Jazz is a well-renowned music genre that has left its mark in the racial and cultural history of the US. It is characterized by improvisation, syncopation, and a powerful regular rhythm.
Typical instruments linked with jazz include woodwind, violin, piano, guitar, and brass.
Regardless of the difference in jazz, most Americans know it due to its unique rhythm with the most common notes, including swing and blue.
But how did jazz become part of the American cultural heritage? Jazz has a rich history that created ripple effects across the American culture, including their lifestyle to the social movements.
Let’s take a look at how it did so in this blog!
The Birth Of Jazz
These days, the word ‘Jazz’ is synonymous with multiple things since it has numerous definitions and is a complex subject. However, in the beginning, it was not like that.
At the start of the 17th century, many African people were forced to North America and other areas to be enslaved.
During this slavery era, a new dance was formed that diversified into the African American vernacular jazz dance culture.
It is also essential to recognize the link between traditional African culture dances and Black Americans’ jazz dance history.
These days, we have multiple branches of that vernacular jazz dance that have developed over the years, like classical jazz, tap, Broadway jazz, Latin jazz, modern jazz, solo jazz, etc.
Jazz dance history traces its roots back to the Black people working in the plantations. As a result, many black dances like turkey trot and buzzard lope have direct animal references.
The dances were observed by white people who were intrigued by the expression, vitality, freedom, and dynamism it exuded.
Similarly, black dancers observed white people who danced in salons and took inspiration from couple dance styles, their verticality, and composition of Charleston, Cakewalks, and later, the Lindy Hop.
Many factors influenced it, like various African tribes mixing and amalgamating into the European tradition.
But, the horrible circumstances enforced upon enslaved people were the most significant influence.
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Social Impact Of Jazz Dance
Jazz is a dance and music form that cannot be analyzed without focusing on societal and racial issues. This is because the evolution of jazz came upon through societal revolution.
With the common problem being Jim Crow laws of segregation during the early 20th century, jazz evolved once again to attract educated members and socialites of society to fight against all types of subjugation.
However, due to the existing issues of those times, jazz was ostracized and thought of as an unsophisticated dance form.
But by the 1930s, most White Americans gained an interest in this dance form and started incorporating it in films.
Sadly though, the White Americans went a step ahead to completely omit the contribution of black people in jazz music and dance.
It is evident from the greatness of jazz that it turned into a social dance that captured all members of society’s attention.
Moreover, the effectiveness and pre-eminence of this dance style also encouraged many to engage in various social activities.
All this development also became the cause for the increasing popularity of jazz dance, which is still prevalent in different regions.
How Jazz Affected Social Norms And The American Culture
Every society or group carries unique behaviors and values that all members must adhere to.
According to scholars, ‘social norm’ is any cultural product that exhibits your society’s knowledge of their expectations in a particular scenario.
The evolution of jazz is a thing that impacted American culture in multiple ways.
In historical terms, this dance form led to newer ideas to study past events and empower people to fight for their rights.
The focus on injustice and inequality as prevalent themes in jazz encouraged societies to completely transform historical developments and succeed in an America riddled with increasing inequality and bigotry cases.
Let’s discuss the impact of jazz within the US in more detail:
Women Empowerment
All through the 1920s, jazz dance and music were desired by most American citizens. Moreover, these people appreciated it as a superior art form that inspired people to share ideas.
Many women were also guided and empowered to follow newer opportunities in their communities during the same time.
The development led to a scenario in which female citizens took charge of many economic activities. And a movie like this ensued better relationships between women and men all over the US.
Fashion Trends
American social norms were also influenced by Jazz dance in fashion. Before the 19th century’s end, men wore decent clothes in their master’s eyes, and women had to cover their heads.
However, the advent of jazz brought with it newer styles of fashion, which changed the country’s citizens’ expectations.
Jazz dance became a new way to fight for freedom and abolish the Jim Crow racial segregation law.
Due to jazz dance and music’s power, the acts of prejudice and oppression, which were commonplace in the US, started to lighten up.
However, these changes in social norms did not occur without constant protests against racial inequality.
Over the years, from a social perspective, jazz-influenced cultural relationships and fashion trends in the US.
As discussed before, many women started to dress differently and participate in economic activities, including dance and music.
The popularity of the dance attracted a lot of potential artists with various backgrounds.
Consequently, Harlem Renaissance eventually turned to reality, thus encouraging Americans to adopt arts more than before.
Due to this, many Americans started viewing the discrimination issue from an informed perspective.
Political Implications
Jazz dance’s political implications are what many political scholars, researchers, and sociologists do not take lightly.
Like the proliferation and invention of the music, genre prompted the development of the Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights Movement.
These issues forced American society to treat various minority groups and African Americans with decorum.
In addition, the genre urged many people from multiple races to embrace music power and share information.
A new word, ‘New Negro’ emerged where African Americans fought against Jim Crow segregation law and oppression.
New policies and laws later emerged to allow minorities and women to participate in political activities, like voting.
The upheaval and revolution from the 20’s encouraged the leaders of America to attend to the African American demands.
The development eventually empowered society to achieve its full potential.
To sum it all up, we can safely say that jazz’s impact on the American culture developed because of various influences that revolved around insight and desire to fight against all forms of unfairness.
Equality Movement
Historians who have studied the dance form unbiased have uncovered that jazz came forward as the movement against challenges and issues encountered by African Americans by the end of the 19th century.
Events of the 20th century also made it impossible for most people of color in the US to achieve their full potential and live a high-quality life.
Many music historians and archeologists believe that jazz dance must be taught as a technique that has African aesthetic value.
It means that dancers who understand the form entirely must consider the predicaments, challenges, and voices that led to its foundation.
You also might find that some jazz historians also point out that in the 1940s and 1950s, Dunham’s movement had an ethnic nature.
This also explains why the masses treat and view it as a black or racial dance.
Jazz pioneers successfully introduced it as a practical movement or model that would encourage and guide citizens from ostracized societies to realize their strengths and participate in activities that would lead them to success.
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The Influence of Jazz on Other Artists
For many jazz fans, New York is the go-to place.
After all, it has musicians such as Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Charlie Parker, who were quite popular in the Big Apple. This tradition continues to date in multiple best jazz clubs of the area.
You do not have to venture far to observe the influence of jazz dance to create one of the best 20th-century music.
Every artist, from Pink Floyd’s ‘Time’ and Beatles’ ‘Honey Pie’ to hip-hop like Q-Tip, all have been in some way or the other influenced by jazz.
The dance genre seeped into the musical culture in a way that no one can deny.
Jazz History And The Way It Shaped American Culture
The 1920s was an era of jazz; the dance made its way into all aspects of American daily life and its culture.
Everything from poetry and fashion to the Civil Rights movement was influenced by it. The clothing style changed to ease the dancers to dance along to the beat.
Even poetry saw evolution due to jazz, with jazz poetry emerging into a new genre of the era. The poems had the improvisational feel and emotional depth of jazz music.
Women’s liberation movement became a massive cultural moment due to the influence of jazz.
As jazz clubs and dance halls spread, more and more women had places to go for an outlet for the rebellions against conventional gender roles.
There they were free with dress and language, and that was when they were given a chance to meet with other women with the same mindset, perhaps for the first time in their lives.
Jazz dance and music carry great importance in American culture.
The rich jazz history has created a ripple effect on almost all aspects of American life, from fashion to music to social movements.
When you learn more about jazz’s importance in America, it will even give you much more appreciation for this barrier-breaking genre.
So, if you want to learn more about jazz, why not get in touch with Superprof?
Superprof has hundreds of jazz tutors near you who are qualified in all aspects of the genre, from dance to music to history to the cultural movements.
Why wait? Get in touch with the American spirit and heritage that turned the country towards a new direction by connecting with experienced, certified, and professional tutors near you!
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