#Jazz lyrical dance professional#

This was thought to have been done to professionally legitimize this show. The term lyrical was replaced by the term contemporary in Season 2 of the show. Contestants on this reality show were asked to compete in many different styles such as ballroom, hip-hop, jazz, and lyrical. This was on Season 1 of the popular American dance show So You Think You Can Dance.

#Jazz lyrical dance professional#

There has only been one instance of lyrical being used in a professional setting. “Lyrical” is used to describe a quality or movement type in other dance settings, but not as a style name such as Jazz or Ballet. Lyrical dance is competition dance style and is only used to describe a specific style of dance in the world of competitive dance.

A dancer cannot be proficient in lyrical dance without knowledge and mastery of basic technique from jazz, ballet, and modern.

Although advertised by some studios as a class, “lyrical technique” does not technically exist. These well-known movements are elongated, taken off their center, and distorted to create a new aesthetic in lyrical. Lyrical dance utilizes training from jazz technique, ballet technique, and modern technique as a as a basis for movement. Lyrical has been described as a 'pseudostyle' or a 'pseudogenre' because it utilizes steps from other, more established styles of dance. The main concerns with lyrical dance is the distinction between lyrical as a style and/or a technique. Style vs techniqueīecause of the links between the styles of dance, teachers originally struggled with whether to teach lyrical dance alongside jazz or ballet or as its own, separate style. Because of this, there is not as much focus on the choreography, and, in fact, the choreography often exists only as a general guide for the dancer, not as a routine that has to be exactly followed. Because lyrical dancing focuses on the expression of strong emotion, the style concentrates more on individual approach and expressiveness than the precision of the dancer's movements. Lyrical dancing is performed to music with lyrics to inspire movements to express strong feelings and emotions the choreographer feels from the lyrics in the chosen song. The lyrical category is a place for innovation and stylized movement that is associated with contemporary dance. Today, the lyrical category still has an emphasis on displaying emotion but in a more abstract way. In the earlier stages, a dancer would perform the lyrics of a song, displaying emotions. The styles within lyrical dance have changed over time. Dancer, teacher, and choreographer Suzi Taylor, who holds regular classes at Steps on Broadway in New York City, is considered by many to be an early mother of lyrical dance, having emphasized a unique brand of musicality and expressiveness which influenced many future teachers and choreographers. Additionally, ballet is rarely seen on a competitive stage, despite it having its own category at many competitions, which further confirms Balanga-Demoret's theory. Even though there has been no official documentation, Balanga-Demoret's explanation is the most plausible because lyrical dance is only used in competition dance. The last, and the most plausible, created by Phyllis Balanga- Demoret, is that it began about 25 years ago as a result of ballet's inability to take to the competition stage.

The second from Chelya Clawson, states that this term can be traced back to 16th century traditional Indian dance. The first, speculated by Jimmy Peters, is that lyrical dance evolved from the 'dream ballet' in musicals such as Oklahoma and West Side Story. There are three popular origin stories for lyrical dance that have been suggested by experts of competition dance. There is little research and documentation of the origins of lyrical dance most likely due to the limited use of this style outside of the competition dance world. Lyrical dance is a category typically found in dance competitions. According to Jennifer Fisher, lyrical dance is “strongly associated with clearly displayed emotional moods, fast-moving choreographic strategies, emphasis on virtuosic display, illustration of song lyrics, and, in group form, exact unison.” The style is usually danced at a faster pace than ballet but not as fast as jazz. The style combines ballet technique with the freedom and musicality of jazz and contemporary. Lyrical dance is a dance style that embodies various aspects of ballet, jazz, acrobatics, and modern dance.