Rooted in the history of jazz dance and music, DJD is constantly innovating and evolving this art form. DJD, a registered charity, is a professional dance company that creates original performances, at least one per year with live music. DJD also offers professional training to those wishing to specialize in jazz dance, outreach programs that educate the community about the history and importance of jazz in North American culture, and is Calgary’s largest recreational dance school. DJD invites audiences and students to experience how jazz music shapes movement and feeling, to explore the connection between personal expression and collaboration, and to move.

DJD was founded to re-ignite the traditional values of jazz dance. Despite firm roots and a rich history, jazz dance had lost its connections to jazz music and to the vital spirit of the form by the 80’s. In 1984, Vicki Adams Willis, Michèle Moss, and Hannah Stilwell joined forces to offer a concert dance opportunity to dancers seeking to steward a new era of jazz dance for the world.