Dance Styles

Acrobatic dance is exactly a combination of its name. A good acrobatic dance routine seamlessly mixes traditional dance skills ranging from jazz, ballet, lyrical, or even hip hop with acrobatic skills.

Jazz dance is one of the cornerstone styles that students learn at a dance studio or school. And yet so many of the books about dance focus on Ballet! So we have created a list of books that focus on jazz dance for kids!

Jazz Dance as we know it today has always been closely linked to the music of time and tightly intertwined with the social and cultural context. There have been a myriad of modifiers added, “Latin Jazz,” “Authentic Jazz,” “Vernacular Jazz,” “Theatrical Jazz,” “Lyrical Jazz,” and a singular definition of Jazz remains elusive. 

Jazz is a style of dance that today can be identified with signature moves such as fan kicks, isolations, body rolls and dynamic jumps. But Jazz dance is actually rooted in vernacular dance out of west Africa and has been appropriated and adapted over time.

With the increasing amount of Acro-related skills and tricks packed into mainstream competitive dance shows and competitions, it can be confusing for people to understand what differentiates an Acro dance routine from a dance routine of another genre that has Acro moves in it.

Ballet’s history is full of movers (literally) and shakers (maybe not AS literally). And althought there are many more… there are a few rulers, dancers, choreographers and directors who all dancers want to make sure that they know about!

Most people can easily recognize the street style of dance commonly referred to as breakdance by moves such as people spinning on their heads, acrobatic tricks and basic rocking movements.

When we use the term Hip Hop it is often in reference to music or dance, but what needs to be emphasized and understood is that Hip Hop is a culture, “a way of life,” as many put it. What we often see on TV or social media today when Hip Hop dance is being performed is the commercialized, streamlined, and often diluted form of what it was at its origination.

Need a great gift for your contemporary dancer, but have no idea what they need, or even want?  They can be especially hard to buy for since they definitely don’t want something with a pointe shoe or a tutu on it! But don’t worry, I’m here to take the guesswork out of it! 

Ballet has a fascinating history of storytelling and spectacle. With early roots in France and Italy, the artform evolved as it spread to England, Russia and the United States. Each of these countries put their own stamp on the artform as different cultural and musical influences converged on choreography and style.