Waltz dance

Introduction and acceptance

The peasants of Bavaria, Tyrol, and Styria began dancing a dance called Walzer, a dance for couples, around 1750. The Ländler, also known as the Schleifer, a country dance in 3/4 time, was popular in Bohemia, Austria, and Bavaria, and spread from the countryside to the suburbs of the city. While the eighteenth century upper classes continued to dance the minuet, bored noblemen slipped away to the balls of their servants.There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance—a waltz—from the 16th century, including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim. The French philosopher Montaigne wrote of a dance he saw in 1580 in Augsburg, where the dancers held each other so closely that their faces touched. Kunz Haas (of approximately the same period) wrote, "Now they are dancing the godlessWeller or Spinner." "The vigorous peasant dancer, following an instinctive knowledge of the weight of fall, utilizes his surplus energy to press all his strength into the proper beat of the measure, thus intensifying his personal enjoyment in dancing".

In the 1771 German novel Geschichte des Fräuleins von Sternheim by Sophie von La Roche, a high-minded character complains about the newly introduced waltz among aristocrats thus: "But when he put his arm around her, pressed her to his breast, cavorted with her in the shameless, indecent whirling-dance of the Germans and engaged in a familiarity that broke all the bounds of good breeding—then my silent misery turned into burning rage."

Describing life in Vienna (dated at either 1776 or 1786), Don Curzio wrote, "The people were dancing mad [...] The ladies of Vienna are particularly celebrated for their grace and movements of waltzing of which they never tire." There is a waltz in the second act finale of the opera "Una Cosa Rara" written by Martin y Soler in 1786. Soler's waltz was marked Andante con moto, or "at a walking pace with motion", but the flow of the dance was sped-up in Vienna leading to the Geschwindwalzer, and the Galloppwalzer.

In the transition from country to town, the hopping of the Ländler, a dance known as Langaus, became a sliding step, and gliding rotation replaced stamping rotation.

In the 19th century, the word primarily indicated that the dance was a turning one; one would "waltz" in the polka to indicate rotating rather than going straight forward without turning.

The Viennese custom is to slightly anticipate the second beat, which conveys a faster, lighter rhythm, and also breaks of the phrase. The younger Strauss would sometimes break up the one-two-three of the melody with a one-two pattern in the accompaniment along with other rhythms, maintaining the 3/4 time while causing the dancers to dance a two-step waltz. The metronome speed for a full bar varies between 60 and 70, with the waltzes of the first Strauss often played faster than those of his sons.

Shocking many when it was first introduced, the waltz became fashionable in Vienna around the 1780s, spreading to many other countries in the years to follow. It became fashionable in Britain during the Regency period, having been made respectable by the endorsement of Dorothea Lieven, wife of the Russian ambassador. Diarist Thomas Raikes later recounted that "No event ever produced so great a sensation in English society as the introduction of the waltz in 1813." In the same year, a sardonic tribute to the dance by Lord Byron was anonymously published (written the previous autumn). Influential dance master and author of instruction manuals, Thomas Wilson published A Description of the Correct Method of Waltzing in 1816. Almack's, the most exclusive club in London, permitted the waltz though the entry in the Oxford English Dictionary shows that it was considered "riotous and indecent" as late as 1825. The waltz, and especially its closed position, became the example for the creation of many other ballroom dances. Subsequently, new types of waltz have developed, including many folk and several ballroom dances.

Details

In the 1910s, a form called the "Hesitation Waltz" was introduced by Vernon and Irene Castle. It incorporated "hesitations" and was danced to fast music. A hesitation is basically a halt on the standing foot during the full waltz measure, with the moving foot suspended in the air or slowly dragged. Similar figures (Hesitation Change, Drag Hesitation, and Cross Hesitation) are incorporated in the International Standard Waltz Syllabus.

The Country Western Waltz is mostly progressive, moving counter clock wise around the dance floor. Both the posture and frame are relaxed, with posture bordering on a slouch. The exaggerated hand and arm gestures of some ballroom styles are not part of this style. Couples may frequently dance in the promenade position, depending on local preferences. Within Country Western waltz, there is the Spanish Waltz and the more modern (for the late 1930s- early 1950s) Pursuit Waltz. At one time it was considered ill treatment for a man to make the woman walk backwards in some locations.

In California the waltz was banned by Mission fathers until after 1834 because of the "closed" dance position. Thereafter a Spanish Waltz was danced. This Spanish Waltz was a combination of dancing around the room in closed position, and a "formation" dance of two couples facing each other and performing a sequence of steps. "Valse a Trois Temps" was the "earliest" waltz step, and the Rye Waltz was favored as a couple dance.

• In contemporary ballroom dance, the fast versions of the waltz are called Viennese Waltz as opposed to the Slow waltz.
• In traditional Irish music, the waltz was taught by traveling dancing masters to those who could afford their lessons during the 19th century. By the end of that century, the dance spread to the middle and lower classes of Irish society and traditional triple-tune tunes and songs were altered to fit the waltz rhythm. During the 20th century, the waltz found a distinctively Irish playing style in the hands of Céilidh musicians at dances.
• International Standard Waltz has only closed figures; that is, the couple never breaks the embrace.
• The American Style Waltz, part of the American Smooth ballroom dance syllabus, in contrast to the International Standard Waltz, involves breaking contact almost entirely in some figures. For example, the Syncopated Side-by-Side with Spin includes a free spin for both partners. Open rolls are another good example of an open dance figure, in which the follower alternates between the lead's left and right sides, with the lead's left or right arm (alone) providing the lead. Waltzes were the staple of many American musicals and films, including "Waltz in Swing Time" sung by Fred Astaire.
• The Scandinavian Waltz, performed as a part of Scandinavian folk dance, can be fast or slow, but the dancers are always rotating.
• The Peruvian Waltz is called and recognized in Peru as vals criollo.
• The Mexican Waltz (vals mexicano) follows the same basic rhythmic pattern as the standard waltz, but the melodies reflect a strong Spanish influence. Mexico's Juventino Rosas wrote "Sobre las Olas" or "Over the Waves", commonly known in the U.S. as a circus song played during a trapeze show.
• The Cajun Waltz is danced progressively around the floor, and is characterized by the subtle swaying of the hips and step very close to ordinary walking. It is danced entirely in the closed position.
• The Cuban (or Tropical) Waltz follows the pattern of the standard waltz throughout the song.
• The Venezuelan waltz provided a basis for distinctive regional musical composition.
• The Contra Waltz (Freeform Waltz), included in most contra dance evenings, uses both open and closed positions, and incorporates moves from other dances such as swing,modern jive and salsa. Basically the dancers progress around the dance floor with a waltz step, but with no constraints on what moves they can use.
• The Valse Musette, a form of waltz popular in France, started in the late 19th century.
• The cross-step waltz (French Valse Boston) developed in France in the early 20th century and is popular in social waltz groups today.
• In folk dance from the Alsace region, waltzes in odd meters such as 5/4, 8/4 and 11/4 are found. In modern bal folk, waltzes in even higher meters are played and danced.

Today both the faster Viennese Waltz, made forever popular by the Strauss family, and the slower American and International style waltzes are extremely popular with dancers of all ages.

AEROBIC EXERCISE

Aerobic exercise (also known as cardio) is physical exercise of low to high intensity that depends primarily on the aerobic energy-generating process. Aerobic literally means "relating to, involving, or requiring free oxygen", and refers to the use of oxygen to adequately meet energy demands during exercise via aerobic metabolism. Generally, light-to-moderate intensity activities that are sufficiently supported by aerobic metabolism can be performed for extended periods of time.

Aerobic exercise and fitness can be contrasted with anaerobic exercise, of which strength training and short-distance running are the most salient examples. The two types of exercise differ by the duration and intensity of muscular contractions involved, as well as by how energy is generated within the muscle.

New research on the endocrine functions of contracting muscles has shown that both aerobic and anaerobic exercise promote the secretion of myokines, with attendant benefits including growth of new tissue, tissue repair, and various anti-inflammatory functions, which in turn reduce the risk of developing various inflammatory diseases. Myokine secretion in turn is dependent on the amount of muscle contracted, and the duration and intensity of contraction. As such, both types of exercise produce endocrine benefits.

In almost all conditions, anaerobic exercise is accompanied by aerobic exercises because the less efficient anaerobic metabolism must supplement the aerobic system due to energy demands that exceed the aerobic system's capacity. What is generally called aerobic exercise might be better termed "solely aerobic", because it is designed to be low-intensity enough not to generate lactate via pyruvate fermentation, so that all carbohydrate is aerobically turned into energy.

Initially during increased exertion, muscle glycogen is broken down to produce glucose, which undergoes glycolysis producing pyruvate which then reacts with oxygen (Krebs cycle, Chemiosmosis) to produce carbon dioxide and water and releases energy. If there is a shortage of oxygen (anaerobic exercise, explosive movements), carbohydrate is consumed more rapidly because the pyruvate ferments into lactate. If the intensity of the exercise exceeds the rate with which the cardiovascular system can supply muscles with oxygen, it results in buildup of lactate and quickly makes it impossible to continue the exercise. Unpleasant effects of lactate buildup initially include the burning sensation in the muscles, and may eventually include nausea and even vomiting if the exercise is continued without allowing lactate to clear from the bloodstream.

As glycogen levels in the muscle begin to fall, glucose is released into the bloodstream by the liver, and fat metabolism is increased so that it can fuel the aerobic pathways. Aerobic exercise may be fueled by glycogen reserves, fat reserves, or a combination of both, depending on the intensity. Prolonged moderate-level aerobic exercise at 65% VO2 max (the heart rate of 150 bpm for a 30-year-old human) results in the maximum contribution of fat to the total energy expenditure. At this level, fat may contribute 40% to 60% of total, depending on the duration of the exercise. Vigorous exercise above 75% VO2 max (160 bpm) primarily burns glycogen.

Major muscles in a rested, untrained human typically contain enough energy for about 2 hours of vigorous exercise. Exhaustion of glycogen is a major cause of what marathon runners call "hitting the wall". Training, lower intensity levels, and carbohydrate loading may allow postponement of the onset of exhaustion beyond 4 hours.

Aerobic exercise comprises innumerable forms. In general, it is performed at a moderate level of intensity over a relatively long period of time. For example, running a long distance at a moderate pace is an aerobic exercise, but sprinting is not. Playing singles tennis, with near-continuous motion, is generally considered aerobic activity, while golf or two person team tennis, with brief bursts of activity punctuated by more frequent breaks, may not be predominantly aerobic. Some sports are thus inherently "aerobic", while other aerobic exercises, such as fartlek training or aerobic dance classes, are designed specifically to improve aerobic capacity and fitness. It is most common for aerobic exercises to involve the leg muscles, primarily or exclusively. There are some exceptions. For example, rowing to distances of 2,000 m or more is an aerobic sport that exercises several major muscle groups, including those of the legs, abdominal, chest, and arms. Common kettle bell exercises combine aerobic and anaerobic aspects.

Among the recognized benefits of doing regular aerobic exercise are:

• Strengthening the muscles involved in respiration, to facilitate the flow of air in and out of the lungs
• Strengthening and enlarging the heart muscle, to improve its pumping efficiency and reduce the resting heart rate, known as aerobic conditioning
• Improving circulation efficiency and reducing blood pressure
• Increasing the total number of red blood cells in the body, facilitating transport of oxygen
• Improved mental health, including reducing stress and lowering the incidence of depression, as well as increased cognitive capacity.
• Reducing the risk for diabetes. One meta-analysis has shown, from multiple conducted studies, that aerobic exercise does help lower Hb A_1C levels for type 2 diabetics.

As a result, aerobic exercise can reduce the risk of death due to cardiovascular problems. In addition, high-impact aerobic activities (such as jogging or using a skipping rope) can stimulate bone growth, as well as reduce the risk of osteoporosis for both men and women.

In addition to the health benefits of aerobic exercise, there are numerous performance benefits:

• Increased storage of energy molecules such as fats and carbohydrates within the muscles, allowing for increased endurance
• Neovasc ularization of the muscle sarco meres to increase blood flow through the muscles
• Increasing speed at which aerobic metabolism is activated within muscles, allowing a greater portion of energy for intense exercise to be generated aerobically
• Improving the ability of muscles to use fats during exercise, preserving intramuscular glycogen
• Enhancing the speed at which muscles recover from high intensity exercise
• Neurobiological effects: improvements in brain structural connections and increased gray matter density, new neuron growth, improved cognitive function (cognitive controland various forms of memory), and improvement or maintenance of mental health

Some downfalls of aerobic exercise include:

• Overuse injuries because of repetitive, high-impact exercise such as distance running.
• Is not an effective approach to building muscle.
• Only effective for fat loss when used consistently.

Both the health benefits and the performance benefits, or "training effect", require a minimum duration and frequency of exercise. Most authorities suggest at least twenty minutes performed at least three times per week.^[13]

TUTTING

Tutting is a type of modern dance wherein body and arm movements are based on mathematical and/or geometric angles and shapes. This street dance style is also said to be interpretative in nature and some movements, especially those of the arms, are taken from hieroglyphics, or ancient Egyptian wall writings. The movements involved in tutting are done to mimic various angles and shapes and these are done along with the specific music beat or rhythm, making the whole dance routine somewhat robotic. On a viewer’s point of view, it will seem like the one doing the tutting move is showcasing different shapes and angles. Some moves of tutting are called “King Tut”, which probably evolved from the dance’s reference to Egyptian art and the Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamen.

It was in the early part of 1980s when tutting became popular on the streets of the US, especially among youngsters. Tutting moves can be considered “big moves” wherein the whole body is involved in forming various angles and shapes. But tutting can also be done in “small” ways, particularly in doing what people call “finger tuts”. And over the years, tutting moves have evolved into a more freestyling kind of dance, with variations and new techniques added along the way, depending on one’s personal style. But before one can do some freestyle tuts, it is said that one has to learn the basic moves and shapes. The most basic move of them all is the 90-degree angle. As with the ancient Egyptian wall writings, the arms and legs are positioned at 90-degree angles against the body. Another basic move is called the wrist roll, which involves basically rolling the wrist in a circular manner or side to side. And since tutting is supposed to be a dance rather than a generic posing technique, it is encouraged that the whole body is incorporated in the whole routine and not just do hand movements.

Today, much of tutting is still alive especially with electronic dance music. Those who do the tutting dance call thems.selves tutter

Samba (Ballroom dance)

The international Ballroom version of samba is a lively, rhythmical dance with elements from Brazilian samba. It has recently been exposed to the American public in television programmes such as Strictly come dancing and Dancing with the stars. It differs considerably from the original samba styles of Brazil, in particular it differs from Ballroom Samba in Brazil itself. It is often not always danced to music with a samba rhythm and often danced to music with less complex 2/4 and 4/4 time. In particular in the popular television programmes Strictly come dancing and Dancing with the stars it almost never danced to samba music or a samba rhythm. Moreover its performance does not necessarily include the characteristic steps from Samba no Pé. In many other ways it though been influenced by the Brazilian version of samba, in particular maxixe, and subsequently developed independenty from samba in Brazil.

Origins

The ballroom samba has its origins in Brazil at the beginning of the 20th century. Many steps can be traced back to the Maxixe danced in the 1910s. A book published in France in 1928 described how to perform the samba.

Technique

As a ballroom dance, the samba is a partner dance. Ballroom samba, even more than other ballroom dances, is very disconnected from the origins and evolution of the music and dance that gives it its name.

Most steps are danced with a slight downward bouncing or dropping action. This action is created through the bending and straightening of the knees, with bending occurring on the beats of 1 and 2, and the straightening occurring between. However, unlike the bouncing of, e.g., Polka, there is no considerable bobbing. Also, Samba has a specific hip action, different from that in ballroom Latin dances (Rumba and Cha-Cha-Cha).

The ballroom samba is danced to music in 2/4 or 4/4 time. It uses several different rhythmic patterns in its figures, with cross-rhythms being a common feature. Thus, for three-step patterns, common step values (in beats) are:

ZUMBA

Zumba is a dance fitness program created by Colombian dancer and choreographer Alberto "Beto" Perez during the 1990s.

Zumba involves dance and aerobic elements. Zumba's choreography incorporates hip-hop, soca, samba, salsa, merengue, mamboand martial arts. Squats and lunges are also included. Zumba Fitness, an organization that sells Zumba videos and products, does not charge licensing fees to gyms or fitness centers.Approximately 14 million people take weekly Zumba classes in over 140,000 locations across more than 185 countries.

Origin

In the 1990s, Beto Perez forgot his tape of aerobics music for a class he was teaching. He went to his car, listened to music – consisting of traditional salsa and merengue music – and improvised a class using this non-traditional aerobics music. After finding initial success in Colombia, he moved to the United States in 2001, where he teamed up with cofounder Alberto Perlman and a childhood friend, COO Alberto Aghion. The trio produced a demo reel, and the concept was discovered and licensed by a company called Fitness Quest to create a direct marketing campaign and a line of home videos.

Classes

An instructor coaches a Zumba class in a fitness center.

Zumba sessions are typically about an hour long and are taught by instructors licensed by an organization called Zumba Academy.The exercises include music with fast and slow rhythms, as well as resistance training.The music comes from the following dance styles: cumbia, salsa, merengue, mambo, flamenco, chachacha, reggaeton, soca, samba, hip hop music, axé music and tango. There are eight different types of classes for different levels of age and exertion. Zumba Gold mainly targets the older population. It is specifically designed to the needs of the elderly and includes the same kind of music as the Zumba fitness party class. Zumba Toning is for the people who do their workouts with toning sticks. Zumba Toning will target the abs, thighs, arms, and other muscles throughout the body. Zumba Toning is adding sculpting of body and cardio. Aqua Zumba is Zumba in a swimming pool. The instructor is on the ledge of the pool instructing while participants mimic his/her moves while they are submerged waist high in water. Zumba in the circuit is the dance combined with circuit training. These classes usually last 30 minutes and features strength exercises on various stations in timed intervals. Zumba Kids is a class designed for children between the ages of 4 and 12. It has the same dance and music styles as a regular Zumba Fitness class, but has routines designed specifically for kids. Zumba Gold-Toning is a toning class for older participants with goals of improving one's muscle strength, posture, mobility, and coordination. Zumba Sentao is a chair workout that focuses on using body weight to strengthen and tone the body. Zumba instructors have the option to become a ZIN (Zumba Instructors Network) member to receive bimonthly training DVDs to assist with the creation of music and choreography for their personal Zumba classes. ZIN members are the only instructors allowed to register for the new Zumba Core training class which helps to incorporate more core training into any type of Zumba class.

Because Zumba offers different options, proponents of Zumba claim that it is safe for all ages.At least some of the classes are specifically aimed at elderly people, to help them build strength, improve motion and posture, and socialize.

Popping Dance

Popping is a street dance and one of the original funk styles that came from California during the 1960s-1970s. It is based on the technique of quickly contracting and relaxing muscles to cause a jerk in the dancer's body, referred to as a pop or a hit. This is done continuously to the rhythm of a song in combination with various movements and poses.^[1]

Closely related illusionary dance styles and techniques are often integrated with popping to create a more varied performance. These dance styles include the robot,waving and tutting. However, popping is distinct from breaking and locking, with which it is often confused. A popping dancer is commonly referred to as a popper.

As one of the earliest funk styles, popping is closely related to hip hop dancing. It is often performed in battles, where participants try to outperform each other in front of a crowd, giving room for improvisation and freestyle moves that are seldom seen in shows and performances, such as interaction with other dancers and spectators. Popping and related styles such as waving and tutting have also been incorporated into the electronica dance scene to some extent, influencing new styles such as liquid and digits and turfing.

Related styles and techniques

AnimationThere are a number of dance styles and techniques that are commonly mixed with popping to enhance the dancer's performance and create a more varied show, many of which are seldom seen outside of popping contexts. They can be seen as separate styles related to popping or as a part of popping when using it as an umbrella term.

A style and a technique where you imitate film characters being animated by stop motion. The technique of moving rigidly and jerky by tensing muscles and using techniques similar to strobing and the robot to make it appear as if the dancer has been animated frame by frame. This style was heavily inspired by the dynamation films created by Ray Harryhausen, such as The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad (1958).^[3]

Animatronics

A style that imitates animatronic robots. Related to the robot style, but adds a hit or bounce at the end of each movement.

Boogaloo

Boogaloo or boog style is a loose and fluid dance style trying to give the impression of a body lacking bones, partly inspired by animated movies and cartoons. It utilizes circular rolls of various body parts, such as the hips, knees and head, as well as isolation and sectioning, like separating the rib cage from the hip. It also makes heavy use of angles and various steps and transitions to get from one spot to the next. It was developed in 1975 by Boogaloo Sam. In the original boogaloo you do not pop, but combined with popping it becomes the electric boogaloo, the signature style of The Electric Boogaloos (the dance crew).^[1]

Main article: Electric boogaloo (dance)

Bopping

A style of popping in which the chest is isolated by being pushed out and brought back while flexing the chest muscles. As this movement is performed to the beat the popper can incorporate different moves in between the chest bop. When practiced the chest bop can be done at a double-time interval adding a unique effect to the move.

Crazy legs

A leg-oriented style focusing on fast moving legs, knee rolls and twisting feet. Developed in 1980-81 by Popin' Pete, originally inspired by the fast and agitated style of breaking by Crazy Legsfrom Rock Steady Crew.

Dime stopping

A technique of moving at a steady pace and then abruptly coming to a halt, as if attempting to stop on a dime. This is often combined with a pop at the beginning and/or end of the movement.

Floating, gliding and sliding

A set of footwork-oriented techniques that attempt to create the illusion that the dancer's body is floating smoothly across the floor, or that the legs are walking while the dancer travels in unexpected directions. Encompasses moves such as the backslide, which was made famous by Michael Jackson who called it the moonwalk.

Main article: Floating (dance)

Miming

Performing techniques of traditional miming to the beat of a song. Most commonly practiced are various movements with the hands as if one could hold onto air and pull their body in any possibly direction. Miming can also be used to allow a popper to tell a story through his or her dance. This style is often used in battles to show the opponent how they can defeat them.

Puppet

A style imitating a puppet or marionette tied to strings. Normally performed alone or with a partner acting as the puppet master pulling the strings.

Main article: Roboting

Robot/botting

A style imitating a robot or mannequin.

Main article: Robot (dance)

Scarecrow

A style imitating the scarecrow character of The Wizard of Oz. Claimed to be pioneered by Boogaloo Sam in 1977. Focuses on outstretched arms and rigid poses contrasted with loose hands and legs.

Strobing

A style of popping that gives the impression that the dancer is moving within a strobe light. To produce this effect, a dancer will take any ordinary movement (such as waving hello to someone) in conjunction with quick, short stop-and-go movements to make a strobing motion. Mastering strobing requires perfect timing and distance between each movement.

Main article: Strobing (dance)

Struttin

Struttin is a dance style originating out of the City of San Francisco, CA in the 1970s.

Ticking 

A way of popping where the dancer pops at smaller intervals, generally twice as fast as normal.

Toyman 

Based on action figures such as G.I. Joe and Major Matt Mason, developed by an old member of the Electric Boogaloos called Toyman Skeet. Goes between straight arms and right angles to simulate limited joint movement.

Tutting/King Tut

Inspired by the art of Ancient Egypt (the name derived from the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun), tutting exploits the body's ability to create geometric positions (such as boxes) and movements, predominantly with the use of right angles. It generally focuses on the arms and hands, and includes sub-styles such as finger tutting.

Waving

Waving is composed of a series of fluid movements that give the appearance that a wave is traveling through the dancer's body. It is often mixed with liquid dancing.

Main article: Waving (dance)

Isolation 

A variety of intricate moves that create the illusion of separating, or isolating, parts of the body from the rest of the body. The most common types of isolation that poppers perform are head isolations, in which they seem to take their head out of place from the rest of their body and move it back in place in creative ways.

OLD SCHOOL JAZZ

Old school jazz dance (also known as UK jazz dance) refers to the improvised dancing style that originated in the UK in the 1970s. The style grew in clubs in the UK, mainly in London and in northern cities, with the sounds of bebop, Afro-Cuban jazz, fusion, swing and other Latin-influenced jazz and funk.

It predates hip hop and breakdancing- the American dance culture, which didn't reach the U.K. shores until 1982–1983. Jazz dancing has similarities to breakdancing, but essentially it is not the same.

It important to know it started in heart of second generation African Caribbean/African homes and community venue preceding the takeoff in the heart of cities, nightclubs and discos all over the country. Built on the dance steps and spirit of celebration of their first generation (1950s, 1960s) immigrant parents; who where connoisseur record collectors; top-dancers and fashion icons who pioneered the underground live music and soundsystem scene. Second generation were encouraged in early learning (by first generation parents) to value improvising to their own freestyle music of their day modern and swing jazz; blues; ska; RnB; calypso; soul; rocksteady; rock 'n' roll; reggae; gospel; country 'n' western. The Rest is history {blu uk jazzdance oral history}

DJ Paul Murphy is generally credited with having begun the trend of playing high tempo jazz, bebop and fusion records to dancers in the early 1980s in London nightclubs such as The Horseshoe(or "Jaffa's") on Tottenham Court Road and the Electric Ballroom on Camden High Street, along with young London DJ Gilles Peterson

It is also believed^{[by whom?]} that the true birthplace of this dance movement was in the northern towns and cities in the late 1970s, driven by a healthy Northern Soul scene that at the time was fragmenting into a more modern soul sound. DJs Colin Curtis, Shaun Williams and others were at the forefront of promoting the scene in Northern England, regularly playing to 3–4,000 club goers every weekend.

The northern Jazz Dancers were pretty organised and travelled regularly, frequenting various clubs in the North East and North West of England. It was common place for soul music fans and jazz dancers to make a 200-mile round trip to visit a nightclub.

Some of the crews in the early 1980s included the Birmingham 'Spades' - recognisable from their grey cut-off sweatshirts with the 'barefoot' logos printed front and back. In Manchester there were many Jazz Dance crews, one of the most memorable were the Manchester 'Riffs' - Their trademark look was sunglasses (worn during a dance battle), shaven bald heads and leather jackets, the same outfit as worn by the New York street gang The Riffs in the film 'The Warriors'.

Blackpool (Mecca), Birmingham (Hummingbird, Locarno), Manchester (Ritz,Berlins, Hell, various), Preston, Nottingham, Derby, Wolverhampton, Stoke-on-Trent, Wigan (Cassanelli's) were all notable towns and cities where 'All-Dayers' (All day discothèques) were popular playing both soul music, Jazz-Funk and fast tempo Jazz. Lasting usually from 2 pm to 11 pm they were staple hangouts for the northern youth of mainly (but not exclusively) black heritage and essential on the Jazz Dancing scene.

The development of the dance style was influenced by jazz, tap and lindy hop. Dancing is often performed with two dancers within a circle of other dancers, each taking a turn to outperform each other.

The dance style was highly energetic with the dancers mainly free styling with moves akin to tap dancing with funky grooves, floor moves involving the intricate intertwining of limbs. Fast footwork and almost impossible stamina characterised this U.K. home-grown phenomenon.^{[citation needed]}

Some of the more outlandish moves that have become legendary folklore amongst the dancers involved in the scene were the 'wrist watch on the ankle'. A dancer, pre battle, placed a wristwatch on his ankle and after performing a series of energetic moves completed the discipline with a series of floor moves ending up frozen in a pose checking out the time on the watch.

Another battle involved a dancer dancing out of his shoes performing a series of jazz dance moves, then effortlessly dancing back into his shoes.

One dance even managed to work the illusion of laying an egg - leaving an egg in the middle of 'battle circle' for his opponent to ponder. These stunts were imaginative and a part of the fun.

The Jazz Defektors", were the first to form and perform, IDJ, Jazzcotech, The Floor Technicians, Brothers in Jazz, The Backstreet Kids and other pioneers across the country.

IDJ, or 'I Dance Jazz', were arguably the most successful dance crew of the genre, appearing in music videos  - The Specials, 1984), full length feature films (Absolute Beginners, Released 1986), and eventually performing in front of an estimated 44 million viewers worldwide at the Nelson Mandela: An International Tribute for a Free South Africa (1990 at Wembley Stadium).