1920’s Dance Styles
Popular dances like “crank that Soulja Boy” and “teach me how to dougie” wouldn’t exist today if it weren’t for the dance styles of the 1920’s. The 1920’s breathed new life into dancing due to prohibition and the rise of jazz in popularity. Before the 1920’s, dancing was seen as a formal event with but because of movies, dancing became more casual and gone were the restrictions of the early 1900’s. The dances in the 1920’s brought new styles and new rhythms to a variety of dance floors.
These new dance styles were held in the biggest and smallest of places. The biggest and most competitive of these places were called Dance Marathons, also known as walkathons. These marathons had couples dancing away in competition with one
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another to see which one couple could dance the longest for a grand prize usually around $500. These walkathons were so competitive that in one instance an ordinance had to be ordered when a seattle woman attempted to commit suicide when she placed fifth place after competing in a 19-day dance marathon. Not only did Seattle pass an ordinance to ban dance marathons but several other states including, Bellingham, Tacoma, and Washington passed an ordinance to prohibit these walkathons. Professional marathoners would enter these contests and pretend to be amateurs in order to participate in the marathons and win the prize money. Most of the professional marathoners were out of work entertainers who traveled at the expense of a major promoter of the dance marathons(Becker). One of the reasons why dancing in the 1920’s became so popular was because of the nightlife.
People had a lot of money to spend after the war, new fashion trends were popping up in every corner of the United States, and the nightlife became the center for social life. When the outlawing of alcohol started, the nightlife died but only for a short time. Many jazz clubs known as speakeasies kept the nightlife going and soon enough everybody was trying to get into one. What made these clubs grow so much in popularity was that it was a social place where people were able to both buy alcohol and dance. Both men and women alike were in the same crowded room and there was socializing, flirting, and dancing between the two sexes. Clubs during the 1920’s had played a major role in taking down the wall that separated men and women.”For the first time, women went out to drink too and occupied the same dark small, dark spaces as …show more content…
men”(Laskow). Of course, with all these new styles of dancing entering the 1920’s there has to be a public favorite. There's the Shimmy, The FoxTrot, Black Bottom, and the Tango, all of these dances are very popular but none of these are at the top of the list. The most popular dance of the 1920s is the Charleston.The Charleston was a solo dance meaning that everyone who would do the charleston would do it by themselves even if they were a couple dancing, and if they didn’t follow the specific steps of the Charleston then it wasn't considered the Charleston. The Charleston had a rival just like anything that's at the top of the list, and the rival dance style was known as the Lindy Hop. It originated in the early 1920s, in Harlem and was a dance meant for two. The Lindy Hop helped to lower the barrier that had formed between races during segregation and could be either sophisticated and elegant or wild and exuberant depending on the person who danced it(Nelson). The Jazz age was also a very big time period for ballroom dancing what with all the new dances that arrived during this era.
The Waltz isn’t a new dance but the dance had evolved from what it was in the past and became less directional. The dance was meant to be a slower dance than all the popular dances of the 1920s and it was more passionate and romantic. The most popular ballroom dance style was the Foxtrot and it just so happened that it was the easiest dance also. This dance consisted of smooth walking and could be danced to both fast and slow jazz tempos making it easy to transition between the two whenever the music switches up. The Foxtrot can be danced with simple steps if that was how the person felt was better or it could be danced with a series of complex steps meaning that it was a customizable dance. The Tango is another popular ballroom dance and came from Argentina. It’s popularity skyrocketed after “Rudolf Valentino performed it for a movie named Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse”(Nelson). The Tango arrived to the dance scene earlier than all the other dances, making its first appearance in 1912. The Tango was a passionate dance meant to be danced with a partner and the steps had a distinct vibe that added a sense of drama to the dance.There were also other popular mentions: The Shimmy which was banned from most dance halls because of its impurity and was also known in gypsy dances, The Black Bottom which eventually beat the Charleston and became the number
one social dance of the Victorian Era, and The Texas Tommy which originated in the south and wasn’t popular until it was danced at a upscale fairmont hotel leading to it being performed on Broadway shortly after(Nelson). Coincidently, these dances laid the foundations for the wild dances that exist in modern era dancing with the more physically demanding dances that attract the youthful dancers. Some of the dances even helped the civil rights movement to lower segregational between the white and black race. Women also received help in civil rights from the speakeasies and clubs allowing men and women to dance, smoke, and drink together. The new variations of dances in the 1920s allowed any person to intermix socially no matter what social class they were in. Work Cited Becker, Paula. “HistoryLink.org.” Dance Marathons of the 1920s and 1930s - HistoryLink.Org, 25 Aug. 2003, www.historylink.org/File/5534. Laskow, Sarah. “New York Literally Invented Nightlife.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 4 Oct. 2014, www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/10/new-york-literally- invented-nightlife/381074/. Nelson, Walter. “Jazz Age Social Dancing ("The Modern Dances").” Jazz Age Social Dancing ("The Modern Dances") | Mass Historia, www.walternelson.com/dr/1920s-dance.
... social dance. Many people in today’s society enjoy social; dancing. Chapter eleven dance concert, properly planning and establishing a dance concert is of the utmost importance. The partnership with the lighting designer usually takes priority over all other factors. One of the most important issues concerning customers has to do with mobility. The dancer must be able to move comfortably in the costume. The task of producing a dance concert is an overwhelming and tiring one. Chapter twelve dance in education and career in dance, many dance educators present the argument that teaching and learning dance as an art form is obviously absent from the American student education. There has always been and always will be people who have a love, desire, and passion to instruct and learn the art of dance, will ensure an important place for dance in higher education.
Speakeasies lasted for over ten years (“Facts”). The Prohibition was considered a joke to most Americans. In 1929, the party had to come to an end. The stock market crashed and closed a lot of speakeasies. Law enforcement found the hidden saloons and put people out of business. On December 5, 1933 President Roosevelt favored the repeal on the Prohibition, and the Twenty-First Amendment officially repealed the Eighteenth Amendment. The war between people and the law was officially over. The word “saloon” disappeared from the English language and so did “speakeasies”
The 1920’s were an age of dramatic changes. More and more people were moving into the cities, leaving the rural way of living behind. People were beginning to value independence, and fend for themselves. American society began to adopt the new desire to become rich and famous; and modernists were doing anything they could to achieve their dream of becoming very wealthy. Traditionalists were doing anything they could to preserve the old ways of American society without any of this new technology or city life. The traditionalists believed that it was best to keep things the way they were, while modernists felt it was important to try a new way of doing things. Traditionalist in the 1920’s
Teenagers in the 1920s had a lot in common with today's teens. Just as today's teens are celebrating a new century filled with excitement and promise for the future, the teens of the 1920s also celebrated the marking of a new century and all the promise of tomorrow. A popular activity among tweens and teens today is dancing. Artists such as Soulja Boy have come up with hit songs and all the right dance moves to go alongside the song. Teens in the 1920s also had dances that were new and provocative for the time, such as the Charleston, Tango, and the Shimmy.
...pirit of innovation in the air, women taking on new and exciting roles within society, and a rise of crime and chaos. The movements of Jazz and Prohibition were essential to the formation of the American society at this point in time. With the innovation in writing, dance and music was substantial to the ideals of American life. The new woman fought for what she believed and wanted equal rights. However, for as many who wanted to reform society, there were some on the other side of the spectrum that just wanted to have fun, while disregarding authority. The spike in crime was attributed to two things: the first being the KKK with their terror tactics, and the disdain towards other ethnic groups. The second being bootlegging, creating the alcohol that people were not allow to have. The ideologies from the 20’s stem from the movements of the Jazz Age and Prohibition.
Drinking was considered to be the “fashionable vice of the day” ( Ferguson 532), much in the same way that smoking was the fashionable the twenties and excessive dieting and is now. The use of alcohol in America reached its peak of per capita consumption during the first half of the nineteenth century, the same time that “Rip Van Winkle” was published. (Ferguson 532). Excessive drinking in public was considered to be normal, it was even encouraged for young males to drink in public. It was a bonding activity, an excuse to gossip like women, and an escape from their home life. In Ferguson’s essay on Rip Van Winkle, he states that there was a “male drinking cult that pervaded all social and occupational groups” (532). It wasn’t an outing or successful get together unless the party was drinking and made sure everyone knew they were doing so. The tavern, or inn, in Rip Van Winkle is described as a “perpetual club of the sages, philosophers, and other idle personages of the village”(Irving 44). The bar was a gathering place where men could get together and complain about their lives and the inner workings of the town, and, because of their drunken states, there was no blame placed upon them because they were not responsible for their actions. In the early part of the nineteenth century, heavy drinking was considered to be a sign of individuality and personal expression rather than a
Irish Step Dancing started around 1750, when the appearance of dance masters came about. Dance Masters would travel from town to town teaching their dances to people that were interested and that could pay for it. They would teach in barns, kitchens, crossroads, and hedge schools. These teachings went on in secret due to Penal Laws that were enacted in the late 17th century. The English were determined to suppress Irish culture and abolish Christianity so these laws banned the education of catholic children, which was why the Irish created hedge schools. The Dance Masters would start with dances like the Reel and the Jig. Each dance master had his own collection of dance steps and would also create their own over time, which lead to Step Dancing. 8 measures or bars or music is one step, thus the name “Step Dancing”. Often competitions were held where Dance masters would show off there steps and perform on small areas like a table top, top of a barrel, or a small stage. Dancing in these small areas showed great talent. The greater number of steps that were preformed or known the more respect a dance master received. Some Dance Masters would even compete at Feisianna, which was a combination of a trade fair, political gath...
The 1920’s was a time of great optimism and lively culture for the higher class of America. The wealthy had extra money to buy expensive, lavish luxuries such as refrigerators, alcohol, radios, vacuums, and cars (Roaring Twenties, History). Life for a wealthy, high class individual during the 1920’s was extremely prosperous and filled with many opportunities to buy the newest technology, wear the finest clothing, and live the most extravagant life. Some of the luxuries that were purchased were new inventions, but most spent their dollars on clothing and parties. Parties were the biggest source of entertainment for the wealthy. Fine suits and beaded dresses were essential to a man’s and woman’s wardrobe and could only be made out of the best
With the political field leveled by the 19th amendment, women’s goal of the era was to eliminate social double standards. In 1917 congress submitted the 18th amendment which banned the manufacture, transportation and sale of intoxicating liquors. With the enforcement of the 18th amendment in full motion, many people turned to secret saloons called “speakeasies”. Young women were more likely to spend their free time at these speakeasies. These secret saloons were a common destination for the new woman as she adopted the same carefree attitude towards prohibition as her male counterpart. Ironically, more young women consumed alcohol in the decade it was illegal than ever before. Smoking also became popular among flappers as a way to defy behaviors that were previously reserved for men.
America was going through some dark and turbulent times throughout the twenties and thirties. The Great Depression was sinking in and many American’s could not find an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work. Moreover, alcohol was deemed illegal to consume, purchase, or sell anywhere in the country. All of the privately owned distilleries that were once legit and lucrative business had to close its doors. However, when these doors closed, another opened. The introduction of bootlegging and organized crime quickly made its presence known in the early 20th century. The “Black Market” era that contained the Prohibition concepts that Congressmen deemed necessary created an illegal market that was so immense that even law enforcement officers could be easily bribed. So many individuals enjoyed drinking all types of alcohol, but with the law of Prohibition also came a devastating effect on the economy. First, lost taxes and revenues from legal jobs helped raise the unemployment rate which resulted in the first sightings of the Great Depression. [1] The social experiment that President Herbert Hoover believed that would help America grow was not going in his favor. The idea of removing alcohol from the saloons in hoping for people to find entertainment elsewhere was not going to plan. In fact, the unintended consequences proved to be deteriorating in amusement and entertainment industries across the spectrum. When patrons decide to visit their local restaurant, alcohol was not on the menu. Restaurant owners were forced to close down and declare bankruptcy because they could not afford the rent without legal liquor sales. [2] ...
This book provided background information on the 1920s, the Jazz Age, and the role alcohol played during these time periods as well as the American response to Prohibition.
The Roaring Twenties was America’s golden age. F. Scott Fitzgerald once said,“The parties were bigger, the pace was faster, the shows were broader, the buildings were higher, the morals were looser, and the liquor was cheaper” (“People” PBS). The cultural undertone of the twenties was very different from the times before and during World War I. “ For the first time, more Americans lived in cities than on farms…people from coast to coast bought the same goods…listened to the same music, did the same dances, and even used the same slang” (“Roaring” History). The Twenties was a time of social and cultural change. During this time, things like the automobile and jazz became more popular and mainstream. These things were possible because America
Dancing skyrocketed during the 1920s. Many styles of dance that were created before the era did not become popular until the 1920s. For example, the Charleston did not swept the world until after the moves appeared in “Running Wild”, a show on Broadway. The Charleston dance was a fast paced dance that went with the song “The Charleston” by James P. Johnson. Many dance clubs banned the Charleston because the dance was unsuitable for the youth to be dancing. Also new dance styles were being created, for example, the Foxtrot. The Foxtrot was one of cherished dances during the era. The Foxtrot is a partner dance and many disapproved of how close the partners were to each other while dancing, often cheek-to-cheek.
The man and woman face each other, with the man holding the woman's right hand in his left, and with his right arm around her. The Tango is the third dance to use this hold for couple dancing. The Viennese Waltz is the first dance done in this couple hold. It was very popular in Europe in the 1830’s. Couple dancing before the Viennese Waltz was very formal and did not involve a lot of physical contact just mainly holding hands. About 10 years after the Viennese Waltz came the Polka. Also taking Europe by storm, the Polka became the newest craze to use this scandalous new hold. Tango was extremely different from anything that came before it, and was the biggest influence on all couple dancing in the Twentieth Century. The story of tangos evolution is a mystery but, what is known is that it was immigrants coming into Argentina who brought these new couple dances with there more intimate hold.
The final type of dance that will be explored will be ballroom dancing. Ballroom dancing is a traditional type of dance usually performed with a partner. Types of ballroom dancing include the waltz, swing, salsa and latin dances however there are many other types of ballroom dancing.