The Evolution of Dance in the 1920's

1665 Words4 Pages

The world and our culture is constantly evolving and developing—becoming something fresh and new. From time to time, there are intervals of great change like the 1920’s, in which we learn about all the new fashions, new technologies, new roles of women, and prohibition. Rarely do we hear of the development in dance during this time despite how crucial it was to the dance world today. This is the time when many new styles emerged and those that had already existed underwent quite the evolution from what it used to be. Dance has had a long history dating back to the 15th century for ballet and even further back for social dances. Up until the 20th century, ballet had been the only real style of dance. As for social dances, before this time there was the waltz, and the polka and then then later the two-step, tango, and foxtrot. In the 1920’s, the world saw a flurry of new styles of dance as well as new types of social dances. There came the emergence of jazz, tap, and modern as well as new types of social dances. Also, during this time ballet evolved into something quite similar what it is today and it set the basis for ballet in the present day. This is why the 1920’s was the period of the greatest amount of variation and innovation to dance world-wide leading to the beginning of dance as we know it today.

Ballet underwent a great evolution during this period of time. While it was not a new style of dance, it changed a great deal to become much like what it is today. It broke boundaries and set up a precedent for ballet in the future. Unlike other styles of dance, ballet was considered an appropriate use of time for young girls. The change was made to the performances of ballets. Many new stories were created, but also, this was t...

... middle of paper ...

...is today.

Works Cited

- "Tap Dancing History." Feet Beats. N.p., n.d. Web. .

- Deresiecwicz, William. "Dance." World Book. Vol. 5. Chicago: World Book, 2007. 23-32. Print.

- Phillips, Charles. The 20th Century Year by Year: The People and Events That Shaped the Last Hundred Years. London: Marshall Pub., 1999. Print.

- Odom, Selma L. "Graham, Martha." World Book. Vol. 8. Chicago: World Book, 2007. 300. Print.

- Baughman, Judith S. American Decades: 1920-1929. New York: Gale Research, 1996. Print.

- Daniel, Clifton, ed. Chronicle of the 20th Century. Mount Kisco, N.Y.: Chronicle Publications, 1987. Print.

- "History of Ballet." Dancing Online. N.p., n.d. Web. .

- "Chapter 2: The Solo Dancers." N.p., n.d. Web. .

More about The Evolution of Dance in the 1920's

Open Document