The genial godfather - jazz dancer and teacher Gus Giordano gets ready for the 1994 World Jazz Dance Congress

Dance Magazine, May, 1994 by Joseph Mazo

"No routines," says Gus Giordano - and here we go again. The genial godfather of concert jazz dance (one of its godfathers, anyway) is preparing his agenda for the 1994 World Jazz Dance Congress, which will be held at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where Giordano's school and company are based.

The congress, cosponsored by Susan Lee, who chairs Northwestern's dance program, will take place August 20-24, following a jazz dance workshop running August 17-19. The aim of the gathering hasn't changed since the last congress, which was held two years ago: it's still to promote technical expertise and artistic enterprise in jazz dance, and to discourage teachers' reliance on set routines, a practice, Giordano says, that is far too prevalent.

One problem, he said recently, is that "jazz dance fits into so many categories. Kids see cheerleaders doing a routine, and they think it's jazz. In too many dancing schools, they get big jazz classes because the teachers work to pop music and rock. One thing we have to do is to teach people to appreciate jazz music: as they hear the music and see the dance, they'll start to understand the relationship."

The evening performances - there's one scheduled every night - will help those attending make the connection. One program, probably the International Night, will be presented outdoors in downtown Chicago rather than in Northwestern's concert hall. The event, Giordano explained, will be sponsored by the Chicago Park District and will be open to the public without charge. The best seats, though, will be set aside for participants in the congress.

RAISING THE LEVEL

In a further bid to draw attention to jazz dance, Giordano is inviting celebrities to attend: He is talking, he says, with Gene Kelly, Ann-Margret, Gregory Hines, and Tommy Tune. (No guarantees yet, though).

The choreographic competition, a feature of the previous congress, will be open to professionals this time around. Giordano admits that some of the entries in 1992 simply weren't up to the standard he's trying to set. "We're trying to raise the level of jazz choreography," he explains. "A lot of dancers who think they've studied jazz don't really have the physical expertise to do it: the quality and the knowledge aren't there, yet."

By opening the competition to full professionals he hopes to demonstrate what jazz choreographers really can attain. It's worth remembering that two of the three prizewinners in 1992 came from outside the United States. Jazz is an American art form, and one purpose of the congress is to encourage Americans to take it seriously.

That can only happen when teachers take it seriously, and Giordano hopes to give students an idea of what can be done. Once again, classes will emphasize technique and combinations: Giordano's war cry is, as noted, "No routines." Classes based on set routines, he has often pointed out, don't encourage youngsters to learn to dance.

ESTABLISHING THE FOUNDATION

Jazz dance, like ballet, like modern dance, like bharata natyam, like flamenco - like any style you can name - depends on a mastery of technique. The foundation has to secure before the building starts to go up.

A faculty of respected professionals will teach class for the dance students attending the congress. The system will be the same as in the past: registrants will be divided into groups, and each group will have an opportunity to work with all of the instructors.

The cast of characters is similar. but not identical, to that of the last congress: Giordano himself will teach classical jazz technique: Pattie Obey will teach European-style jazz; Frank Hatchett (a.k.a. Mr. VOP) will be back, trying to make students understand that steps drawn from the vernacular really do require technique; and Joe Tremaine will be putting them through his California funky combinations.

Judith Scott has been added to the faculty to give a morning stretch class. "That way," Giordano points out, "the students will be warmed up and won't feel as if they have to jump right into fast-paced, high-pressure work."

African technique will be taught by Chuck Davis, one of the leading American students and choreographers of African dance. This year, it will be African-American, rather than African-African, as it was last time," Giordano says. Since Davis regularly travels to Africa to continue his research, students will be getting an introduction to the real thing.

Davis is an extremely impressive individual - he's only slightly smaller than the state of Rhode Island - whose teaching emphasizes the African traditions of respect of family and community. When he speaks, Giordano remarks, "it's a little like hearing Moses."

The emphasis on diversity of style and technique is deliberate. "The congress," Giordano says, "is a place for people interested in jazz to meet, to talk, and to learn from one another. Jazz dance is still young; it has to go through a period of maturation, and we're trying to help the process along."