Jazz Dance Pedagogy

Abstract

This chapter discusses the necessity of approaching jazz dance pedagogy using frameworks that are specific to the Africanist movement roots and historical heritage of the form. Typical methods of jazz dance instruction superimpose the movement value structures, verbal language, and assessment methods traditional to ballet form and function. This chapter provides examples of how to move purposefully away from this type of pedagogy to create a more culturally just and authentic experience for students in jazz dance class. It offers examples of how to shift verbal cueing and movement language to incorporate Africanist aesthetics and cultural values into class structure, and ways to assess student progress that centers the practices of jazz dance in relationship to itself.