Who started jazz dance?

The origins of jazz dance can be traced back to West Africa where enslaved Africans brought their vibrant dance rituals and movements to North America. When jazz music evolved in the late 19th century, these African dance influences merged with tap and other popular dance forms from around the world, leading to the establishment of jazz dance as an art form.

However, it is generally considered that jazz great Bill “Bojangles” Robinson coined the phrase “jazz dance” in the 1910s, and dancer and choreographer Jack Cole is cited as its formal codifier with his first technique-centered jazz class in Los Angeles in 1954.