1920s Dance
But First…..The Great Gatsby!!!
Roaring 20s Culture• Characteristics of 1920s Culture–Women Role– Young vs. Old ; Traditional vs. Modern;
Conservative vs. Liberal– Prosperity (even false prosperity)
Roaring 20s Culture• Start of the modern age • Dance was exuberant and energetic• 1920s style– freed women from tight corsets – new fashions of short hair / short skirts.
• In the decade between Great War and the Great Depression, the world was alive and vibrant.
Elements of 20s Dance• Time – upbeat tempo &
rhythym– Represents the mood people were
trying to set, given the circumstances of early 20s
• Space – circular or straight line pattern
• Force – heavy energy exerted to perform dances– youthful, less traditional but still
somewhat elegant• Movement – locomotor
movement
Remember…? The Fox Trot
Remember…? The Tango
Remember…? The Waltz
Baltimore Buzz• Popularized in 1921 by
Florence Mills - in a popular Revue.
• Ragtime dance, danced on one foot, sliding the other foot up to it, then swapping feet to repeat.
The Baltimore Buzz
The Black Bottom• Originated in New Orleans as a stamping,
swaying “Negro” dance. • “Hop down front and then you doodle back Mooch to your left & then you mooch to your right Hands on hips and do the Mess Around Break a leg until you’re near the ground.”• Musical Producer George White - “Scandals
of 1926.”
The Black Bottom
The Cake Walk• Well established dance with it's roots in the
Black music of the Deep South. • Set in ragtime; well known composers wrote
cake walks. • Scott Joplin, the undisputed king of ragtime
music, mentioned it in lyrics:-– "Let me see you do the rag-time dance,– Turn left and do the cakewalk prance,– Turn the other way and do the slow drag -– Now take you lady to the World's Fair– And do the rag-time dance."
The Cake Walk
The Jitterbug• AKA 'Jitterbug Jive' or simply 'Jive'. • Unknown origin• Variations of name have caused
variations of dances
The Jitterbug
The Lindy Hop• The original swing dance• Jive, Rock 'n Roll, West Coast Swing,
and Boogie Woogie have evolved from this dance.
• Very acrobatic; lots of force and space used
The Lindy Hop
The Lindy Hop - Modern
The Charleston• 'Runnin Wild', in the song 'The Charleston'. • Performed by the African-Americans living at
Charleston, South Carolina, before it was popularized after its debut in 1923.
• Fast movements of hands and feet. • Highly energetic; involves a little bit of
hopping, too. • Graceful • Can be done solo, with a partner or with a
group.
The Charleston
DO It!....C’mon, Do it!
Try this one, then…
Summary• Evolved to lighten up the mood and to
escape terror atmosphere caused by horror of wars
• Used to be a way to vent out the feeling of distress put by the wars on public.
• Hence, it can be seen that most of these dance forms are energetic and fast paced.
• Much more popular amongst the youth than older people
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 1920S
Drama / Theatre Hollywood emerges
“Talkies”
The Jazz Singer
Fashion – 1920s Art On your page of notes, describe the
female fashion you saw in Gatsby. Describe headwear, hairstyles, popular styles of dress, etc. Then, do the same for male fashion.
Look at the handouts on fashion. Compare the styles of men and women of the 20s to that of the 1890s.
Exit Slip Additional Question
Describe how different the fashions were of the 1890s and 1920s.
Why are they so different? How does fashion explain the generation
gap of the time period?