Interview with Louie George: Jazz Technique

In this interview, Jazz Teacher Louie George discusses the importance of kicks, jumps and turns to jazz technique. Louie is a multi-talented dancer, singer, actor and choreographer, and has starred in shows such as Funny Girl, Sweet Charity and Miss Saigon.

Jazz technique is based around parallel moves and usually performed on the downbeat of music. The body’s centre is the focus in jazz technique, allowing dancers to maintain balance whilst executing strong jazz steps. Jazz technique engages all muscle groups and develops the coordination required by a dancer.

Jumps, kicks and turns are the basis for jazz technique. Dancers need to have correct alignment of the body and a strong posture to create height and achieve dynamics when performing jazz steps.

Understanding the right technique allows jazz steps to be performed with control especially when landing after jumps, lowering your leg from kicks and finishing a turn. It is important to know the correct muscle groups to use to ensure lines are achieved for exciting jumps, turns and kicks.

This course is for beginners who enjoy dance and movement and want to learn and understand the basic elements of jazz technique. Expect a vibrant atmosphere, where you will explore energetic moves and let your body fall in love with dance!

Our 4-week Introduction to Jazz Technique course with Louie starts Sun 20 Aug.