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?