June 22 - August 2, 2026

Professor: Dr. Laura Ann Smyth

Tuition: $310 member / $385 non-member

6 Weeks; 1.5 NDEO-Endorsed PDCs

**Optional add-on** College Credits through Oakland University: 2

This course traces the continuum of jazz dance from its roots to its many manifestations today. You will explore your own jazz dance identity through a process of examining historical jazz eras and styles (authentic, vernacular, theatrical, and contemporary) and by engaging in reflection, choreographic explorations, and dialogue with classmates.

Additional course components include reading, video viewing and analysis, and writing assignments that will allow you to focus your understanding of jazz dance. Whether you teach in a privately-owned dance studio, in K-12, or in higher education, this course will also offer you the opportunity to practice a historically-rooted approach for teaching jazz dance that is relevant today in contemporary jazz dance practices. By applying essential jazz dance characteristics that are derived from the origins of jazz but are often forgotten in dance studios today, youwill be able to integrate a rich understanding of jazz dance to classroom exercises that are already in your tool box. Feedback from classmates and instructor will open the doors to a dialogue where, as a community, we can share successes and challenges. You will leave this course with a series of class exercises that can be explored and integrated into regular studio classes. 

Please note that audit students will not be receiving personal feedback or grades on the assignments they turn in.

Book required:  Jazz Dance: A History of the Roots and Branches by Lindsay Guarino and Wendy Oliver. (2014). Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida. Available on Amazon here.

To receive college credit for this course in addition to PDCs, you must register through Oakland University by scheduling an advising session and finalizing your registration through OU before the April 15 deadline.

Questions about this Course?  Email opdi@ndeo.org

"This course helped me to see a clear course of study for jazz dance practice and content in an online format. This is why I initially took the class. I really liked the clarity of the assignments and the connection between thinking and writing, thinking and observing, and thinking and creating. "

"I am enthusiastic to learn more about all the vernacular dances and their history through time and anxious to learn more about all the various pioneers of jazz dance we read about. Knowing the kinetic and social elements of the African roots are so helpful to emphasise areas I need to include in my classes that I haven't before, or at least not successfully. I'm already including more social sense of community in class and more successful attempts at some short improvisation time. I can't wait to start teaching again after far too many years of not teaching!"

"Taking this course benefited me immensely. I gained the knowledge and resources I needed to give my students a much more thorough exploration of jazz dance history, musical composition, and cultural perspective. I have so many ideas after reading about the plethora of pioneers and elements learned throughout. I enjoyed the diversity of the assignments and precise feedback that was also encouraging and accurate."

"Help me to put the style of jazz that I teach in the timeline of jazz through history and prompt me to consider new things to include in my teaching of jazz dance. I particularly enjoyed learning about the history of jazz dance."

"This course was very beneficial to me as an instructor. The assignments allowed for me to learn history, explore my own connections to jazz dance and relate this information to how I teach my classes."

"The content was exactly what I needed to better understand the nature of jazz dance and how I can apply this to my teaching."

"I learned so much. This course also got me thinking so much that I think I'd like to repeat it in another year or two to help keep my jazz class fresh."

"This course benefited me as a teacher by informing me of the history of jazz dance and how to teach it as a continuum. I enjoyed all of the assignment options, being encouraged to read a textbook, and of course creating movement from our chapter topics! "

Dr. Laura Ann Smyth, a Los Angeles-based dancer, educator, and choreographer, is an Assistant Professor of Dance at Loyola Marymount University. Originally from Canada, she holds a BA in Sociology, a Certificate in Journalism, an MFA in Dance, and a PhD in Dance Studies. Smyth has performed professionally in Canada and the US including with JazzAntiqua Dance and Music Ensemble at the Playboy Jazz Festival as well as Jacob’s Pillow.     She has presented on topics such as codification in jazz dance, commercial dance in higher education, and dance and rhetoric at national and international annual dance conferences.    Her choreographic work has been presented at post-secondary institutions throughout Southern California and on professional dance companies across the US. Smyth with her colleague Taryn Vander Hoop, co-hosts a podcast titled LMU On Dance: Critical Conversations. She is currently pursuing her Ailey Horton Teacher Certification through the prestigious Ailey School in NYC.

Photo Credit Dan Rhone

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