COME DANCE WITH US!
If you travel to New York, come take a Jazz Roots Dance class. If not, let Jazz Roots Dance
come to you. Jazz Roots Dance Company’s Artistic Director Sue Samuels and company
members teach as part of intensives, residencies, one-day master classes, or half-day
workshops.
PERFORMANCES AND DEMONSTRATIONS/ JAZZ ROOTS DANCE COMPANY IN CONCERT
Jazz Roots Dance Company’s full ensemble of dancers showcases recent works and pieces
from their repertory in a variety of settings from traditional theaters and black box spaces
to convention centers and festivals.
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JAZZ ROOTS DANCE SMALL ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE
Featuring either four or five dancers, this small ensemble is perfect for intimate theaters,
informal performance areas, and other non-traditional performance spaces. While providing
the same dynamic performance experience as Jazz Roots Dance Company In Concert, this
is the perfect option for a smaller season budget.
JAZZ ROOTS DANCE COMPANY: GUEST ARTIST APPEARANCE
Offering solos, duets or group works from our repertory, our guest artist appearances can
supply a complementary shot of energy to your variety shows or shared concert programs,
whether at theaters, universities, dance festivals, music festivals, elementary and secondary
schools, libraries, businesses, conferences or convention halls.
“GET JAZZED!”®: THE EDUCATION SHOW
“Get Jazzed!” ® is the company’s acclaimed audience-interactive lecture-demonstration, a
show that is as exuberantly entertaining as it is lastingly educational. The subject is JAZZ
DANCE, the universal language of communication that tells us how to feel and our bodies
how to move. These lecture-demonstrations work well as family performances or for
student groups ranging in age from kindergarten through high school. The performances
can be presented in a variety of settings including theaters, schools, libraries, hospitals,
and professional conferences.
JAZZ ROOTS DANCE COMPANY IN RESIDENCY
Jazz Roots Dance Company offers several options to suit you – choreographic residencies,
teaching residencies, and residencies concluding with Jazz Roots Dance Company In
Concert.
Our residencies can be conducted by the entire company, a team of two-to-four members,
or by the artistic director, the associate artistic director, or a senior company member. We
can work with your students at your dance studio, secondary school, university, or
community center for anywhere from two days to six months or longer.
During that time, company members can teach classes in; Jazz Roots Dance
Technique®;Jazz Roots Dance Company Repertory, Choreography, The Mind-Body
Connection® for Injury Prevention; The Mind-Body Connection® for Learning
Choreography; I Love Jazz Dance® for the Absolute Beginner.
In Choreographic Residencies, two company members can set an existing piece of
choreography from company repertory, or the artistic director can create new commissions,
featuring Jazz Roots Dance Company’s rhythmically and dramatically innovative style of
jazz-rhythm-based theatre dance. And, to round out your experience, we can close the
residency with a full-company performance of Jazz Roots Dance Company in Concert.
CLASS AND WORKSHOP OFFERINGS
JAZZ ROOTS DANCE TECHNIQUE®
Jazz Roots Dance Technique® is a clean technique based on the classic jazz style and is
grounded in strong and proper body alignment. It focuses on clear shifts of body weight,
moving with efficiency and grace, without causing injury to the body, and can be used by
people of all ages to improve their own performances. The Jazz Roots Dance Technique®
encompasses multi-faceted styles such as: Classic Jazz, Broadway Theater, Lyrical, Latin
Jazz, Jive and Swing.
Each class begins with a jazz barre warm-up, then progresses to floor exercises,
accompanied on Conga drum, moving into jazz isolations. The choreography features the
dynamics of musicality, using strong movements which emanate from the hips and chest
and focuses on creating an overall visual picture of the music. You can choose from the
following styles: Classic Jazz, Broadway Theater, Lyrical, Latin Jazz, Jive and Swing.
JAZZ ROOTS DANCE COMPANY REPERTORY
Company members re-create works from Jazz Roots Dance Company’s Repertory. Our
pieces are dynamically rich and full-bodied, with powerfully expressed dramatic intention.
CHOREOGRAPY
This class is a springboard to movement exploration. It will teach you how to choose the
movements which fit the expression of the music. CHOREOGRAPHY focuses on embodying
as well as analyzing the elements of music: pulse; rhythm; accents and their dynamic
markings; accenting on the beat or off the beat; and the overall feel of the music. With
these tools, students launch into creating their own phrases of movement.
THE MIND-BODY CONNECTION®: FOR INJURY PREVENTION: THE INJURY-PREVENTIVE
PATH TO PERFORMANCE AND EVERYDAY BEHAVIOR
Guided by the MIND BODY CONNECTION’s® unique approach to aligning the body, as well
as by the postural and motional principles inspired by classical ballet technique and some
physical therapy philosophies, the MIND BODY CONNECTION® explores how to move
efficiently, injury-free, and with power when dancing, engaging in other peak-performance
activities like athletics, and doing the tasks of everyday life. This course is also available to
individuals in one-on-one movement-consultation sessions.
THE MIND-BODY CONNECTION®: FOR LEARNING CHOREOGRAPHY
The MIND BODY CONNECTION’s® unique approach focuses on three major ways of
learning choreography. Take away the frustration of learning choreography by opening the
mind and training it to increase control of dance movements when doing any dance steps in
any style. Become better at dancing in the correct timing, picking up large pieces of
choreography and controlling the body for better results. This class is good for increasing
enjoyment of dance whether you’re professional or just dancing for fun.
I LOVE JAZZ DANCE®: FOR THE ABSOLUTE BEGINNER
The I LOVE JAZZ DANCE® workshop is for people who are interested in learning a piece of
choreography but have had little or no dance training experience. Participants will warm
up their bodies by doing a jazz barre warm up, learn to move individual body parts
separately by doing jazz isolations, practice simple basic jazz moves which lead into
learning a piece of choreography. The final product can be performed and/or videoed.
CORPORATE AND SPECIAL EVENTS
Have us entertain at your party! What’s your theme? Is it Broadway? Is it Latin? Is it
Circus? We have choreography and costumes to fit any occasion!
Our whole repertoire is family friendly and we can perform at many types of events, such
as: Corporate Galas, Weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, Concerts, Trade Shows, Private Parties and
Cabarets.
Jazz Roots Dancers will keep your guests motivated and excited….
Do you need:
- People to mingle with your guests?
- A great floor show?
- Performers to start the dancing?
- People to get the party started and keep it going?
We can tailor what we do to suit your needs. You name it, we can do it!
Here are some samples of our work: