LEARNING WITH JAZZ
SUNDAY SESSIONS: MIX IT UP CLASSES
In our Solo Jazz Essentials class we do good, solid jazz fundamentals. We watch archival footage for inspiration, we learn a dance step, and we play with it. Then we take that dance step, and work with buddies to choreograph, improvise, and Mix It Up.
This means that these classes are rooted in the Black history of jazz dance, but are also learning from the living culture of Black dance.
What students learn
Solo jazz fundamentals, and contemporary street dance skills.
That jazz steps aren't just vocabulary or things to be rote learned. They have utility.
How to practice on their own, and to stay focussed without direct supervision.
How to collaborate with others to choreograph routines.
Practical dance skills that transfer to the social dance floor, to jams, to cyphers.
How to enjoy dance and find their own creative voices.
What teachers learn
To decenter themselves in learning environments, and instead center students' learning (the students aren’t just copying a teacher and learning by rote, they’re learning to create.)
To trust the students, and to be patient while students find their own way to the goal, at their own pace.
To put their ego on hold, and let students guide the learning process.
That this whole process is a lot of fun.
EXPERIMENTING WITH JAZZ
Exercise
Experiment with one given step or rhythm.
Goals
Stay focussed without ongoing instruction; understand the core elements of a move; expand these elements without abandoning them.
The Black dance history root
Learning-by-doing on the social dance floor, without explicit instruction.
Street dance practice
Dancing at a session or practicing.
TRADING EIGHTS
Exercise
Take turns dancing two counts of 8.
Exercise variations
Dance for a phrase (take longer turns). Begin with your partner’s finishing move (call and response).
Goals
Keep good time; know when to start and finish; be able to move on from ‘mistakes’ rather than dwelling on them; support each other; learn by trying; prioritise pleasure and enjoying the music over ‘perfect’ dancing.
The Black dance history root
Trading 8s is a tradition in jazz music and in tap dance jams.
Tap brought us games like trades, a game that is also the structure of tap jams and contests. Taking turns is the backbone of Black children’s rhythm games (jump rope, hand clapping games, etc). It's about fairness, but also about learning to wait, to watch, and to be an audience. It’s also FUN.
Street dance practice
Entering a cypher or battle; taking turns in a session or jam.
CREATING WITH MATES
exercise
Improvise to music independently (but not alone); dance choreography together.
goals
Feeling confident improvising and dancing alone; keep good time; prioritise pleasure and enjoying the music over ‘perfect’ dancing.
Black dance history root
Choreographing together in a social environment (collaborative creation). Performing a choreographed sequence followed or preceded by an improvised sequence (eg the shim sham).
Street dance practice
Choreographing sequences for jams or battles. Combining choreography and improvisation.
CREDITS
Miya Miyazaki taught these classes and filmed the content. The students are regulars who also take the preceding solo jazz class. These pages were written and the videos edited by Sam Carroll.
Content draws on tap dance traditions, street dance practice, and hundreds of years of Black dance culture. Developing concepts introduced by Ramona Staffeld’s clear vision for a solo jazz Sunday Session gave a structure of content-first, then collaborative work. Miya and her Sunday crew developed this even further with the Mix It Up concept and structure.
We recognise the elders of Black jazz dance as our inspiration. We give credit to the Black dancers of the past and present for the dances we love and enjoy. And we recognise our privilege in being able to dance now, and in these spaces. We pay the rent by donating to organisations like the Black Lindy Hoppers Fund.
MORE READING
Ellison, Ralph and Albert Murray. Trading Twelves. Penguin, 2001. Buy here.
Gaunt, Kyra D. The Games Black Girls Play: Learning the Ropes from Double-Dutch to Hip-Hop. NYU Press, 2006. Buy here.
Hazzard-Gordon, Katrina. Jookin’: The Rise of Social Dance Formations in African-American Culture. Temple U Press, 1992. Buy here.