Jazz Dance Isn't Ballet

A lot of dancers think that jazz dance is a bit like ballet and learning to dance a jazz style means learning ballet technique. But really it is very different to ballet. There is some dance which fuses ballet and and jazz which is called jazz ballet or ballet jazz and a lot of dance companies use different ballet moves and jazz moves to create their choreography. But it is of course possible to learn to dance jazz dance without doing ballet and it is quite difficult to learn as well. There are a lot of moves, steps and techniques to learn. You can look at some of the different choreography from dance companies like the Alvin Ailey dance company or see some jazz dance routines on pop videos by top choreographers Darrin or Madonna Grimes. Most kinds of dance styles use jazz steps in their routines. Breakdance, street dance, contemporary jazz, all use jazz techniques to add flavor to their choreography. For example if you watch some of the dance movies on dvd or in the cinema like the new style of tap dance, stomp and the movie Stomp The Yard, breakdancin step up and more, you can see they all use some jazz styles in their dancing. And some famous music artists like Usher, Beyonce, Omarion and others all use jazz dance choreography in their music videos. To see some free urban style dance videos check out the Urban Dance TV Showcase at http://www.squidoo.com/urbandancetv. You'll find some free videos there as well to try out the different styles of dance, do a dance workout or learn some dance routines.

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