Stage, Show & Experimental Dance
“The stage begins where the possible ends.”
History & cultural context
Stage dance includes the jazz dance of musical theatre, tap, cabaret and circus, as well as experimental forms. Jack Cole is often called the father of theatrical jazz dance; Jerome Robbins choreographed West Side Story (1957), and Bob Fosse created a recognisable style of his own. Tap grew from African American and Irish traditions.
In Japan, butoh appeared in 1959 with Tatsumi Hijikata and Kazuo Ohno: slow, transformed bodies far from Western ideals. In 1984 Cirque du Soleil was founded in Quebec and brought dance and acrobatics together in a new kind of spectacle. Today choreographers work with video, light, motion capture and interactive technology.
Masters, schools & legacy
Tap masters include Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, the Nicholas Brothers and Gregory Hines. The jazz-dance line runs from Jack Cole through Fosse and Robbins to today's musical theatre. Experimental work lives in festivals, art spaces and dance-for-camera, where the stage can be any place.
Dances of this world
- Jazz dance (theatrical jazz)
- Tap dance
- Musical theatre dance
- Butoh
- Dance theatre (Tanztheater)
- Contemporary circus (nouveau cirque)
- Screendance
- Contact improvisation
- Burlesque
- Cabaret dance
Further reading
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