How to Really Jazz It Up...

Speaking of jazz, tap, broadway musicals and the like...

Do you love watching them? They surely are enjoyable, and a good show never fails to put a smile on your face!

But what makes a great jazz dancer?

You probably have a few jazz/musical dance performance you have in mind that was memorable and enjoyable, and if you are a dance student, may have tried doing.

In a lively number, the dancers would carry a disposition of happiness, joyousness, playfulness, showing how carefree they are with wide-open arms, opening their hearts with big smiles on their faces.

With the ladies, it's always with at least abit more sassy-sauciness, hinting how naughty and playful they are, teasing both the audience and the performing counterparts confidently, leaving everyone hanging on to their fingertips.

When I needed to choreograph a Singing In The Rain piece for my school concert, I started by watching the movie clip from youtube, and I instantly fell in love with the song, the dance, but most of all, Gene Kelly's charm and enthusiasm. Needless to say, it instantly puts a smile on my face. I knew that I would love to choreograph it, and that the kids would enjoy dancing to it.

Gene Kelly singing in the rain...

In a dance that requires movements to be BIG and expressions are BIG, it is easy to go overboard with doing too much, (although in musicals, the levels of acceptance are pushed a little further than others, as expressions are occasionally exaggerated for effect).

But a how does a good performer do BIG, without going overboard?

it stays true to emotions - meaning, instead of just a "blown up" kind of expression, it is instead an honest form of expression, like how a child or a baby would act, when overcame with glee.

But you might notice as well, that good performers are able to act out very subtly, those genuine moments of ease and calm, amist the all excitement - using a day-to-day gesture, a wink, an eyebrow raised, a smile - but secretly impregnanting the moment with anticipation, bulding up the pace for that one high point.

When I showed my student's this video, the saw a whole new level of enthusiasm! They noticed how playful he was and how he happy he is, finding new love and all. It truly conveys the meaning of "the joy of dance."

So, if you wanna do jazz, perhaps, you may ask yourselves these questions:
1. Do you dare to be BIG and stand out?
2. Do you dare to be different, be brave and be playful?
3. Can you embody that happy disposition, put on a smile on your face that is as bright as the sun?
4. Are you a happy person? Can you be happy in your mind, in your core, all through your hands and feet, and in all the muscles on your face, from your heart and through your eyes?

C'mon with the rain,

I've a smile on my face...

 

Until next time, happy dancing... :)