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Original Title: "Elevate Your Jazz: Essential Moves for Intermediate Dancers"
Original Content:
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Welcome back, jazz enthusiasts! Whether you've been dancing for a while or
just stepping up from beginner classes, mastering the intermediate jazz dance
moves can truly elevate your performance. Today, we're diving into some
essential techniques and steps that will help you shine on the dance floor.
Let's get started!
- The Jazz Square
The jazz square is a fundamental move that combines elements of ballet and
jazz. It's a great way to improve your footwork and spatial awareness. Here’s
how to do it:
Step 1: Start with your feet together, facing forward.
Step 2: Step to the right with your right foot, then bring your left
foot to meet it.
Step 3: Step forward with your left foot, then bring your right foot to
meet it.
Step 4: Step to the left with your left foot, then bring your right foot
to meet it.
Step 5: Step back with your right foot, then bring your left foot to
meet it.
Remember to keep your knees slightly bent and your upper body relaxed. This
move can be done slowly to focus on precision or quickly for a more dynamic
feel.
- Pirouettes
Pirouettes are a staple in jazz dance, showcasing your balance and control.
Here’s a quick guide to mastering them:
Step 1: Start in fifth position, with your heels touching and your legs
turned out.
Step 2: Place your hands in second position, with your elbows slightly
bent.
Step 3: Use your supporting leg to push off the floor, spinning on the
ball of your foot.
Step 4: As you spin, keep your eyes focused on a fixed point to maintain
balance.
Step 5: Finish the pirouette by landing softly back in fifth position.
Practice these slowly at first, gradually increasing your speed as you gain
confidence.
- The Chasse
The chasse is a smooth, gliding move that adds a touch of elegance to your
routine. Here’s how to perform it:
Step 1: Start with your feet together, facing forward.
Step 2: Step to the right with your right foot, then immediately step
with your left foot to the right, crossing it behind your right foot.
Step 3: Step to the right with your right foot again, completing the
movement.
Keep your movements fluid and your knees slightly bent to maintain a smooth,
gliding motion.
- The Jazz Run
The jazz run is a dynamic move that adds energy and excitement to your
performance. Here’s how to do it:
Step 1: Start with your feet together, facing forward.
Step 2: Step forward with your right foot, landing on the ball of your
foot.
Step 3: Immediately step forward with your left foot, landing on the
ball of your foot.
Step 4: Continue this pattern, alternating feet and keeping your knees
slightly bent.
Focus on maintaining a steady rhythm and keeping your upper body relaxed.
By incorporating these essential moves into your routine, you'll not only
improve your technique but also add variety and flair to your performances.
Remember, practice makes perfect, so keep dancing and enjoy the journey to
becoming a more confident and skilled jazz dancer!
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TITLE: Finally, Jazz Moves That Actually Look Cool On the Dance Floor
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There's this moment in every jazz dancer's life when you're in class and the instructor says "and now let's do some jazz squares" and you realize you've got no idea what you're doing. Everyone else seems to flow across the floor like they were born doing it, and you're just... existing. Step, together. Step, together. Why does my body sound like thunder?
I've been there. Way back in my first intermediate jazz class, I faked my way through an entire combo because I was too embarrassed to ask for a demo. The choreographer — shoutout to Ms. Patterson, she had this way of making you feel seen — caught me after class and said, "Baby, your jazz square sounds like someone's slamming doors. Come here."
Then she showed me what the move was actually supposed to be.
The jazz square isn't about hitting four exact steps like some dance robot. It's about weight transfer and musicality. You know how you walk normally? That's the foundation. You step onto a bent knee, let your weight roll through, and your standing leg does this little bounce that makes you feel suspended in air for half a second. The trick nobody tells you: the music tells you how big to go. Ballad? Glide through like you're wading in honey. Upbeat? Make it snappy.
Here's how I finally got it: face the mirror, pick ONE spot on the wall to stare at (your eyes control your balance, I promise), and just rock side to side. Step right, rock. Step left, rock. Don't think about the pattern. Think about the weight. Once that clicks, the entire sequence becomes this gorgeous circular thing instead of four robotic steps.
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The first time I landed a real pirouette — not the half-spin I was doing before, but a REAL turn — I cried in the bathroom after class. Not exaggerating. I'd been drilling for weeks and nothing worked. My spot would fly away, my supporting knee would buckle, and I'd step out of it like some confused flamingo.
Then one Friday, something just... worked.
The secret nobody spells out for you: a good pirouette starts way before you spin. Your prep is everything. Arms in second, shoulders down (STRESS that shoulder blade — let it drop and back, don't shrug), and you've got to rock onto your supporting foot like you're testing the floor. That little "check" is where the power lives.
When you push off, push THROUGH the floor. Not up — through. Your supporting leg should feel like it's screwing into the ground. Spotting is the make-or-break: pick ONE thing to look at, hold it in your mind as long as you can, then snap your head around and find it again. The faster your head moves, the steadier your body feels.
Pro tip nobody talks about: your arms help you more than you think. Pull your arms in tight to your body during the spin — that's what creates that fast, tight rotation. Extend them out as you prep, pull them in as you turn. It's like windmill magic for your body.
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The chasse changed everything for me when I stopped thinking of it as "step-step-step" and started thinking of it as "glide." You know that feeling when you're running late and you just... go? That's a chasse. But pretty.
The key is in your back foot. Don't just tap it behind you — send it. You step out, your back foot meets the ground with authority, not this dainty little tap, and then you finish by planting your front foot. Your knees should have this subtle bend the whole time. Rigid legs make you look like a wooden soldier. Soft knees make you look like you actually know what you're doing.
I used to watch dancers do chasses in music videos and think they had some magic gene. Then I realized: it's just commitment. If you step, commit all the way. No half-steps. No hesitation. The whole point is that seamless, endless glide across the floor.
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The jazz run is where most people fall apart. They either go too stiff — you know the ones, all locked legs and arms swinging like pendulums — or too floppy, like they're about to collapse any second.
The energy should be in your front foot and your arms. Land on the ball of your foot, push off with intention, and let that landing be this percussive thing. Your knees absorb the shock, but they're not just bent — they bounce. Like a spring, not a cushion.
Your arms? They've got to mean something. When your right foot steps forward, left arm drives forward. Right arm, left leg. This cross-body opposition is what makes the move look intentional. Without it, you just look like you're fleeing something.
Run with a purpose. Run like someone's chasing you, but in slow motion. That's what makes the jazz run feel powerful instead of chaotic.
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Here's what I wish someone told me sooner: these moves aren't separate things. A jazz square feeds into your chasse. Your chasse leads into your run. Everything connects. The day everything clicked for me wasn't because I finally mastered one move — it was because I stopped thinking of them as individual tricks and started seeing them as one flowing conversation my body was having with the music.
You're going to mess up. A lot. You're going to step on someone's foot in rehearsal and want to evaporate. You're going to drill something forty times and still get it wrong. That's not failure — that's the process.
The dancers who look like they've got magic? They just put in the messy middle time when nobody was watching. Keep showing up. Keep being weird in the studio. Keep letting yourself be bad at something until you get good at it.
Your turn.
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