The Evolution Of Dance In The 1920's

From the flapper era to having disco fever, dance has evolved and changed tremendously throughout the years. As an art, dance has so much music, culture, and history behind it. Dances from the 1920s were often talked about as wild and carefree, from the shimmy to the Charleston, to Gatsby parties. Most of the styles of dance from the 1920s were performed in clubs. In the clubs, they did dance contests called marathons, which is when you dance until you can't dance anymore. There were records beaten all around the country from hours to days to weeks. In the late 1920s came the tango and the waltz, which still play a role in history today from dance shows like "Dancing with the Stars" or"So You Think You Can Dance". The 1930s and 1940s were the years of jazz and swing dancing, like the jitterbug and the Lindy hop. Dancing remained very popular throughout the chaos that happened in the 1930s (the Great Depression). Going out and dancing used to be many people's escape through it all. There was also a lot of tap dancing, especially in movies. Two well-known artists were Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers who starred in movies such as Top Hat and Shall We Dance.

The 1950s on the other hand was a year of growth and rebellion.

Major dances included the bop and the twist. Dances as such influenced movies such as "Grease" and "Hairspray". From their poodle skirts, socks, and white tennis shoes, this was the era of the pink ladies and dirty dancing. Rebellious stars included Elvis whose dancing was so provocative at the time, that they would only film him from the waist up. The majority of the dances in the 1960s didn't include a dance partner. They had more individualized dances like the Mashed Potato, the Fly, the Monkey, and the Funky Chicken. Artists like Nat Cole and The Beatles had a huge impact in this era for dance. Some films based off this era were "Cats"and "West Side

Story."
The 1970s brought on an era of bright, colorfulness. The disco era was well known for dance such as the hustle and YMCA. Stylistic choices included platform shoes. Disco was also expressed very sexually on the dance floor from songs like "Macho Man", "Love Machine" and "Foxy Lady". Movies like "Saturday Night Fever" starring John Travolta were based on this era.
In the 1980s, break dancing became one of the biggest crazes along with street dancing. A famous dance film in the 1980s was "Dirty Dancing" which featured a dance style called lambada. Lambada, a dance with long-standing Brazilian roots, was a very sensual dance, even though it was very fast paced. Another famous dance move was the huge lift in the last scene of the movie to “The Time of My Life”.
The 1990s was an era of hip hop and line dancing which still continues to influence dance culture today. The 1990s had dances like the tootsie roll, the running man, and the macarena. The 90s brought major artists such as MC Hammer. In the 2000s, artists like Britney Spears, N'Sync, and Beyonce swept the nation with their hit singles and rocking dance moves. Thinking back to the early 2000s, the signature dances that come to mind were throwbacks like "crank that Soulja Boy," "the lean wit it rock wit it," "teach me how to dougie," and shuffling. Dance will always have a major impact on history and the future. From the 1920s to the 2000s, music will forever be a way people can express themselves from many different cultures.