Dancers who practice at home have a leg up on dancers who don’t, and luckily, there are ways to make practicing jazz dance fun! From focused exercises to silly games, practicing jazz dance at home does take some effort, but the results will be worth it when your child and their teacher sees their progress.
One of a young dancer’s main goals is to achieve perfect splits. There are “Banana Split Clubs” around the world at dance studios that reward dancers with ice cream parties when the whole class gets all three splits. These days, you can find all sorts of products that claim to help dancers achieve the splits, such as split stretchers, but you may be wondering if they’re safe, or worth the investment.
Dance teachers and dancers are always looking for new music to use in jazz class, both at home and at the dance studio! Sometimes we just need to shake things up a bit and find music that will give our dancers some new inspiration, new rhythms, and new ideas!
Some of the best songs for kids’ jazz dance classes include old favorites, unexpected artists, and of course, clean lyrics and themes!
This list includes just a few of my favorite songs to use for kids’ jazz classes – feel free to go down the rabbit hole of Spotify by following some of these artists and seeking out similar sounds if you like what you hear!
Jazz dance, with its origins in African music and culture, has long been a way to celebrate, communicate and entertain. The history of jazz dance isn’t often taught in the studio setting, but understanding where this commercially successful form of dance comes from, and how it has evolved, is an important part of improving as a jazz dancer.
If you are a new dance mom, or a new dancer yourself, you might be overwhelmed by the amount of supplies you need to buy for dance classes! You will need leotards, tights, hair accessories, and of course, the proper shoes! Is there any way to use the same pair of shoes for different styles of dance, so you don’t have to buy so many things?
One of the coolest things about jazz dance is how varied the style can be! From lindy hop to street styles, Latin jazz to social dances, jazz dance lives in many worlds, and there is no shortage of movies that have some sort of jazz dancing included.
A beginner jazz class will last between 45 minutes to an hour and a half, and dancers should be learning some traditional jazz steps along with basic motor skills. For very young dancers, jazz may be offered alongside ballet or tap as a combo class.
Swing culture originated in the United States in the 1930s and 1940s after the rise in popularity of swing music. The swing movement includes a signature sound – a style of jazz music – as well as fashion and swing dancing.
Pom Dance is dancing while using Pom Poms and is a style mainly performed by high school and college students at halftime during basketball season and other school athletic events, but pom dancers may travel to compete as well. Pom dance is sometimes also known as a school or college dance squad or dance team.
Leaps & Turns is typically offered as an additional training opportunity for dancers enrolled in jazz and ballet dance classes.