Beyond the Steps: A Journey into Artistic Identity
You know the feeling. The music starts—a classic riff from Miles, a complex rhythm from Mingus, a soulful melody from Ella—and your body wants to move. You have the technique. You know the vernacular. You can execute a perfect pirouette, a sharp isolation, a gravity-defying leap. But when it comes to creating something that is undeniably, unmistakably you, it can feel like trying to catch smoke.
Developing a personal style in jazz choreography isn't about inventing a new dance form from scratch. It's about weaving your individual thread into the rich, vibrant tapestry of jazz. It's about how you hear the music, how you interpret rhythm, and how you choose to tell a story through movement. It’s your fingerprint on the art form.
1. Dig Deep into the Roots (So You Know What You're Growing)
You can't redefine the tradition until you understand it. Personal style doesn't emerge from a vacuum; it's a conversation with history.
- Study the Giants: Don't just watch Bob Fosse or Matt Mattox videos for inspiration. Analyze them. Why did Fuseau use such tight, inward gestures? What was the intention behind Katherine Dunham's grounded, polycentric movements? Understand the "why" behind their choices.
- Listen Beyond the Obvious: Move past the "Great American Songbook." Immerse yourself in Afro-Cuban jazz, Brazilian bossa nova, fusion, avant-garde. How does the different instrumentation and cultural context suggest new movements?
- Embrace the Social History: Jazz dance was born in the Black American experience, a powerful expression of community, resilience, and joy. Connecting with this history provides depth and authenticity that technical skill alone cannot.
2. Audit Your Movement Library
We all have movement habits—go-to steps, comfortable rhythms, favorite body parts. To find your voice, you must first know your current vocabulary.
- Film Yourself: Improvise for 10 minutes to three different jazz tracks (a swing number, a blues, a modern piece). Watch it back, not to critique, but to observe. What patterns emerge? Do you favor upper body over lower? Are your movements primarily sharp or smooth?
- Identify Your "Comfort Zone": Now, deliberately break it. If you always move quickly, force yourself to spend an entire improv session in slow motion. If you rely on symmetry, create a phrase using only one side of your body.
- Cross-Train Your Body: Take a ballet class for line and precision. Try a contemporary class for release and flow. Experiment with African dance for polyrhythms or hip-hop for attitude. Steal movements and then "jazz-ify" them.
3. Choreograph Your Life Experiences
Your unique perspective isn't just in your dance training; it's in your life. Your style is the physical manifestation of your memories, emotions, and personality.
Think of a powerful memory—a heartbreak, a moment of triumph, a feeling of peace. Now, don't act it out. How does that emotion physically reside in your body? Does joy make your chest expand and your movements become buoyant? Does sadness make you contract, with movements that are heavy and sustained?
Set a task: create a short phrase based on a personal photograph or a line from your favorite book. The narrative doesn't have to be literal, but the emotional quality will be authentic, and that authenticity is the bedrock of style.
4. Play with the Jazz Elements
Jazz is defined by specific elements. Your personal style is how you prioritize and manipulate them.
- Rhythm: Are you a dancer who lives squarely on the beat, or do you thrive in the syncopated spaces between? Do you layer rhythms or strip them down to their essence?
- Dynamics: How do you use contrast? Do you employ sudden, explosive bursts of energy (percussive accent) followed by a languid, fluid recovery?
- Phrasing: Do you dance right on top of the musical phrase, or do you deliberately counter it? Do you highlight the melody or the underlying rhythm section?
- Imperfection: Jazz embraces the "bent" note, the slightly off-kilter rhythm that swings. Do you allow for human "mistakes" or idiosyncrasies in your movement to add character?
5. Collaborate and Get Uncomfortable
Your voice will get louder when it has to speak with others. Work with a musician on a new piece. Choreograph on a body different from your own. Teach a phrase to a group and see how they interpret it—you'll learn what was clear (your intention) and what was theirs (their style).
Seek feedback from mentors you trust, but learn to filter it. The goal is not to please everyone but to become more of who you are as an artist. A good mentor won't try to make you a copy of themselves; they'll help you sharpen your own tools.
The Never-Ending Solo
Finding your unique voice is not a destination you arrive at; it's a continuous, evolving practice. It requires technical mastery as a foundation, the courage to be vulnerable, and the curiosity to never stop exploring.
Your style will change as you do. It will be different at 25 than at 45. It will shift with the music you discover and the life you live. So don't rush it. Listen deeply—to the music, to your body, and to the world around you. Then let your dance be your answer.
