In spite of its name modern dance is not new.  It began in the early 1900's in the U.S.  A woman named Isadora Duncan was the first modern dancer.  Duncan did not like the classical ballet style.  She felt it held her back by all of its rules.  She refused to wear slippers.  Instead, shes danced barefoot.  She also refused to wear a corset which is a light undergarment worn by women.  Duncan wore a tunic.  A tunic is a long skirt that comes down to the knees.  She shocked many Americans with her new way of dancing.

Tap dance started over 200 years ago in the United States.  Tap was popular in Vaudeville from 1900-1940.  Bill Robins is one of the most famous tap dancers.  Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly became stars thanks to tap dancing skills.

Ballet began in the Italian courts of the 15th century.  Ballet grew as a separate dance form, and set steps and professional ballet dancers began to appear in the 17th century.  King Louis XIV of France was himself a keen dancer and France became the first center of the ballet world, establishing French as the language of a ballet to this day.  You can see examples of the French words in ballet on the Basic Positions/Moves page.

Jazz began as the popular dance moves of the early 1900's.  At the time, jazz music was the popular music heard on the radio.  The dance steps took on the name jazz because of jazz music.