Analysis of Jazz Dance: History, Styles, and Choreography Report

This report examines the history and evolution of Jazz dance, including its various styles, techniques, and the impact of key figures like Jack Cole. The report explores Cole's choreography, his influences, and his distinctive approach to dance, highlighting his use of specific movements and techniques. It analyzes his work, incorporating both his early influences and his contributions to the world of dance. The report also includes a discussion on the evolution of jazz dance with the analysis of specific examples of his works. This report provides a comprehensive overview of the subject matter and its significance in the broader context of dance history. The report also discusses the importance of training and the impact of his work on the dance world.

Running head: JAZZ AND ITS ORIGIN
Jazz and its Origin
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1JAZZ AND ITS ORIGIN
Response to question 1
 The major influences on Jack Cole’s style was of Ruth St. Denis, Ted Shawn, Doris
Humphrey, Charles Wiedman and Luigi Albertieri who was a ballet dance artist.
 Cole also performed in nightclubs which largely influenced his dance style.
Movement styles
 Cole’s dancing style is in precision and his each movement is crisp and detailed. It is cool
to view and eye catching.
 While performing he is equally expressive at his eyes and much strength is included in
the dance performance.
 The dance movement includes the use of spatial body parts for performing moves like
knee slides and leaps.
 It also includes attacking moves that requires a lot of body strength, energy and vigor.
Personal background information
 Born in the year 1911, Jack Cole spent his childhood in New Brunswick, New Jersey
(Guarino, Lindsay and Oliver 2014).
 His schooling was in Catholic and military schools that taught him to be self-dependent
and less attached to family.
 There is no exact source of background information and most of the information gathered
are exaggerated from his own sources.
Response to question 2
Contribution of Jack Cole

2JAZZ AND ITS ORIGIN
 Jack Cole contributed in a number of films and TV shows.
 Established a long-term partnership with Columbia Studios
Jack Cole’s Choreographic works
 His choreographic works are Cover Girl(1944), Tonight and Every Night (1945), Rita
Hayworth and Three for the Show (Guarino, Lindsay and Oliver 2014).
Approach to training
 Cole during Columbia assignment was extremely busy and could afford less time to
training.
 Due to this reason he assigned long, tiring training schedules
 He was a perfectionist and believed in utter perfection
 He wanted to grip the attention of the audience till the end of the show.
 Trained his followers to perform machine like precision, yet smooth like feather
 His training were intense and structured
Response to question 3
Two Examples of his choreography
Wedding of a Solid Sender and Cover Girl are the two examples of Cole’s choreography.
Cole’s dance performance is all about glamour and vigor. It holds an utter intensity that grips the
attention of the public. The aspects of his dance performance that lures the audience the most is
his machine like strength, his leaps and skids. At the very same time the performances are feather
like smooth and worth watching. It’s full worth for the money. Both of the dance performances
were incredibly outstanding.

3JAZZ AND ITS ORIGIN
Response to question 4
The video that has been chosen to describe the moves and styles of Jack Cole is provided
with the link. This particular video is an amalgamation of the most popular dance clips by Cole.
Cole here uses the Mudras of Bharata Natyam that requires precision and is mostly done in slow
motion. However at the same time he infusions the style with his own signature movements that
are hard and strenuous. The other clips are the perfect examples of the flips and turns. The video
also describes his movements of twists and turns. Specially, lifting and twisting is one of Cole’s
favorite moves that he mostly incorporates in almost all the short clips provided in the video link
(American Choreography Awards- Jack Cole Lifetime Acheivement Award- Tribute
Package 2018)

4JAZZ AND ITS ORIGIN
Reference List
American Choreography Awards- Jack Cole Lifetime Acheivement Award- Tribute Package.
2018. Image. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVChDKLOSh8.
Guarino, Lindsay, and Wendy Oliver. Jazz dance: A history of the roots and branches.
University Press of Florida, 2014.