Cakewalk Dance Essay

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It maybe hard to believe but during the turn of the 19th century, dance competitors were content in winning a CAKE! The Cakewalk dance as how it came to be known in history initially drew in American black slaves as participants “often in the presence of their masters.” It has been said that “some of the better plantation owners would bake a special cake called a hoecake wrapped in cabbage leaf on Sundays and invite the neighbors over and have a contest of the slaves,” according to the popular dance website, streetswing.com. “Different prizes were given but originally it was a Hoecake for the males and molasses pulled candy for the ladies and whichever slave(s) won, would get the cake!” The Cakewalk As A Dance In the Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, James Weldon Johnson recounted the first time he saw the cake-walk. “A half-dozen guests from some of the hotels took seats on the stage to act as judges, and twelve or fourteen couples began to walk for a sure enough, highly decorated cake, which was in plain evidence. ..The couples did not walk round in a circle, but in a square, with the men on the inside.” …show more content…

“The fine points to be considered were the bearing of the men, the precision with which they turned the corners, the grace of the women, and the ease with which they swung around the pivots. The men walked with stately and soldierly step, and the women with considerable grace. The judges arrived at their decision by a process of elimination. The music and the walk continued for some minutes; then both were stopped while the judges conferred; when the walk began again, several couples were left out. In this way the contest was finally narrowed down to three or four

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