Swing dancing has been an epidemic passed down through generations of dancers. Swing is a style of ballroom dance that has evolved and developed into different types of dance such as the Jive, Lindy Hop, and West/East Coast Swing. Typically the swing is an upbeat dance done to a quicker tempo and rhythm. Swing can be found as early as 1800 but not taking flight til 1930 in Harlem after a Ziegfeld production. Swing is still around today and as popular as ever with competitions around the world. People can’t get enough swing in their life.
Swing was said to come out of the merging of dances in Harlem in the 1920’s. However, the origin of the swing can be followed all the way back to African-American community dances of the 1800’s. The word “swing” was originally used as way to describe a form a Jazz. The Savoy Ballroom had the best dancers and bands and those who were experiencing such talent that they were stimulated that their
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Swing dance became globally popular after it was featured on the Ziegfield Follies in 1923. Before WWII swing was king, but it was lost during the war. However, it was resurrected in the mid-1980’s. In the 1930’s and 1940’s the Swing, Lindy Hop, and Jitterbug was used by the media to describe styles of dancing on the streets, in movies, night clubs, and competitions.
Influence on swing can range from Jazz to English styles. Swing is a mixture of dances; Jazz, Black Bottom, Josephine Baker, Balboa, and probably many more as well as other countries' dance styles. Jazz influenced the music of swing and Black Bottom influenced the shoulder and hip movements of swing. Tap has fast combos of steps which influenced the triple step in swing. English styles influenced arm and leg movements. This is just a few dances and different styles of dancing that contribute to the different styles of swing that we have
Dancing skyrocketed during the 1920s. Many styles of dance that were created before the era did not become popular until the 1920s. For example, the Charleston did not swept the world until after the moves appeared in “Running Wild”, a show on Broadway. The Charleston dance was a fast paced dance that went with the song “The Charleston” by James P. Johnson. Many dance clubs banned the Charleston because the dance was unsuitable for the youth to be dancing. Also new dance styles were being created, for example, the Foxtrot. The Foxtrot was one of cherished dances during the era. The Foxtrot is a partner dance and many disapproved of how close the partners were to each other while dancing, often cheek-to-cheek.
Popular dances like “crank that Soulja Boy” and “teach me how to dougie” wouldn’t exist today if it weren’t for the dance styles of the 1920’s. The 1920’s breathed new life into dancing due to prohibition and the rise of jazz in popularity. Before the 1920’s, dancing was seen as a formal event with but because of movies, dancing became more casual and gone were the restrictions of the early 1900’s. The dances in the 1920’s brought new styles and new rhythms to a variety of dance floors.
Even though the Great Depression was a time of suffering economically, it was also a time for creativity in country music. Wester swing appeared in Texas in the 1930s and quickly spread to other states. The exciting new sound appealed to many teens in the 1920s. By the 1930s they had taken the reels, waltzes, fiddle breakdowns, and other styles they had learned from their elders and combined them with blues, rags, jazz, swing, and pop to create a remarkably diverse and dynamic new sound that would come to be known as Western swing (Hartman, 144).
The difference with Bebop and the Swing Era are with the melodies and how the bands are setup. Starting with bebop it his more of a complex tempo with a four to five piece band then what a swing era band would normally have about five Saxes players, three trombones players, four trumpets players and with a rhythm section playing a big dance hall unlike bebop the sound would be only heard in small jazz clubs. The music can be heard and seen played faster with the drummer keep the time for the whole band. You’re able to hear this in the tune “Tempus Fugue-It”, the piano can be heard playing solo sporadically as if it sounds out of control but the player is with in control as the drummer keeps the tempo going with a sound of a moving
Swing, the predecessor of bop, was big, sweet, and hot. The performers were big bands, fronted by a charismatic bandleader, yet the success of a piece depended mostly on the unity of the ensemble as a whole, rather than on the showcasing of prodigious individuals. The requisite instrument was the saxophone, which was often smooth and mellifluous. Songs were old favorites, or simple jazz standards, that had been arranged to suit a large ensemble. Swing bands played in large venues, such as ballrooms, and to large audiences, who seized the opportunity to not just tap their toes, but to "jump, jive, and wail." The swing era became the most popular form of jazz, as it catered to audiences as a form of social and interactive entertainment.
By the 1930’s the movement had shifted yet again and began to incorporate larger bands in what came to be known as “swing.” Broadcast radio was also an important factor by this time, giving swing music a far-reaching national influence. The size of the bands had a standardizing ...
Swing music was mainly popular in New York clubs, because it is fast music with a steady tempo easy to dance to. This style was the start of big band music with an ensemble of 15 to 18 members. Most of the performers in the ensemble were formally educated and they could read music, so swing music is written down and is performed the same way every time. Because there were so many more people, more than 1 person would play the same type of instrument. They had a rhythm section, a saxophone section, trombone section, and trumpet section. There was only solo improvisation, while others would play 2 or more melodies, because there were too many people for more than one person to improvise. This style of music thrived, because people loved to dance, and because the radio was more popular, which made the music more
The rise of the Swing Era coincided heavily with the onset of the Great Depression. The economic crash resulted in a want and need for escapism in some sort of format, and this was provided in swing. Its fairly simple, easy to listen to style made it good music to dance to. Because of this, new dances such as the foxtrot and Charleston began to develop, and individuals began to go to ballrooms to hear and participate in swing music. It allowed a sense of liberation from the burdens of hard times. In large part because the nation was suffering economically, swing music began to rise and become more popular.
Jazz dance today is presented in many different forms. Jazz history and famous jazz dancers and choreographers have helped influenced what we know today, as jazz dance. It is incorporated in an assortment of styles including, hip hop and Broadway, Jazz dance today has its own movement, while there trendy modern types of jazz, traditional jazz never goes out of style. Over the years, jazz dance has become popular in the media and can be found in music videos, television, movies, and commercials. Jazz dance is always changing with the time periods, and can be found in social dance, musical theater, dance schools, and night clubs.
To understand the genesis of Jazz one must also understand the setting of its origin, New Orleans. The city was founded by the French in 1718, then in 1763 the city ceded to Spain and remained under Spanish control until later being returned to the French in 1803, and then was immediately sold to the United States under the Louisiana Purchase. New Orleans was also heavily populated by African slaves making up 30% of the total population of the city at this time; so New Orleans was experiencing a lot of cultural diversity and was being shaped and molded by the many different fashions of people who lived in the city. These different social groups along with their culture also brought with them their deep rooted musical traditions, the fusion and combination of these traditions would give rise to what we know today as modern day Jazz. Jazz is a genre of music that could only have formed in America; it draws from many different cultures and art forms creating a cocktail of traditional European and African music, mixed with a blend of Spanish tinge, with a strong base of blues filtered through the American experience.
A club known as the Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers possibly began this trend in 1935 when they formed their group of 12 dancers (Swingin’). This group of dancers began, and performed the majority of their lifetime as a group in the Savoy Ballroom. They created the Lindy Hop quite simply, using movements from the Charleston as well as basic tap movements. And because of their dance, they had the opportunity to perform both on Broadway, and even in some movies. First, two partners would dance around together in various ways. Then, the man would complete a series of lifts with the girl, usually ending with them apart. Finally, a section of solo footwork would occur to bring the couple back
Jazz comprises of a wide range of music from the ragtime to the present music listened to by many people. The music evolution has taken roughly 100 years and jazz has been put in this particular evolution as one of the music styles today. In the definition of jazz, there is no actual definition of jazz because it a composition of very many music styles hence making it hard to get the required definition that would describe it fully. Attempts being made to define jazz have a basis of traditional music that have similar characteristics as jazz but not real jazz. Using the American or African music examples, the researchers argue that the definition is very broad and wide. Ernest Berendt one of the researchers says that jazz originated from America in the process of confronting Negros with Europeans in terms of music. This can then be termed as a tool of identity between the two groups of people due to the racist and discrimination aspects that faced America. This was now a tool that could identify the two groups to bring about national integration and understanding among the members of America. In America jazz has incorporated time as a special factor and is now referred to as swing. Swing means spontaneity and vitality of the production of music which has an improvisation role to play to the listeners. This particular jazz music contains a particular manner of phrasing which acts as a mirror to an individual and the personality of the musician performing that particular jazz music on stage. The early jazz musicians include Double Bassist Reggie Workman, saxophone player Pharaoh Sanders, and drummer Idris Muhammad who were performing in 1978 hence dating back to early jazz performance and presentation.
...nt from lower pitch sound to high pitch, showing various pitches they can make. They differed in style when they went solo. Ron Eschete mixed high and low pitch sound very irregularly and each tone seemed very distant like Monk?s style. Todd Johnson rhythm and tone was more smooth and close to each other, giving impression of cool jazz style. The other element is a swing feeling. This can be described as a feeling that makes you want to dance, clap your hands, of tap your feet. During the concert, as I looked around in the audience, I could see people bobbing their heads, and tapping their feet. Due to the fast tempo, the Ron Eschete Trio?s music just made people want to dance even though it sounded smooth and mellow.
“Swing: Pure Pleasure” is a movie directed by Ken Burns. Movie explains that in the yeas of the Great Depression Jazz came really close to becoming Americas’ popular music. This time I adopted the name Swing. For the millions of young fans this was the music of their generation.
Other dance styles are often mixed with jazz because of influence from tv, movies and music videos. Every jazz dancer is different and they interpret and execute moves differently to create originality. To be a good jazz dancer, one must have a background in ballet dance.