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Jazz is a type of dance that was a tradition of North America. It is a mixture of African and European dances. Today it is usually used in musicals and is referred to as show or commercial dancing.

In jazz there's a couple things you could wear. For girls they will usually wear a leotard of any color with tights underneath it. Guys will usually wear a t-shirt with a leotard or unitard. These are clothes that will make it easiest to dance in.

In jazz there are certain shoes that can and should be worn. For girls they usually wear black, tan, or white leather shoes. The shoes can either be jazz boots or shoes that look like normal shoes.

When getting ready to dance in jazz it is really important to stretch everything. Most dancers and teachers will have their own warm-up and stretching. You should stretch your back, legs, stomach, and your arms. You should always stretch so you don't pull anything.

		In jazz there's many different movements, leaps, turns, etc. One of the more basic leaps is called a jete. One movement that requires a lot of balance is an attitude. An attitude is when the dancer balances on one foot with their other leg lifted in front of them or behind them with the leg in a right angle with their knee always lifted higher. For turns a common turning sequence would be fouettes. This is just when you bring your leg forward and come up on to your toes and as you turn you bring your leg out and then back into passe. While doing that with your legs you want to open and close your arms as you go around while spotting. Spotting is when you find something staying still to look at while you turn to help you get around and not get dizzy.