Dances of the 1920s
Karissa Maggio, Rebecca Rubinstein,
Erika Sakkestad, and Christina Zeni
The Origins
• The horrors and hard times of World War I
both home and abroad made people want to
release their anger and tension and dance
freely to the new happy energetic music, Jazz.
• Not all the music was new however. Ragtime
remained popular in the Jazz Age, as did older
dance styles like the waltz and the foxtrot.
The Old and New Dances of the Era
Older Dances
• Waltz
• Foxtrot
• Tango
• Square Dances
• Camel-Walk
• Bunny-Hug
• Turkey-Trot
• Cake Walk
Newer Dances
• Charleston
• Lindy Hop
• Shimmy
• Toddle
• Black Bottom
• Blues Dancing
• Swing Dancing
The Charleston
• May have originated on an island off the coast of South Carolina
• It became so popular with the African Americans of Harlem, that they
introduced it in “Runnin’ Wild,” the Afro-American broadway musical of the
Ziegfield Follies in 1923.
• Very controversial due to its free (and often incorrect interpretation) of the
movements, its involvement with the collapse of the Boston Pickwick Club
in 1925, and the scantily-clad flappers who partake in it.
• The Charleston’s unique hoofing rhythm is similar to the Foxtrot (in which
the first and third beats are accented), but in the Charleston, the first beat
and the eighth note before the third beat are accented. This off-beat gives
the Charleston its unique syncopated Jazz feel, mirroring the complicated
new jazz rhythms created by musicians of the era. Both the dance and the
music rebelled against very classical dance and music beats (in which
everything was formulaic) which gives the new style its more “free” feel.
• It is danced “flat-footed.”
• Taught by dance instructors all over the country at that time.
• Easily noticeable are the outward heel kicks and the up-and-down
movement caused by bending and straightening the knees in time to the
music.
• Arguably the most iconic dance of the 1920s
How do you do the Charleston?
• In an article syndicated by the International Feature Service, Oscar Duryea,
an expert on American modern dances, gave specific instructions. Good
luck understanding them!
• “The position at the start is as follows: Man's left foot behind the right, left
toe at the heel of the right, both toes turned out—his partner's right foot in
front of her left, her right heel at the toe of her left foot, both toes turned
out. The man raises the left foot and at the same time raises on the toe of
the right, turn both toes in, twisting on the ball of the right foot. With the
feet in this position, both toes are twisted out, with the man's left heel in
front of his right toe—his partner's right heel in front at her left toe.
The man raises his left foot, at the same time rising on the ball of the right
foot, and twists both toes in, then puts his left foot behind the right one,
and on the balls of both feet twists both toes out—his left toe behind at the
right heel. His partner raises her right foot, at the same time rising on the
ball of her left foot and twists both toes in, then puts her right foot in front
and on the balls of both feet turns both toes out—her right toe in front at
her left heel. A toddle movement is taken through-out all the "Charleston"
steps, on the foot on which the weight happens to be.”
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Lindy-Hop
Coined after Charles Lindbergh’s first solo flight across the Atlantic
Ocean to Paris in 1927. Newspaper headlines read, “Lindy Hops
the Atlantic.” The actual dance does not have hops in it. It is
rather very smooth and glides.
Also known as a form of the jitterbug.
Has African, European, and American roots in Swing Dance. The
way the partners hold each other and turn is European, while the
solid earthy body posture is African.
Partners hold each other most of the time, but improvisation is
allowed.
The music is typically 120-180 beats per minute.
Came out of the Charleston, the Black Bottom and earlier Swing
Music.
Danced mostly for performance, since the combination of aerials
and smooth precise movements are very difficult to execute.
Films like Hellzapoppin, Day at the Races, Malcolm X, and Swing
Kids feature the lindy-hop.
The Savoy Theater of New York popularized the lindy-hop.
Cake Walk
• Originally called the Chalk Line Walk, circa 1850 in Southern Plantations. It became
known as the Cake Walk from 1895-1905 and regained popularity in 1915. The
African American slaves and Seminole Indians of Florida invented this dance.
Seminole couples would walk solemnly. Distinctive movements like the bending
back of the body and the dropping of the hands at the wrists were characteristic of
African Kaffir dances and the African Ring Shout.
• Slaves on the plantation had fun balancing water on their heads and promenading
in a dignified manner, making fun of their stiff white masters. Most planters found
this very amusing and would hold Sunday contests where the best cakewalking
slave would win a hoecake or molasses pulled candy. This is when the dance
became known as the “cakewalk.”
• Eventually, in the decades after the Civil War, famous cakewalkers like Charles
Johnson and Dora Dean, brought their acts to the cities in minstrel shows. Some
dancers performed blackface with it while other black and white dancers competed
in marathons like the National Cakewalk Jubilee lasting until five in the morning
and winning fine jewelry.
• The Cakewalk was the first dance to cross the black-white divide and the contestballroom divide.
• Although the Cakewalk lost much of its popularity after the 1920s, its influences
can still be seen in marching bands, especially those of John Philip Sousa who took
his cakewalking bands abroad to London, Russia, France and other destinations.
Variations of the cakewalk exist around the world including the strut and in Michael
Jackson’s Thriller video.
Gallery
Lindy-Hop
Awesome lindy-hop
aerial
Foxtrot
Charleston
Cakewalk equals thriller
African American
Cakewalk
Videos
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s58iTzznk
p0&feature=related
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcFQjG3Ti
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• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTg5V2o
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Bibliography
• http://www.1920-30.com/dance/
• http://www.1920-30.com/dance/charlestondance.html
• http://dancing.org/lindy-what-is.html
• http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3cake
1.htmhttp://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z
3cake1.htm