Define what commercial dance is? Support your answer with examples and justify why these are classified as commercial dance.
Introduction to commercial dance
Well, if we break it down into simpler terms, commercial dance literally means dance that is used for commercial purposes. For example, to advertise a new product, musician, business, brand and the list goes on. “Commercial dance is a myriad of dance styles that are socially relevant and generate an income” (1). A few of these styles include Hip- Hop, Jazz, Tap, Bollywood and even styles we don’t see as much, such as contemporary and ballet. Hip- hop and jazz are by far the most popular, which is why they are both evidently used the most within the commercial industry.
Jazz used in commercial today
Modern jazz “combines ballet technique”, “which is useful for jumps, leaps and turns” (3). Jazz dance has become more impressive by adding Acrobatics. This is because audiences want to be wowed and impressed; they expect a lot more than the audiences did back in the 90’s. Modern jazz would be classified as a style of commercial dance as it has been used to advertise several different products. Jazz dance is commonly used in music videos to promote the song. Several celebs have used this style to spice up their music videos. Jazz is known to be a highly choreographic dance form, which works well in the commercial sector because it is so energic and fun. Beyonce used jazz dance techniques in her music video “single ladies” performing a series of kicks, isolations. This music video was influenced by one of the biggest jazz pioneers, Bob Fossey. You can see his signature moves such as the bent wrists, hip- thrusts and finger snaps. Beyonce fuses these steps with more commercial like movements to suit her target audience. It is clear that jazz works in the commercial industry as “this routine went rightfully viral and won the coveted Video of the Year award” (4) on YouTube. Another example of jazz dance being used in a commercial setting is the music video for “play that sax” sung by fleur east. The performers in this music video perform a series of jumps, diagonal arm and leg lines, hip thrusts, pirouettes, pa de bourree and even the splits!
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Hip Hop used in commercial today
Hip hop dance is actually am umbrella term used to refer to street dance styles. “Hip Hop refers to the elements of this youth culture started in the multi-ethnic mix of the Bronx in the 1970s” (5). The style is usually performed to hip hop music or a genre of music that has evolved from hip hop culture. It began during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Originally it was inspired by African dancing and developed into a new style performed first by people on the street. During the 80s and 90s hip hop dancers began competing in dance battles. Moves like; robot, headstands/ spins, tricks were born, as people needed to be more creative and unpredictable to win the battle. Hip hop dance has developed a lot since the 60s and is now used a lot commercially as it is so popular. "Hip hop were no longer a subculture but part of mainstream America” (6). Today we rarely focus on the freestyle as we concentrate more on the choreography. Hip hop has been used in several music videos over time and has recently been seen in advertisements as well. A great example of this is ASDA’s back to school advert named “arrive like you mean it”. The video consists of primary school children rapping, whilst dancing. You can see signature moves and styles such as locking, jazz split, acrobatics and freezes. Hip hop has also been used in DaBaby's music video for his rap song BOP. This works well together as the hard hitting; punchy movements compliment the bass in the music and his voice. We can see signature moves such as freezing, popping and locking. The movements are very grounded and to add more wow factor to the audience we see acrobatics such as splits and backflips.
Commercial Today
As mentioned previously commercial dance means dance that is used for commercial purposes. The word “commercial” literally means to generate money. Commercial dance can’t possibly be defined as one thing, it is an umbrella term for several different dance styles from Bollywood to ballet. Even tough “ballet doesn’t necessarily fit into the commercial dance style” (7), it can still be used for commercial purposes. For example, Taylor Swifts music video “shake it off” was used to promote her song. The dancers are seen performing moves from all styles including ballet, hip hop and contemporary. Therefore, this demonstrates that all styles of dance can be used commercially.
References
(1) Author: creative academy, (date created: 2021), Page title: what is commercial. {Available at: L4-Commercial-Techniques-1-Week-1.pdf (creativeacademy.ac.uk)} (Accessed: 14/ 10/21)
(2) Author: Guarino, L, Oliver, W, Date published (2014) Title: Jazz dance: a history of the roots and branches, Place of publication: Florida, Publisher: Gainesville: University Press of Florida: Pages: blurb of book
(3) Author: Ksenia (date created: 2021), page title: secrets of solo website house. {Available at: Ksenia's Blog • Ksenia's Secrets of Solo Online Dance Classes} (Accessed: 16/10/21)
(4) Author: Bechler (date created: 2018) Page title: Vogue. {Available at Beyoncé’s Music Videos: Top Five of All Time | Vogue} (Accessed: 20/10/21)
(5) Author: Rajakumar, M (year of publication: 2012) Title: Hip Hop dance, place of publication: Rajakumar, M, Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing in Doha, Qatar Publisher: Rajakumar, M. Page 11
(6) Author: Rajakumar, M (year of publication: 2012) Title: Hip Hop dance, place of publication: Rajakumar, M, Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing in Doha, Qatar Publisher: Rajakumar, M. Pages 36
(7) Author: Lucas, B (date created: 11/12/15) Page title: Define what commercial dance is! {Available at: Define what commercial dance is! (wixsite.com)} (Accessed: 20/10/21)
References
Author: creative academy, (date created: 2021), Page title: what is commercial. {Available at: L4-Commercial-Techniques-1-Week-1.pdf (creativeacademy.ac.uk)} (Accessed: 14/ 10/21)
2-Author: Guarino, L, Oliver, W, Date published (2014) Title: Jazz dance: a history of the roots and branches, Place of publication: Florida, Publisher: Gainesville: University Press of Florida: Pages: blurb of book
3- Author: Ksenia (date created: 2021), page title: secrets of solo website house. {Available at: Ksenia's Blog • Ksenia's Secrets of Solo Online Dance Classes} (Accessed: 16/10/21)
4-Author: Bechler (date created: 2018) Page title: Vogue. {Available at Beyoncé’s Music Videos: Top Five of All Time | Vogue} (Accessed: 20/10/21)
5-Author: Rajakumar, M (year of publication: 2012) Title: Hip Hop dance, place of publication: Rajakumar, M, Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing in Doha, Qatar Publisher: Rajakumar, M. Pages 1- 31
6-Author: Lucas, B (date created: 11/12/15) Page title: Define what commercial dance is! {Available at: Define what commercial dance is! (wixsite.com)} (Accessed: 20/10/21)
7-Authors: Pryor, E and goodman- Kraines, M (year of publication: 2005), Title: Jump into jazz, 5th edition, place of publication: Boston Publisher: McCraw- Hill Pages: 23-30
8-Author: Stearns, M (year of publication: 1994), Title: Jazz dance: the story of an American vernacular dance, Place of publication: New York Publisher: Da Capo Press Pages: 400-403
9-Author: Huntington, C.S (year of publication: 2007), Title: Hip Hop Dance: meanings and messages, Publisher: Mcfarland and company, Pages: 0-12
10-Author: Garofoli,W (year of publication: 2011), Title: Hip Hop dancing: the basics, Place of publication: Mankato, Publisher: Capstone Press, Pages: 12- 25