Jazz Inspirations

Very rarely do I find jazz that I think is good, let alone inspiring. Ray Leeper and Sonya Tayeh being some of the last jazz choreographers I enjoy anymore! Ray Leeper likes to keep his style very close to old school while adding more flare that we need for today's dance community, while Sonya Tayeh created her own style of jazz entitled: Combat Jazz, because "it’s staccato, aggressive, and engaged, even when it’s slow. I’m always ready for battle." Whatever style you prefer, good jazz is as hard to find as a job is in today's economy!

This video has some very great ideas in it though. A jazz adagio? WHO DOES THAT?! I instantly wanted to take her classes after hearing about this! What a lovely idea and it obviously challenges the dancers to really dance outside of their jazz square! (Sorry, couldn't help the bad joke there...) I may start incorporating something like that into my jazz classes, every week.



Now Everyone already knows that Melanie was my top pick from the beginning, right? Well if you didn't, then now you know. This was Ray Leeper's best dance in my opinion and it may mostly be because it features my favorite dancer of the year, or it may just be his cool transitions. It certainly doesn't feel very old school jazz, now does it?





I may have already mentioned this dance a time or two, but it just so perfectly illustrates Sonya Tayeh's style and broad range of conceptualizations.Such a fierce woman! Such fierce choreography! *sigh* So lovely.





This last video actually inspired my jazz dance for this year's recital. So staccato yet so fluid. Sometimes youtube doesn't disappoint me and actually ends up inspiring me a lot! I love the new direction jazz is headed, its exciting and jazz has spent far too long already, being boring.