[thangalin]

Please don't tell this to the 150+ people who came out to the (Swing) dance I threw with the Dixieland Express. Nor to the scores of dancers that will be attending the Hot Jazz Jubilee in a few weeks.

The downfall of jazz as a genre for dancing began with an arbitrary dance tax. It continued with the era of "The Twist", which encouraged people to dance by themselves, and continued on into the disco era, which did more of the same. The Swing Revival of the 1990s helped bring brain-share to jazz (albeit of a neo-Swing flavour) again.

Partner dancing to jazz music is alive and doing very well. If you don't believe it, Google up Lindy Hop in your city.

[microtherion]

As you point out, people will still dance to danceable jazz (Lindy Hop, etc.; I've danced to Santamaria's version of "Watermelon Man" before I was into jazz).

However, most post-WWII jazz was not composed for danceability, and much of it is not very danceable (Try dancing to "Giant Steps" or "Brilliant Corners").