What is the Lyrical Jazz?

A late-20th-century fusion branch combining jazz technique with the continuity and emotional expression of ballet and contemporary dance, danced to lyrics-driven music.

Where did the Lyrical Jazz originate?

The Lyrical Jazz originated in United States in the 1980s.

What time signature is the Lyrical Jazz danced in?

The Lyrical Jazz is danced in Slower melodic pop / ballad.

What tempo is the Lyrical Jazz danced at?

The Lyrical Jazz is typically danced at Slow to moderate.

What is the character of the Lyrical Jazz?

The Lyrical Jazz is characterized as emotional, continuous, interpretive.

Dance History›Jazz Dance›Lyrical Jazz

Jazz DanceJZ-LYR

Lyrical Jazz

Also known as: Lyrical

OriginUnited States

Era1980–Present

RhythmSlower melodic pop / ballad

TempoSlow to moderate

CharacterEmotional, continuous, interpretive

History & Cultural Context

Lyrical jazz emerged in the late 20th century, especially through the studio and competition circuit, blending jazz and ballet technique with contemporary expressiveness. It is danced to slower, melodic, lyrics-driven songs and emphasizes continuous, emotionally interpretive movement—effectively a bridge between jazz and contemporary dance.

Cultural Significance

Lyrical is a mainstay of the competition and studio world and is sometimes treated as a sub-style of contemporary dance.

Characteristic Movement & Technique

Continuous, flowing movement with ballet placement and jazz line, phrased to the lyrics and melody of the song.

Dance Lineage

Evolved from:Vernacular Jazz

Lyrical Jazz Music & Tempo

Drawn from 46 Lyrical Jazz tracks in the LODance music library.

Example tracks at practice tempo

Fix You — Coldplay138 BPM
lovely — Billie Eilish & Khalid115 BPM
Gravity — Sara Bareilles168 BPM
Love Goes On and On — Lindsey Stirling feat. Amy Lee130 BPM
First Light — Lindsey Stirling103 BPM
7 Years (acoustic) (recorded at Spotify Studios NYC) — Lindsey Stirling116 BPM

Browse & play all 46 Lyrical Jazztracks in the Music Library →

Lyrical Jazz on screen

Films and television where Lyrical Jazz appears, with the sequences worth watching for.

Feel the Beat (2020)2 sequences indexedWaupaca tween-angst number · chor. Mia MichaelsSarah practices alone · chor. Mia Michaels

Dance Moms (2011–2019)1 sequence indexedRepresentative anchor — Cry solo

Poster artwork from TMDB.

This site uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.

Sources & Further Reading

Cultural & Historical Context

Lyrical Jazz emerged from United States during the 1980s—present day. Understanding the cultural roots, musical traditions, and social circumstances of this era enriches appreciation for the dance's characteristics and significance.

Primary Source Documents

The Library of Dance contains public-domain primary sources for dance history. Copyrighted modern syllabi are indexed with purchase links to their respective copyright owners. Search by dance name or codifier to discover primary source documents.

Last reviewed: September 2026 — This dance profile synthesizes historical research, cultural documentation, and contemporary practice knowledge to provide authoritative context.

More in Jazz Dance

Vernacular Jazz

The African American social-dance 'trunk' of jazz dance—ragtime steps, the Charleston, and the Lindy Hop—from which the theatrical branches grew.

Broadway / Theatrical Jazz

The presentational, musical-theater branch of jazz dance shaped by choreographers such as Jack Cole, Jerome Robbins, and Bob Fosse.

Jazz Funk

A commercial, street-influenced branch of jazz dance set to hip-hop, R&B, and pop, prominent in music videos and concert choreography.

Dunham Technique

Katherine Dunham's codified technique drawing on Caribbean and African dance, foregrounding torso isolations, polyrhythm, and a wider rhythmic range than other Western dance of its time.

Latin Jazz

The branch of American theatrical jazz dance whose rhythmic and movement basis is Afro-Cuban and Afro-Caribbean rather than Anglo-American swing. It took shape as Cuban musicians and dancers, and researchers who had worked in the Caribbean, brought clave-based rhythm and a mobile pelvis and torso into jazz dance from the 1940s onward. It matters because it is one of the few places in commercial jazz training where the African diasporic source is still explicit in the movement itself.

Vaudeville Jazz

The dance of the American variety stage from roughly the 1880s to the 1930s, where tap, eccentric dance, acrobatic and flash acts, and much of the vocabulary later called jazz dance were invented, tested nightly and professionalised. It was a working system as much as an art form: acts refined material across thousands of performances under booking agents who controlled where and for how much a dancer could work. Most of the vocabulary that survives in tap and musical theatre today was created by Black performers inside a segregated industry that paid them least and credited them last.