That's a provocative thought. It's hard to dance to Monk, or Cecil Taylor, or Albert Ayler, or the Coltrane of "Ascension," but I wouldn't want be without those recordings. I suppose a really good dancer could cut a rug to Bird, but I wouldn't try it. Someone trying to dance to "Giant Steps" would look like he or she was being electrocuted, but I imagine it's been done.
^^^^^ CB; Depends on how one dances to "Giant Steps" . Might look like a giant taking steps.
Traditional
Until the mid 1950s, jazz dance referred to the dance styles that originated from the African American vernacular dance of the late 19th century to mid-20th century. Jazz dance often referred to tap dance because tap dancing, set to jazz music, was one of the predominant dances of the era. Jazz dance evolved over time to spawn a diverse range of social and concert dance styles. During the later jazz age, popular forms of jazz dance included the Cakewalk, Black Bottom, Charleston, Jitterbug, Boogie Woogie, swing and the related Lindy Hop. Today, many of these dance styles are still popular and continue to be practiced and taught.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_dance
In _The Autobiography of Malcolm X_ he describes Duke Ellington's band playing for big teenage dances across the country. Malcolm X was in Lansing. The following passage is about something in Boston, I think.
http://www.morainevalley.edu/malcolmx/maps/Chapter_04.html
"Laura asked Malcolm to take her to the dance again (when Duke Ellington was playing), and this time to pick her up at her house"