The title on the cover page of the sheet music “Swingin’ on the Swanee Shore” refers to a particular dance associated with the south or along the “Swanee” River. The Suwannee River is one of the major waterways in the southeastern United States. It flows for almost 266 miles from the Okefenokee Swamp in southern Georgia and ends at the Gulf of Mexico in Florida. The Seminole Indians, or “wanderers” from the Creek tribe of Georgia were the inhabitants of what they referred to as the San Juanee River in the 1700s. When the English moved into the area in the early 1800s, the river’s name varied from “Sawaney River,” “Suwaney River,” “Suwanee River,” “Suanee River,” and “Swanee River,” before the maps standardized on “Suwannee.” The Suwannee River …show more content…
In the 1850s, Captain Tucker successfully traveled upriver to White Springs with his steamer Madison, declaring it navigable above Columbus. During the Civil War, the port at Cedar Key fell into Union hands. As the war continued and troops moved inward, Madison was scuttled in Troy Springs to keep her from falling into Yankee hands. After the war, there were no known steamers until Wavenock began operating from New Troy to Cedar Key in 1872. Steamboating flourished the next two decades that followed. Small steamboats could navigate as far as the crossing of the Jacksonville, Pensacola, and Mobile Railroad; large ones to Rowland’s Bluff. Captain Bob Ivey moved to Rowland’s Bluff in the 1880s, renaming it Branford. There he created an establishment that served as both a steamboat landing next to the new rail line that ran along the …show more content…
Originating from New Orleans, it worked its way to Georgia and then New York. It is unknown who actually started the dance, though it’s been rumored that Alberta Hunter, a blues singer, introduced it to the world. It had already spread through the south before Perry Bradford wrote his song about it in 1919. In 1924 the dance was introduced to the public in the stage play “Dinah” and it became as popular as the Charleston. Ann Pennington did a famous rendition of the Black Bottom in the George White Scandals of
Black Bottom dance came from a previously popular dance style, “Echo” in New Orleans. From the south, Black Bottom dance migrated to Georgia and finally New York where it was picked up by musical producer George White. White saw the Black Bottom dance being done for the first time in a Harlem nightclub and decided to bring his new found dance style to the white community. In his original broadway play, Scandal actors Ann
Ragtime Dance was completed by Joplin in 1902. This rag was written to act as a type of preliminary sketch for a following ragtime opera composed shortly thereafter named A Guest of
Drago, Harry Sinclair. Canal Days in America: The History and Romance of Old Towpaths and Waterways. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., 1972. page 166.
Thornton, Russell, Matthew C Snipp, and Nancy Breen. The Cherokees: A Population History Indians of the Southeast. Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press, 1990.
The Creek Indians, one of the Five Civilized Tribes, “was composed of many tribes, each with a different name.” The Creeks formed a loose confederacy with other tribes before European contact, “but it was strengthened significantly in the 1700s and 1800s.” The confederacy “included the Alabama, Shawnee, Natchez, Tuskegee, as well as many others.” There were two sections of Creeks, the Upper and Lower Creeks. The Lower Creeks occupied land in east Georgia, living near rivers and the coast. “The Upper Creeks lived along rivers in Alabama.” Like many other Native Americans, ...
Roads, steamboats, canals, and railroads lowered the cost and shortened the time of travel. By making these improvements, products could be shipped into other areas for profit (Roark, 260). Steamboats set off a huge industry and by 1830, more than 700 steamboats were operating up and down the Ohio and Mississippi River (Roark, 261). Steamboats also had some flaws, due to the fact of deforesting the paths along the rivers. Wood was needed to refuel the power to the boat.
The slaves were introduced to this dance on their plantation, and they did it to express their happiness even though they were not accessed to freedom. The black communities started dancing by twisting their feet in a lazy way. The owners would dance to some type of beat they would make when they were on their free time. The slaves will eventually pick it up, and it became a dance they were fond of. The Charleston dance did not need any preparation. It simply was the bringing the right foot back then forward and doing the same for the left foot in a fast motion. The rhythm was popular in the United States by a song called "The Charleston" which was in the Broadway show Runnin ' Wild and it became the most popular hits of the time. Runnin ' Wild ran from October through June. Since the dance looked as if you were flapping your arms, the women were called flappers. Men were once called flappers, but the women took over. Due to its exciting behavior of flapping the arms, many people will damage their bodies and get a bad “charleston knee”, which promoted this dance as dangerous. Overall, the Charleston dance allows for a person to have fun even without out worrying about getting
Prior to Bojangles, tap dancing on the ball of the foot was hardly ever heard of. As article writer Rachel Rizzuto explained, “He revolutionized the previously popular style of flat-footed shuffling with up-on-his-toes tapping and a swinging rhythm.” Bojangles was born as Luther Robinson in Richmond, Virginia. He was given the nickname “Bojangles” for his litigious attitude. Robinson moved to New York in 1900 to pursue a career in performing professionally. He did performances at the Cotton Club and gained notoriety there. Robinson moved on to become the first black solo act in vaudeville by 1915 known as “The Dark Cloud of Joy.” He starred in several broadway shows and films, including The Little Colonel with Shirley
Andrew Frank, “Taking the State Out: Seminoles and Creeks in Late Eighteenth-Century Florida,” The Florida Historical Quartley 84. (Summer 2005): 10-27
When they moved to minstrelsy, they were performed by African Americans and introduced to a broader culture. The cakewalk dance was originally from the south and it's movements were exaggerated to fit the comedic style of minstrel shows. It's popularity led to it being featured in several musicals. In addition, African American dances were learnt by other performers who popularized the dances by making them cross racial and social class boundaries. such as Vernon and Irene Castle who made rag dancing popular cross racial and social class boundaries in America.
What episode or even seems to be the one that precipitates the action? (In other words, what is the trigger point?) What was the state of affairs before this?
The swing style was greatly influenced by jazz and also a multitude of popular dances from before it’s time, for example the Black Bottom, Big Apple and the Turkey Trot. The style of Swing dancing is named after the type of jazz music that swing dancing is traditionally danced too. Swing dancing is said to have been created at a club called the Savoy Ballroom. The Savoy Ballroom was a block-long dancehall in New York City and was so popular that it was frequented by many of the greatest dancers of the 1920’s and 30’s such as “Shorty George” Snowden. The Savoy was so large that it had 2 bands playing Jazz at all times, one on either end of the dance floor. Another thing that made the Savoy Ballroom so unique is it was one of the few places at that time that were desegregated, so the black and whites were dancing in the same room. A typical night at the Savoy ballroom would entail the patrons starting the evening doing line dances then pairing up according to ability and continuing to dance the night away in pairs. Usually the better dancers would gather, dance together, and try new moves in one corner of the dance floor known as the “cat’s corner.”
This style was very different to the modern jazz dance we observe today, and they used isolations and body movements that were indicative of their culture. This form of dance spread throughout America in the 1900s, mostly only practiced by black Americans that passed the form of dance through generations. As the dance was passed down generations, it started to evolve with the historical and social context changing. This developed style of dance gained popularity throughout the masses of America in the 1930s and 1940s. At first, the style involved the dances such as the Charleston, Jitterbug, Boogie Woogie, and swing, and performed to jazz music, but nowadays the jazz style involves more pop and upbeat music as well as fast-paced dance moves, improvisation and musical theatre, and the foundation is based on a balletic technique. A large contributor to the evolution of jazz dance was Joe Frisco, in the vaudeville era.. He incorporated a theatrical aspect into jazz dancing, as well as a stand up comedy act, and his dances consisted of camel walks, turns, shuffles and isolations, which are large aspects of jazz dance in popular culture. Another influential person nicknamed the “father of jazz dance” was Jack Cole. He was a choreographer and theatre director in the early 1900s, so his style of dance included a huge theatrical aspect, which shaped jazz dance
Swing dance, as it called today, originated in the 1920's when the African American community in Harlem, New York developed the Charleston and Lindy Hop while dancing to contemporary jazz music. In comparison to previous dance styles, swing dance, which is usually done to jazz music, had great and large movements. The Savoy Ballroom, which opened its doors in New York City during 1926, was one of the first places where swing dance came alive to the sounds of swinging jazz music played by the best black bands in Harlem (Heikkila) . Nicknamed "the home of happy feet", the Savoy is historically significant for being one of the first racially integrated public places in the country, breaking many barriers through the love of swing dancing and jazz (www.savoyplaque.org). Swing dancing in the Savoy was characterized as being a "very fast, jumpy casual style of dancing" and became it's own notable style popularized in the 1930's and 1940's (Heikkila).
The English colonists brought the dance to America and it was later published by Sir Roger de Coverley. It comes from a pre-Christian Irish dance called the Rincce Fadha. Couples come together in a long ways formation while the fiddler plays. Partners closest to the fiddler are the head partners and partners on the opposite end are the foot partners. Partners walk four steps toward each other and bow on the fourth step and take four steps back into place. Partners then walk forward again and grab the right are and swing clockwise and return to places and repeat on the left. Then partners pass right shoulders and take a step to the right and pass left shoulders going backwards. The head partners do eight slides to the foot partners then eight slides back. The head partners then do right elbow swings down the line with each partner. After getting to the end of the line, they slide back to the head. Typically called “Peel the Banana” head partners face front and the rest face a head partner in a single file line. The head partners turn to the left and walk towards the foot of the line while the rest follow. When they get to the foot they face each other and form the “Arch” by holding hands up together. Every partner takes turns going underneath the arch. The dance ends when each partner has a chance to be a head