Online Jazz Dance Classes

Jazz dance asks you to be clean, musical, and alive all at once. Train the technique that makes turns and lines work, and the attack and personality that make people want to watch.

Browse jazz classes See plans and free trial

Technique and performance, together

Great jazz dancers make it look easy: sharp stops, turns that finish exactly on the music, and a performance that reads to the back row. Underneath is a lot of technique, including alignment, spotting, strength through the feet and core, and control of speed and direction.

Jazz is one of the largest styles in the DancePlug library, with classes at every level from basic to advanced, plus jazz funk and theatre dance for dancers who want to branch out.

At a glance

Levels: basic through advanced
Related styles: jazz funk and theatre dance
Warm up: feet, ankles, hips, and hamstrings
Useful for: commercial, theatre, and cruise auditions

What to practice

Alignment and placement

A strong center for turns, kicks, and balances.

Turns

Spotting, preparation, and a clean finish, with solid singles before you add more.

Kicks, leaps, and extensions

Height with control, built through strength as much as flexibility.

Isolations and rhythm

Head, shoulders, ribs, and hips moving independently and on time.

Dynamics

Sharp versus smooth, attack versus release, and the stillness in between.

Performance

Focus, face, and intention that match the style of the piece.

Jazz, jazz funk, and theatre dance

Many dancers train jazz for technique and jazz funk or theatre dance for style and performance. The skills feed each other.

Jazz

Classic technique: turns, leaps, kicks, and clean lines, across a wide range of music.

Jazz classes

Jazz funk

Jazz technique mixed with hip-hop and commercial movement: sharper grooves, attitude, and performance-first choreography.

Jazz funk classes

Theatre dance

Jazz technique used to tell a story, with characterization and styles drawn from musical theatre.

Theatre dance classes

How to practice a jazz combination

Warm up fully, including your feet, ankles, hips, and hamstrings. Jazz technique asks a lot of all of them.
Learn the combination in sections at a slower speed, noticing where each movement starts and finishes.
Pull turns and tricks out on their own. Drill the preparations and landings before putting them back into the phrase.
Run the combination at full speed and focus on hitting the accents in the music.
Retake the class later and work only on performance: face, focus, and dynamics.

Try it with Knock on Wood, a jazz combination from Stephanie Landwehr.

Choosing your level

Jazz classes run from basic to advanced. Choose the level that matches the foundations you have today, not the choreography you want to reach.

Basic and beginner

Foundations like jazz walks, isolations, simple turns, and short combinations.

Beginner classes

Intermediate

Longer combinations, multiple turns, and faster changes of direction. The largest level in the jazz library.

Intermediate classes

Advanced

Detailed, fast choreography where pickup, stamina, and performance matter as much as technique.

Advanced classes

Instructors to explore

Jazz on DancePlug includes classes with Joelle Martinec, Alexie Agdeppa, Melissa Miles, Annie Gratton, Ben Bigler, and Alison Faulk. For jazz funk, explore Gina Starbuck, Mariah Spears, and Tovaris Wilson. For theatre dance, try classes with Joseph Corella.

Meet the instructors

Learn from the instructors

Build strong technique with Annie Gratton

Annie Gratton has danced in NBC's Hairspray Live, Taylor Swift's "ME!" music video, and the Grammys with Katy Perry, and is known for high-energy jazz classes. She credits cross-training and injury prevention with sharpening her technique.