, increasing awareness of their bodies. This contributing factor gives Fosse choreography an interesting engagement(Wilson, 2014). Inspired by Fosse, seductive walks are performed within “Juggernaut” which replicate his frame of movement. This includes a prominent bend in the knees and having our weight pushed back, creating an upward slant occurring in upper bodies. Additionally, an idea of unity encapsulates the group as the dance is performed, encouraging us to be alert for upcoming movements, as if we are working as one body. This shows that we must work with precision and accuracy to create a clean and well execute routine, inspired by the Fosse style.



Jack Cole was an extremely talented choreographer who remained very much in the shadows of fame. His versatile style rewrote the history of jazz, bringing elements of lindy-hop, ballet, ethnic and cultural dance into his entirely unique style (Milzoff, 2012).

Cole had a wonderous career in the arts industry, creating breathtaking dances for many world-famous stars such as, Marylin Monroe. This meant that Cole had to adapt his choreography to match the targeted dancer and the specific style they were looking for. He often kept his movements grounded with the use of deep plies, allowing the dancers to inhabit his preferred style whilst being able to maintain a sturdy base for upper body movement. This influenced Cole to explore the idea of creating a powerful exertion of energy once leaving the plie (Rizzuto, 2013). I believe that this unique quality of a Cole dance provides the illusion of the body having more movement then required to complete the phrase itself. Further relating to the use of body, Cole often emphasized specific movements with definite isolations of the body, mainly including the head, fingers and arms. (danceteacher.com) This sharp yet simplistic way of creating movements highlights the dancer’s ability to create a compelling impact on the audience with minimal movement needed. 


Within our “Jason Derulo routine”, we have a strong use of the head, allowing us to keep an engagement with our audience even when eye contact is broken. Isolations and a deeper plie are also used to show a difference between the vigorous and weaker dynamics within the piece. The sharp isolations work as one with the dynamics in the piece to ensure that an explosive use of energy spurs from the grounded plie into the intricate yet effective isolation work. This is evident in the grounded body circle we complete before the powerful chorus.

Cole had an intriguing style that was inspired by Bharatanatyam and Lindy Hoppers. He believed that dancing shouldn’t be about the technique, yet it should encapsulate the joy it brings to many. This suggests why he found love for two opposing styles that had similar choreographic intensions. (Wilson, 2013) Cole used the detailed isolations from Bharatanatyam alongside the complexed rhythms that Lindy Hop brings, creating a completely knew Hindu street style. The intricate rhythms Cole uses throughout his choreography highlights a unique quality to his movement portraying individuality. The use of the music contributes to supporting the movement as it compromises the shifting in energy and the sharp isolations with the unique dynamics used (Wilson, 2013). Our “Jason Derulo routine” consists of many vital rhythms that signify the intricate footwork we are performing throughout the dance. For example, we use the dynamic beat of the music to correlate to our quick footwork in the chorus when completing our step-turn-step.



Named “one of the most influential figures in Broadway”, Jerome Robbins grew up around dance where his passion for the art blossomed. He was introduced to a variety of styles from a young age including modern, ballet, Asian and Spanish dance, which allowed him to explore his versatility, later building a style of his own (Roh.org.uk, n.d.). Robbins began his choreographic career producing ballets for companies such as New York City ballet, before later exploring the thrilling commercial side of musical theatre. From this, he developed an understanding of the performance qualities needed to produce a perfectly characterized piece stemming into development for his personal performance style. The intensity of expression that is used in a Robbins piece significantly captures the portrayed mood within each dance whether it is comical or piteous (Nycballet.com, n.d.). This suggests why Robbins believed that expression was the most poignant aspect of a dance and a connection made with the audience was vital. Using inspiration from these ardent expressions I will be able to develop a unique connection with the audience by using a lower eye-line in our “Billie Eilish routine”. This will enhance my overall performance quality, allowing us to reach the intensity needed within our dance.


Jerome Robbins is said to have a “deep music sensitivity” (Roh.org.uk, n.d.) emphasizing the unique movement qualities within his pieces that are being conveyed. The “sensitivity” Robbins requires towards the music suggests to an audience that the choreography and accompaniment were developed simultaneously, highlighting how the movement reflects the detailed music score (Nycballet.com, n.d.). This allows Robbins to include a differentiation in styles he explored as he can use the accompaniment to relate opposing movements to one another. This further implies the diversity present within each of his dances. The seamless transition from music to movement highlights an effortless image that consumes the audience, allowing them to become blind to the exertion taking place. Robbins often worked from an abstract perspective, using gestural movement and isolation as a key aspect of his choreography. This allowed the intensity behind his pieces to come across through the precise gestural isolations as the hidden power behind these movements is sharp and vital to perform intensity (Roy, 2009). Our “Billie Eilish routine” consists of strong, accented movement phrases that work seamlessly with the accompaniment, using the harsh beat of the music to emphasize the abstract qualities. The changing dynamics within the music allows us as dancers to hugely differ the intensity we need to characterize our performance throughout the piece. Using these isolated, simplistic movements increases this aspect which shows the inspiration that Robbins had on our piece.


Word count: 1312


References:

Bedinghaus, T. (2019). A Profile of Dancer and Choreographer Bob Fosse. [online] LiveAbout. Available at: https://www.liveabout.com/bob-fosse-biography-1007062 [Accessed 27 Feb. 2020].


Wilson, J. (2014). Training In Fosse-Style Jazz – Dance Direct Blog. News, Reviews & Advice About Dance. [online] Blog.dancedirect.com. Available at: http://blog.dancedirect.com/2014/10/19/fosse-style-jazz/ [Accessed 27 Feb. 2020].


Metcalf, B. (n.d.). Sweet Charity - Bob Fosse - 1969. [online] Briannametcalf.weebly.com. Available at: http://briannametcalf.weebly.com/uploads/2/9/5/6/29563281/ckb_sweet_charity.pdf [Accessed 27 Feb. 2020].


Milzoff, R. (2012). The Temperature’s Rising (No Sweat). [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/29/theater/the-choreographer-chet-walkers-jack-cole-project.html [Accessed 2 Mar. 2020].


Rizzuto, R. (2013). Ask Deb: How Do I Help My Students Use the Turnout They Have?. [online] Dance Teacher. Available at: https://www.dance-teacher.com/ask-deb-how-do-i-help-my-students-use-the-turnout-they-have-2645065848.html [Accessed 2 Mar. 2020].



Wilson, J. (2013). The Jazz Master: Jack Cole – Dance Direct Blog. News, Reviews & Advice About Dance. [online] Blog.dancedirect.com. Available at: http://blog.dancedirect.com/2013/07/20/jack-cole/ [Accessed 2 Mar. 2020].


Roh.org.uk. (n.d.). Jerome Robbins — People — Royal Opera House. [online] Available at: http://www.roh.org.uk/people/jerome-robbins [Accessed 28 Feb. 2020].


Nycballet.com. (n.d.). Jerome Robbins. [online] Available at: https://www.nycballet.com/Explore/Our-History/Jerome-Robbins.aspx [Accessed 28 Feb. 2020].


Roy, S. (2009). Step-by-step guide to dance: Jerome Robbins. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2009/jul/07/guide-dance-jerome-robbins [Accessed 28 Feb. 2020].