Couple dancing, enhanced by the individuality of the 1960s, returned in the 1970s with the
hustle and other elaborately choreographed dances performed to disco music, a simple
form of rock with strong dance rhythms. Disco dancing would completely dominate the
social dance scene of the 1970s and most of the 80s. Eventually the growing popularity of
late 80s music, including new age, punk rock, and funk, would bring about the death of
disco. Disco was yet another "flavor of the month" in the dance world that was victim to
over-exposure. It started out strong, with a small but loyal following; eventually, however,
it was sucked into the mainstream, where its over-commercialization destroyed its fan
base.
The onset of 1970s witnessed the music industry's further consolidation of its
power. It once again sought to mass-produce music styles that had originally been highly
individualistic. Corporate rock, the singer-songwriter genre, and slick varieties of soul and
country-and-western music featuring glamorous superstars playing to massive crowds in
sports arenas defined a new mainstream. Meanwhile, far away from those sold out arenas,
a select few moved their bodies to the rhythmic disco beats reverberating in "trendy"
dance clubs. As with all potentially commercializeable music forms, a few opportunistic
record producers found their way into these clubs, and before long the sounds of groups
like Abba, Baccara, the Bee Gees, Boney M, Chic Donna Summer, Eruption, Gloria
Gaynor, Imagination, and Kool and the Gang littered the air waves.
As disco's popularity gained momentum, the once tastefully sporatic disco dance
clubs popped up everywhere. America had found a new obsession. On the weekends, you
would throw on your bellbottoms pants and polyester shirt, and headed out to the clubs. It
became a way of life for some. For the diehard disco dancer and the amateur who wanted
to find his way out onto the dance floor, dance studios began to offer classes in disco
Music of the 1970’s saw the rise of disco, which became one of the biggest genres of the decade, especially in the mid-to-late 1970s. Although the hype was short lived many great hits formed from this genre. The Bee’s Gee’s released their well known song “Stayin’ Alive,” The Village People released the “YMCA,” and “Macho Man,” plus many more. Other than disco, funk, jazz fusion, smooth jazz and soul continued to prominent throughout the decade. One major genre that played an important part in the Western music scene was Rock. Sub-genres of rock, in particular glam, hard rock, progressive, art rock, and heavy metal amounted a substantial amount of success during this decade.
The 1970’s was a time period of growth and livelihood. The 70s introduced great choreographers Bob Fosse and Michael Bennett, dance movies, as well as the introduction of breakdancing. Music in the 1970s was brought about by ABBA, the Rolling Stones, and David Bowie. Jazz dance in the 1970s was heavily influenced by the rise in pop and funk music, as well as in the entertainment industry with jazz being introduced in stage and film.
Dance halls were growing increasingly popular, on average, most people attended at least once a week. Twenty-five percent of San Francisco youths regularly attended their local halls, according to American Mercury magazine. Admission ranged from fifty cents to dollar and a half (McCutcheon 217). Many times women would supervise so that the proper rules of dancing were overlooked. Proper dance rules were that the p...
After reading Richard Dyer’s “In Defense of Disco” I began to think about disco as a product of capitalism. This is something that I had never really thought of before. When I think about the hip-hop industry I think capitalism, but not necessarily disco. In this article Dyer goes on to defend disco by identifying its key characteristics, and relating them to ways in which these characteristics allow gay men to escape the pressures of the dominant heterosexual society. Characteristics such as eroticism, romanticism, and materialism are outlined within Dyer’s article. Even though Disco may have been driven in capitalistic ways, I think that it has created an environment that helps to redefine gender and sexuality. Disco, like many other genres of music, has allowed for the creation of many dynamic cultures. These various sub cultures continue to evolve and flourish over time.
Dance is more than time, Space, and energy. People have this perceived connotation that dance is just visual art depicted from movements in the body. This is true that dance is a form of visual entertainment, but when looking at the sociocultural lens, dance has far more reasoning. Whether these reasons were to free oneself from oppression, or creating a community where one felt safe, social dance was a way for people to express emotion and create identity. As social dance evolved, these different cultural identities were exposed to one another. Appropriation and borrowing of Aesthetics were being seen. This was observed in the social dance form called the jitterbug. This dance was created during the great migration and Harlem Renaissance,
Ramsay, B. (2000). Dance theory, sociology, and aesthetics. Dance Research Journal, 32(1), 125-131. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1478286
A club known as the Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers possibly began this trend in 1935 when they formed their group of 12 dancers (Swingin’). This group of dancers began, and performed the majority of their lifetime as a group in the Savoy Ballroom. They created the Lindy Hop quite simply, using movements from the Charleston as well as basic tap movements. And because of their dance, they had the opportunity to perform both on Broadway, and even in some movies. First, two partners would dance around together in various ways. Then, the man would complete a series of lifts with the girl, usually ending with them apart. Finally, a section of solo footwork would occur to bring the couple back
Allison Bonetti, a dancer in the performance, is quoted, remarking, “I feel dizzy every time we complete the Waltz section, but I don’t feel dirty or scandalous, as I would after, say I maybe danced in a club. I think I speak for many of us when I say that the Waltz feels like a dance my grandmother would do.” In fact, the performance is misleading seeing as it is paired with very formal and controlled dances such as the Pavane and the minuet. In fact, modern historians such as Mark Knowles have compared the Waltz to social hip hop dances of today such as “krumping and grinding” since through the ages social dances have been “manifestations of society’s beliefs, values, attitudes, confusions, and concerns.” If the performance was to correctly convey this notion, it would have beneficial to place the nineteenth century Waltz in the second half of the performance, along with dances like the Quan and the Whip. However, in order to maintain chronological accuracy, the Waltz was placed in the beginning of the performance, overall failing to reveal the true nature of the nineteenth century
[6] Cohen, Selma Jeanne. International Encyclopedia of Dance: A Project of Dance Perspectives Foundation, Inc. New York: Oxford UP, 1998. Print.
Before we go any further, I think I should first dispel some rumors and ease your mind of the negative thoughts that must be sweeping through it. What do you think of when you hear the word rave? Drugs? Hoodlum kids running amuck? Loud music that interferes with the whole community’s sleeping habits? Violence? The dictionary defines the word “rave” as a numerous amount of things, such as “an act or instance” or the verb “to talk with extreme enthusiasm,” but this is one case where Webster has got it all wrong. What is the true definition of a rave? In most cases, a rave is simply a dance party where guests experience a sense of camaraderie and elevated consciousness through the presence of music. This means there is an abundance of dance expression, interaction with other such ravers, and a positive mood change. And while there are sometimes drugs involved, there is absolutely no deliberate disturbance of the peace and zero tolerance for violence. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s divulge into the history of this invigorating phenomenon.
nineties alternative music tried to save rock and roll, but it was too big of a
... Kiss. Kiss called attention and became popular through eccentric effects such as explosives, police lights, rocket-firing guitars, and bizarre make-up. The music scene was making a movement to a more flashy appearance rather than simply the music itself. This fit the culture that was stuck on the appearance of things and didn’t want to become too involved.
The first social dance explored was ballroom dancing. Ballrooms were a place of courtship; therefore, these dances were always performed by a male, female couple. Traditional gender roles began the dance as the men always asked the women to dance. As the dance began, the bodies were transformed into vehicles to connect these opposite sex partners. However, societal rules applied to this dance because partners must be from within the appropriate class, the intentions proper, and the movements executed in a specific manner. The woman’s role was essentially to avoid a misstep of tripping on the man’s feet, since the male always led the dance.
In the early 16th century, European settlers began colonizing areas of South America and adopting the dance traditions aligning them the cultures of that specific area. Over time, the European folk dances and tribal dances would combine creating what we know as modern Latin dancing. The European influence involved group dancing until it evolved to male and female partnership through its
Dance, it is a big part of our world and it always has been. Dance is used to show something, really anything something that happened in history, something that would never really happen in real life. But in dance that does not matter because you show pictures and images with the movement of your body. People have always danced since the beginning of time to show what they are feeling.