NDEO鈥檚 Guest Blog Series features posts written by our members about their experiences in the fields of dance and dance education. We continue this series with a post by Cheryl Johnson, Adjunct Lecturer, Dance - University of Rochester. Guest posts reflect the experiences, opinions, and viewpoints of the author and are printed here with their permission. NDEO does not endorse any business, product, or service mentioned in guest blog posts. If you are interested in learning more about the guest blogger program or submitting an article for consideration, please click here.
I perceive jazz dance as a creation of people: people that I have met and who have influenced my life, and people of the past who have revolutionized American culture:
- Charles Sherwood: my uncle, percussionist with the U.S. Navy Band in Korea, who turned me on to jazz chord progressions:
- Steve Porter: dancer in the Company of Man, Buffalo, NY a Vietnam War Veteran who turned me on to the music of Nina Simone and dancing from the soul;
- Gretchen Glover: dance artist in the Project Unique, Rochester, NY, who turned me on to dancing rhythmically with a live conga drummer;
- Chuck Mangione: flugelhorn player, trumpeter and composer who came into prominence as a member of Art Blakey鈥檚 band in the 1960s; I was witness to his 1970s album 鈥淔riends and Love,鈥� recorded live in concert with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and guest performers. This was the tip of the jazz iceberg for me.
At the University of Rochester, I teach a course called JAZZ DANCE: CONTEXT & PRACTICE. This course examines the syncretic nature of the uniquely American dance form, jazz, with its African roots, aesthetics, and continuous evolutions as it merges with other dance forms and trends in American music and culture. Students examine the cultural identities of jazz expression from a historical perspective to the present day. They engage in demonstrated and improvised movement classes, choreographic studies, reflections, and dialogue with classmates. Additional course components include reading, writing, workshops, observations of video documentaries and live performances, and the creation of several brief lecture/demonstrations to express their understanding of and special interests in jazz dance. The class is informed by my experiences with and deep appreciation for the people who made jazz what it is today.
I believe that my love and gratitude for the people who have influenced me impact my students鈥� learning experiences in this class. My former student Genevieve Vonahnen related a story of watching a video of the Rockettes teaching the Shim Sham, and immediately thinking of Leonard Reed, Willie Bryant, and the Whitman sisters. Knowing the history of the dance helped her have a deeper appreciation for what she was watching. I believe that my students are more engaged in the experience knowing that I value and honor my mentors. As my former student Sam Stolzenburg put it, 鈥淭here is history, people, and cultures that are all behind this style of dance. Through this class, I learned about the origins of many of the steps that I have done my entire life, and have learned to connect dancing to a larger world of history.鈥�
I teach in person movement lessons based on my experiences with jazz dance icons: Pepsi Bethel, Frankie Manning, Charles 鈥楥holly鈥� Atkins, Luigi, Lee Theodore at JoJo Smith鈥檚 Dance Factory, Danny Buraczeski, The Nicholas Brothers, Buster Brown, Steve Condos, Eddie Brown, Arthur Duncan, Charles 鈥楬oni鈥� Coles, LaVaughn Robinson, Gregory Hines, Dianne Walker, Lynn Dally, Brenda Bufalino, Jimmy Slyde, Robert L. Reed, Jerry Ames, Billie Mahoney, Alvera Sarson, Al Gilbert, Alfie Valentine, and Val Mates to name a few. I also teach in person movement lessons based on my experiences as a disco dance instructor and 鈥渟park plug鈥� at Club 2001 and Studio 54. (A鈥渟park plug鈥� was a dancer hired to get folks off from their butts and up on the dance floor!) Rooting my movement lessons in historical context often helps the students better understand and embody jazz technique, as my former student Jadyn Wilson acknowledges: 鈥淚t was easier for me to pick up the movement after learning the story behind the move such as the year it was made or who did a variation and why.鈥�
In addition to the in-person movement lessons that I teach, I encourage my students to participate in workshop and social event opportunities to learn more about African dance and drumming, Lindy Hop, Latin dance, Afro-Caribbean dance, Hip Hop, Tap dance, and to take advantage of the numerous live jazz music performances presented at the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester.
My current required textbook is Jazz Dance: A History of the Roots and Branches, edited by Lindsay Guarino and Wendy Oliver. Additional references include Rooted Jazz Dance: Africanist Aesthetics and Equity in the Twenty-First Century, edited by Lindsay Guarino, Carlos R.A. Jones, and Wendy Oliver, and Uprooted, The Journey of Jazz Dance, a feature length documentary from LDR Creative in association with On the Rocks Films that was directed by Khadifa Wong, produced by Lisa Donmall-Reeve, and based on an original idea by Zak Nemorin. I am grateful for these resources. I also direct my students to the extensive Arts & Music Library books and films available through the University of Rochester.
I also provide links to videos of historic jazz dance footage highlighting examples of African-American cultural influence on American pop culture music and dance. I ask my students difficult questions about how racial conflict influenced the evolution of the art form of jazz. I ask my students to address these difficult questions in discussion. At mid-term, I ask my students to identify and research a jazz dancer who contributed to social justice and racial equity and present a 10-minute PowerPoint lecture/demonstration about your subject.
Cheryl Johnson鈥檚 credits include: Off Broadway, International Dance Festivals, Music Videos, TV specials, nightclubs, & touring dance companies. Original dance consultant to the Jimi Hendrix Museum: EMP/MoPop & ambassador of rhythm tap dance hosting festivals, master classes, and educational programs as co-founder of non-profit organization Anacrusis Modern Tap Dance, Seattle Festivals of Tap Dance, Tap Squad. & work with the 5th AVE Theatre and Seattle Children's Theatre. In NY: Gail Conrad鈥檚 Tap Dance Theatre, Jerry Ames Tap Dance Company, Wendy Biller鈥檚 works at the New City Theatre & Dance Theater Workshop, pioneer dancer for the creation of MTV, Vision of Sound, Bill Evans Dance Company, NYC New Mix, & Rochester Fringe Festivals. Choreographic grants: Washington State Arts Commission, King County Arts Commission, Seattle Arts Commission, Artist's Trust, NYS Dance Force, NYS UUP Individual Development, Research Foundation for SUNY & Hochstein School. Cheryl serves as an adjunct lecturer of rhythm tap/jazz dance context & practice at the University of Rochester, Nazareth College, & Hochstein School - Special Arts.
Photo credits (in order from top to bottom): Stuart Smith, Neal Ganguli, Auston James, & Gerry Szymanski