THE DOLPHIN
100 Years of Dance Gabriel Galley
100 YEARS OF DANCE
Old House L6th Form Dolphin Editorial Team Within this article I will be exploring the different dance trends of the decades, the genres of dance which became increasingly popular, as well as the cultures which contributed to them.
1920s
The Roaring 20s was an extremely iconic moment in history introducing many new dances, trends and fashions which are still appreciated today. The 1920s saw the rise of the ‘Flappers’ who were young, fashionable women who challenged social norms and defied strict etiquette of past generations by wearing shorter and more revealing clothing, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz and were a new generation of women who were intent on enjoying themselves as well as battling conventional behaviour of the time. The lifestyle of the flapper was seen as both outrageous and scandalous by many, however, these women began the change in society for the better as they had made enormous leaps in economic, sexual and political freedoms for women. One of the dance trends which was popular with the flappers was called
‘The Charleston.’ The Charleston was a dance which involved fast pace swinging of the legs and big arm movements, however, it became mainly popularised from its feature in the song “The Charleston” by James P. Johnson, in the Broadway musical “Runnin’ Wild” in 1923. Experts believe that the origins of the dance came from areas of Africa like Ghana, Nigeria and Trinidad, and that its first appearance in the US was around 1903 in Black communities in the southern parts of the US. To dance the Charleston, one would step back with their right foot and kick their left foot backwards with their right arm moving forward, and then you would step forward with your left foot, whereas you would kick your right foot forward with your right arm going back. This is done with a little hop in-between steps and swivelling of the foot. Famous American dancer Josephine Baker added her own moves whilst dancing the Charleston, such as crossing her eyes to make it appear silly and funny. Josephine travelled to France, managed to spread the dance across Europe and became more famous in France than her
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own home country. One dance which also became very popular at the time was given the name “The Fox-Trot.” The Fox-Trot originated in 1914 by actor Arthur Carringford who went by the name of Harry Fox. The Fox-Trot is composed of simple walking steps which most people imagine when they think of ballroom dancing and can be done with fast or slow-paced music. There are many variations you can do however the music is usually in 4/4 time with syncopated rhythm and so steps are usually done in 4.
1930s
Right before the turn of the decade, the Wall Street Crash happened in 1929. This was a major moment in history as it was known as the most devastating stock market crash in American history however, although this was a dark and unsettling time for America, all hope was not lost as forms of entertainment like dance and movies were able to bring some joy to the people suffering. It was still the jazz age and so dance marathons, ballroom and swing dances were still extremely popular. Swing itself was a very popular form of dance
