Important People in the History of Jazz Dance

Katherine Dunham was an anthropologist, dancer, and choreographer. She incorporated her studies of Haitain folk dance into her choreography for film, stage, and her own dance company. She made history in 1963 when she became the first African American to choreograph for the metropolitan opera. 

Fred Astaire made important contributions to jazz dance on screen. He combined the aesthetic of ballet in the upper body with jazz and tap footwork. 

Jack Cole is often considered “the Father” of Theatrical Jazz. As a student of Ted Shawn’s, he studied modern dance; he expanded his studies to include bharata natyam, Afro-Caribbean dance, Spanish dance, the lindy hop and ballet technique. All of these influences informed his choreography for nightclubs and Hollywood. Cole was the choreographer behind Marilyn Monroe’s performance in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. “In General, a jack Cole dance is hip, hard and cool.” 

Luigi is credited with codifying the first Jazz Dance technique. Luigi had been a dancer in Hollywood when a car accident left him severely injured. In the process of his rehabilitation, Luigi learned about anatomy and the way the human body works, developing his technique to train dancers in the process. His technique relies on “feeling from the inside.” He says, ‘Jazz dancing is an interpretation of sound, and America’s cultural contribution to the world.’

Bob Fosse, perhaps one of the most iconic names in showbiz, was the first person to win an Emmy, a Tony, and an Oscar in the same year. The Fosse Style is known for its internal rotation of the hips, strong use of isolations, jazz hands, and an underlying sensuality. Bowler hats, canes, and gloves are common in Fosse’s work as well. 

Matt Mattox had been a student of Jack Cole’s, and continued to shape the technique and style of what we call Jazz. Mattox referred to his style as “freestyle dance,” which he taught throughout Europe and the US. As a performer, he was most famous for his performance in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

Michael Bennett was the director and choreographer behind the musical A Chorus Line; he also choreographed Promises Promises, Company, Follies, and Dreamgirls. His choreography varied immensely from show to show, using the demands of the character and the story to develop the movement. 

Gus Giordano founded his own company in Chicago (it still exists today) and was the founder and director of the Jazz Dance World Congress, which was a gathering of jazz dancers and master teachers, the last one was in 2012. The Giordano company toured the world showing off “American Jazz.” Today the company is run by Gus’ daughter Nan.

Jerome Robbins was born Jerome Rabniowitz to Russian Jewish Immigrants in New York City. He performed with American Ballet Theater and became one of the most influential American Choreographers, in both ballet and Musical Theater. He made his choreographic debut in 1944, with the ballet Fancy Free and proceeded to work extensively on Broadway and as a choreographer at ABT, for his own Company Ballets USA, and at New York City Ballet. Robbins’ major contribution to musical theater was the idea that dancing could propel the story forward, rather than being an accessory to the story. His most prolific hit was West Side Story; some of his other works included Fiddler on the Roof, and On the Town.

Frank Hatchett was an important teacher of Jazz in New York City for many years. His studio, Hines and Hatchett was the predecessor to today’s Broadway Dance Center. Having studied Dunham technique, West African, East Indian, Martial Arts, Caribbean Dance and early Hip Hop, Hatchet’s style was called “VOP”  and valued strength, musicality, and individual expression. I personally got to take Hatchett’s class in the early 2000s, and even as he was getting older, the class was energetic and vibrant. 

Rennie Harris was raised in Northern Philadelphia and Hip-Hop culture. He had an extensive career as a performer and founded his company Puremovement in 1992. He is known for using Street Dance and Hip Hop styles on the concert stage. His work has been performed by his own company as well as Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. 

Lynn Simonson is a jazz educator whose technique emphasizes body awareness and anatomical placement. She spent years in Amsterdam refining her method of teaching, which she now certifies teachers in.

Billy Siegenfeld is the founder of Jump Rhythm Jazz, which he describes this way: “JRT is a vocal-rhythmic, jazz-rhythm-based approach to teaching theatre-movement. It is guided by a combination of 3 ideas: the African-originated concept of full-bodied rhythm-making called ngoma (“drumming and rhythmic song-dancing”); the gravity-directed laws of nature; and the practice of egalitarianism in human relationships both on stage and in everyday life.”

Gwen Verdon was a Broadway star who danced in the work of Cole and Kidd, but she is best known for her performances in the work of Bob Fosse, whom she was also married to. She was the original Lola in Damn Yankees, Charity in Sweet Charity, and Roxie Hart in Chicago.