Jazz dance and music artists and scholars gather in conversation on the powerful, life-affirming values inherent in the jazz language. Tracing the continuum of jazz with its roots in West Africa and origins in Black American culture, panelists will discuss their identities and lived experiences, the place of jazz in American culture, and the intimate relationship between jazz dance and music. Historical fractures between jazz dance and music will be discussed in an effort to “bridge the gap” between jazz mediums of expression.

Panelists include:

Brandi Coleman, Assistant Professor of Jazz Dance at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas

Kimberley Cooper, Artistic Director of Decidedly Jazz Danceworks in Calgary, Alberta

Marcus Grant, Drummer, Percussionist, Musicologist, and Bandleader, PhD Candidate at Brown University

Carlos R.A. Jones, Professor and Dance Department Chair at SUNY Brockport, Editor of Rooted Jazz Dance: Africanist Aesthetics and Equity in the Twenty-First Century

Julius Rodriguez, New York-born and Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer

Moderated by Lindsay Guarino, Professor and Chair of Music, Theatre and Dance at Salve Regina University, Editor of Jazz Dance: A History of the Roots and Branches and Rooted Jazz Dance: Africanist Aesthetics and Equity in the Twenty-First Century

Sponsored by Amica Insurance and BayCoast Bank