Its
romantic closeness, fast & fancy footwork,
effortless flow and simplicity and economy
of movement make it suited to fast tempo music
or slow romantic swaying tunes.
This
is a dance you perform to songs as slow as
Tuxedo Junction or as fast as White Heat!
Started in the early 1930's by dancers in
the Los Angeles area such as Maxie Dorf, Willie
Desatoff, Hal Takier, Ed and Inez Thompson,
John and Ann Mills, Dean Raftery, Dean to
mention but a few. The dance was named after
Balboa Island in the Newport Beach area which
was the location of the Rendezvous Ballroom.
Balboa has two main forms and two timings:
Pure
Balboa: In this form, dancers remain
with their torsos touching, doing variations
based on footwork. Main footwork variations
include single-time Balboa, double-time Balboa,
and triple-time Balboa.
Bal Swing: In this form,
dancers separate their bodies for spins and
turns, much like in swing dance, returning
to pure Balboa on occasion.
Basic
Balboa Timing holds on the four and
eight. Break Time Balboa
(what some call Willie Desatoff's Style) holds
on the three and seven.
There
is an interesting article in the June 6th,
1915 Oakland Tribune (Women in the News Section)
that says of a new dance introduced by the
"International Association of the Masters
of Dancing" called ... you guessed it
... "The Balboa," which is suggested
to replace the Bunny Hug, Grizzly Bear and
Turkey Trot dances (descriptions below). It
says it is a mixture of the One Step, Two-Step
and Waltz and was done to the song "Too
Much Mustard"... Interesting to say the
least as the year was June 6th, 1915 (yes,
i'm sure it was not the same dance ... couldn't
be ... maybe ... dunno?)
Charleston
is:
Lindy
Hop is:
Lindy
Hop developed as the first partners
dancing in which they broke away
from each other and then came
back together. This "swing out"
became known as Lindy Hop in the
late 1920šs when Charles Lindbergh
took his historic transatlantic
flight (Lindy hopped the Pond).
Jitterbug
was a slang term for Swing dancers
(the Queer word "Jitterbug").
Lindy Hop was primarily danced
in African American clubs in Harlem
like the Savoy Ballroom but Balboa
and Collegiate Shag were . Although
an identity of Queer culture was
not as it is now Men would dance
with each other to learn new steps
and so would Women! If we only
new what was happening in those
seedy speakeasy's, underground
Homosexual clubs, and Harlem dance
clubs; Black clubs actually didn't
care too much if Homosexuals were
there. Dance was an escape during
the Depression era for some and
through W.W.II a distraction.
Many
swing styles are done today; The
original, Lindy Hop, is danced with
6 and 8 count steps and improvisations;
the original style is called "Savoy"
because of the notoriety of the
Savoy Ballroom and it's dancers
like Frankie Manning, Frieda Washington,
Norma Miller, Shorty George Snowden,
Al Minns and Leon James. Later the
6 count, some call incorectly the
Jitterbug, led to the dance now
known as East Coast Swing. Other
styles grew from this original Lindy
Hop.
Other
Lindy Hop Styles:
"Hollywood"
or "Smooth"
Style Lindy Hop is another style
that puts more emphasis on footwork
and triple steps. Movements and
posture are slightly different than
Savoy style and the actual swing
out or whip looks smoother. Danced
in Southern California since the
thirties, it was spurred on by the
teaching and performance of Dean
Collins and later Freda Angela Wyckoff,
Ray Hirsch, and many others. Originally
a Savoy Ballroom dancer, Dean Collins
brought what he had learned in Harlem
to L.A. Collins and his dancers
appeared in a large number of Hollywood
films in the forties and fifties.
The term "Hollywood" is from teachers
Eric and Sylvia. There are numerous
styles of Smooth Style; for instance
Smooth from Northern California
may be slightly different than that
of Southern California Smooth dancers.
West Coast Swing also another dance
is a form of Lindy Hop usually done
to slower, bluesier music; It is
California's state dance!
Collegiate
Shag is:
Originated in the 1930’s. Parents wanted
their children to learn Waltz and other partner
dances, but the younger generation didn’t
want anything to do with that. They decided
to learn but to make it as crazy as possible.
Thus Collegiate Shag was born. It was hugely
popular with the college kids, hence the name,
all across the United States. It was so popular
that Arthur Murray even made it part of his
curriculum. He cleaned it up and made it really
smooth, creating two schools of shag, Wild
and Crazy & Smooth and Quiet. Collegiate
Shag can be anything you want it to be, and
that’s the fun of it. Collegiate Shag
is a 6 count dance and anything can be incorporated
into it, including East Coast Swing.
Saint
Louis Shag
St.
Louis shag is a swing dance that evolved from
Charleston.[1] As its name suggests, it is
recognized as being started in St. Louis,
Missouri. It is a very fast closed position
dance that is usually done to stomp, jump,
and boogie-woogie music.
The
dance may be done in the "side-by-side"
Charleston position. The steps are: rock step,
kick forward, step down, kick forward (other
leg), stag, step, stomp (repeat).[2] The "stag"
is bringing the leg up with the knee bent.
As a variation, when repeating, one can do
two forward kicks (or "switch, switch,"
referring to switching feet) in place of the
rock step.
Carolina
Shag
Carolina
Shag is a six count partner dance done mostly
to moderate tempo music (100-150 bpm). During
the dance the upper body and hips hardly move
as the legs do convoluted kicks and fancy
footwork. The lead is the center of attention,
and the follow's steps either mirror the lead's
or mark time while the lead shows off with
spins and other gyrations. Carolina Shag is
the state dance of North Carolina and South
Carolina, and is still popular amongst residents
of both states.
Carolina
Shag can trace its origins to the southern
United States during the Big Band Era of the
1930s and 40s. One of the earliest documented
references to a dance called "Carolina
Shag" appears in a Helen Powell Poole
article in 1936.[1] Whether this article refers
to an early version of the contemporary dance
by the same name is still a matter of debate,
as some historians[1] claim that Carolina
Shag is a descendant of Carolina Jitterbug,
and its predecessor, Little Apple (whose origins
can supposedly be traced to Columbia, S.C.
in 1937). These historians claim that a slower
six-count variation of Carolina Jitterbug
(which is 8-count) was what gave rise to contemporary
Carolina Shag. Soldiers from the north are
said to have influenced its six-count rhythm.[2]
"Shag"
itself (when used in reference to American
vernacular dances) is a very broad term that
denotes a number of swing dances that originated
during the early part of the 20th century.
Arthur Murray mentioned one form of Shag in
his 1937 book "Let's Dance"[2].
This article states that shag was known throughout
the entire country under various names, like
"Flea Hop". And, a New York writer
sent to Tulsa, Oklahoma in late 1940/early
1941 noted an "Oklahoma version of shag"
done to the Western Swing music of Bob Wills
and his Texas Playboys at the Cain's Dancing
Academy in Tulsa."[3]
Some
dance historians say there is evidence to
suggest that the term "shagger"
was used to refer to vaudeville performers
in the late 19th century[3], who were known
to have danced the Flea Hop. Later "shag"
became a blanket term that signified a broad
range of jitterbugging (swing dancing). In
the 1930s there were arguably a hundred or
more variations of the dance, which differ
in various respect depending upon the geographic
region in which they were done. Thus, Carolina
Shag often bears only the faintest resemblance
to other dances that share the shag designation.
Contemporary St. Louis shag, for instance,
(an eight-count dance) does not look much
like contemporary Carolina Shag, though both
originated in the Swing era of the 1930s and
40s. Though St. Louis shag is still often
danced to swing music, Carolina shag is more
closely associated with a variant of rhythm
and blues known as "beach music."
And, for this reason, many dancers no longer
consider Carolina Shag to be a true swing
dance.
The
term "Carolina Shag" is thought
to have originated along the strands between
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Wilmington,
North Carolina, during the 1940s. According
to Bo Bryan, a noted Carolina Shag historian
and resident of Beaufort County, the term
was coined at Carolina Beach, North Carolina.
Today, the shag is a recognized dance in national
and international dance competitions held
across the United States.
The
1989 film Shag starring Bridget Fonda, Phoebe
Cates, Annabeth Gish, and Page Hannah as four
high school friends on their last road trip
together before graduation, was filmed in
Myrtle Beach and features the Carolina shag.
Vernacular Jazz Steps
In its original form Jazz dancing has little
to do with Bob Fosse and musical theatre,
though one can somewhat trace a direct lineage
to vernacular jazz. American Vernacular Jazz
dance in its turn, traces its origins to the
customs of early African communities. As such,
the dance was social and communal (always
with calls and shouts), natural (movements
mimic or are based on everyday actions), and
earthy (grounded) dance.
The dance was based on the polyphonic rhythms
of African music, and evolved together with
Jazz when it gained prominence. Because of
its emphasis in rhythm and the ground, much
of the dance involved leg movement. This did
not mean that the upper body was left unmoved.
In fact, without the constraints of Victorian
morals and codes, the body was free to express
itself in movements and angles that were not
common to European dances, but highly improvisational
and personal.
Today, Vernacular Jazz is seen as an important
part of Lindy Hop, not just because they come
from the same tradition and express the same
kind of music, but Vernacular Jazz dancing
is in many ways, the basis of the Lindy Hop,
and also finds its way into the partner dance
as well as in partnered jazz steps and footwork
variations, or during breakaways.
This clip shows The Big Apple, a jazz steps
routine, done by Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers,
from The Spirit Moves (1950), a documentary
on jazz dancing.
Other
Jazz Vernacular dances are Shim Sham and Trankey
Do!
San
Francisco originated dances & other early
dances...
Some
original SF Dances (according to http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/d5index.htm)
Turkey
Trot
A dance invented in San Francisco around 1909
according to most historians, but some have
reported that it came from Central America
in the 1860's (unlikely).
--
It has been said that dancers John Jarrott
and Louise Gruenning introduced this dance
as well as the Grizzly Bear at Ray Jones Cafe'
in Chicago, IL. around 1909. The name Turkey
Trot relating to dancing goes back further
to 1895 in the song "Pas Ma La"
where the dancer is urged to got to the World's
Fair and do the Turkey Trot dance, so its
probably a folk dance.
--
The Turkey Trot was not a very graceful dance,
but is considered one of the first of the
so called animal dances to catch on with the
public. The Trot was basically a face to face
dance (meaning: not danced off to the side
of each other like the Peabody,) taking one
step on each beat of music, while holding
her tightly around the waist. While dancing
the Turkey Trot, dancers would sway to and
fro, going in a straight line around the floor,
while occasionally "Pumping or Flapping"
of the arms was encouraged, thus giving the
name of the Turkey Trot. Occasionally the
man would let go of the lady and dance behind
her, and on occasion add a little hop or skip
in the step.
--
Many people thought of the Turkey Trot as
demoralizing and tried "Bans" on
the dance but this only added to it's popularity,
even the Castles tried to eliminate this dance
from society in 1914, even tho it was the
dance that gave them their first break in
the business.
--
A few examples:
1) on July 22, 1913, written in a dance card
from the Exposition Park dancing pavilion
in Conneaut Lake, PA. it was written that
"the Bear Dance (Grizzly Bear) and Turkey
Trot would not be tolerated."
2) A Paterson, New Jersey court imposed a
fifty day prison sentence on young women for
doing the Turkey Trot.
3) 15 Women were fired from a well known magazine
for doing the Turkey-Trot during their lunch
break, and there are many more stories like
these such as the Vatican's official's issue
of disapproval.
---
However, the music was fun to listen to and
made you move your feet and most of all was
a fun dance to do in that day of time. As
with most dances, if the average dancer could
dance to it, it would become popular with
the masses and the musical breaks were easy
to master. The Turkey Trot allowed you to
dance close to your partner, unlike the old
Waltz and was not hard to do.
In
his book "The modern dance" by Ham
writes:
-- "the Houston Chronicle reported: "Turkey
Leg" is the newest disease. It gets its
name because it comes from "turkey trotting"
too much. High society, the kind that dwells
in Newport, has it. Houston, if it turkey
trots too much, may get it. And Houston mothers
as well as Newport mothers have of recent
date become worried. Doctors to the turkey
trotting rich say that the only cure is to
shake your leg or get it pulled several times
daily. The cause is that turkey trotters trot
mostly on one leg. This shortens and cramps
one leg, causing pains and aches. Hence the
doctors and the "shakes" and pulls.
Another worry is the "split" bathing
skirt. They have appeared in force at Newport
and a few dared the surf at Galveston. One
in brilliant red, much slashed, was at the
Breakers last Sunday. Next Sunday The Chronicle
will print a full page story illustrated in
colors about the new "Turkey Leg"
illness and the split skirt." (note:
they were jokingly printing this article.)
---
Most couples dances of the time had some kind
of animal name attached to it (thought to
make it successful) such as the Bunny Hug,
Horse Trot, Buzzard Lope and Grizzly Bear
to name a few. The Turkey Trot was replaced
by the Fox Trot in 1914.
Bunny
Hug
It is said, originated in San
Francisco at the "Fairmont Hotel"
in 1911 along with the Texas Tommy, Turkey
Trot and Grizzly Bear. Dr. Adams, who wrote
'The Social Dance' book states: 'The Bunny
Hug is danced in imitation of the sex relations
between male and female rabbits.' However,
his book was pretty much "Antidance".
The dance was a pretty steamy grinding, shaking
and wiggling dance for the day and was usually
danced to real slow blues. The Bunny Hug caused
alot of uproar in polite society which created
alot of press coverage for these type of dances.
---
Noble Sissle has been quoted as saying that
W.C. Handy's "Memphis Blues" song
inspired Vernon Castle to create the dance
when he heard James Reese Europe play the
Memphis blues and Castle liked the rhythm.
Sissle went on to say that Castle later renamed
the Bunny Hug the Fox-trot. (This is highly
unlikely, see fox-trot!)
---
1938 - Stage magazine, repeated an earlier
statement:
"We hear the Two-step and an outrageously
indecent display called the Bunny Hug are
gaining favor with the younger element. Let
them watch their steps, these young sensationalists.
The time will come when they will tire of
this eternal jogging and jerking, and find
more surcease in the grace and restful beauty
of the Valse".
--
On March 27th, 1913 Mr. Ed Spence of Grants
Pass, Oreagon was knifed 11 times while trying
to enforce a rule at his club 'Holland' that
no animal dances allowed, He caught a couple
doing the Bunny Hug and had an arguement over
it. (...Hugh Wetshoe)
--
In 1914, Germany introduced a dance entitled
"The Rabbit Dance" which was said
to be just like the American Bunny Hug.
Grizzly
bear
Started in San Francisco, along with the Bunny
Hug, Texas Tommy and Grizzly Bear. The Bear
dance as it was often called was also done
on the Staten Island ferry boats in the 1900's.
It has been said that dancers John Jarrott
and Louise Gruenning introduced this dance
as well as the Turkey Trot at Ray Jones Cafe'
in Chicago, IL. around 1909. The Grizzly Bear
was first introduced to New York's Broadway
audiences in the Show "Over the River
in 1910 thru the song "Everybody's Doin'
it Now, the song contains the repeated phrase
"It's a Bear". Later the Ziegfeld
Follies of 1911 would feature the Bear dance
by Miss Fanny Brice
--
The dance was rough and clumsy, the picture
above is character of the actual Grizzly Bear,
as you can see, the hold is where it gets
its name. During the dance, the dancers would
yell out: "Its a Bear!." The genuine
Grizzly Bear step was in correct imitation
of the movements of a dancing bear, moving
or dancing to the side. A very heavy step
to the side with a decided bending of the
upper part of the body from one side to the
other, a decidedly ungraceful and undignified
movement when performed as a dance.
--
Most writers (teachers) of the time wanted
to do away with the Grizzly Bear at society
dances as it was not a very pretty or sophisticated
dance.
* In 1910, Sophie Tucker (Last of the Red
Hot Mama's), was arrested for singing the
Grizzly Bear and the "Angle Worm Wiggle."
* On July 22, 1913, written in a dance card
from the Exposition Park dancing pavilion
in Conneaut Lake, PA. it was written that
the Bear Dance and Turkey Trot would not be
tolerated. Most dances of the day would refer
to some type of animal in the name, whether
it had anything to do with one or not.
--
Vernon and Irene Castle had allot to do with
the demise of the Grizzly Bear, as well as
the Bunny Hug, the Turkey Trot and Texas Tommy.
The Bear was finally shot when the Fox Trot
appeared on the scene in 1914.
M.F.
Ham in his book "The Modern Dance"
states that the grizzly bear came from the
low Chinese dives of San Francisco.
---
Most couples dances of the time had some kind
of animal name attached to it (thought to
make it successful) such as the Bunny Hug,
Horse Trot, Buzzard Lope and Turkey Trot to
name a few.
Texas Tommy
It is said by many to be the
first swing dance. The main reason being that
during this period (1909), all the dances
were done in "closed" position,
this was supposedly the first modern dance
of the time to include the "break-away"
step (energetically dancing from closed to
open position) while using the basic 8 count
rhythm of swing dance.
-- The dance is described by many who were
alive during the time as a rough Lindy Hop
style, only with a different starting pattern
(Stearns book gives a pretty good insight
to the dance). The basic footwork was a Kick
and a Hop three times on each foot. Imagine
using a modern 6 count timing, it might have
been something like: 1-2&3 = Kick-step-step-step
= Lt-Lt-Rt-Lt - repeat other foot 4-5&6
(also see 8 count at bottom.) After these
steps were done, dancers did the Break-Away
step and did what ever they wanted to do,
then back to the basic step again. The Break-Away
is described as pretty forceful during the
time, as their were acrobatics with the "throwing
of their partners around" involved at
times. Stearns also write that this dance
was done many times with 4 to 6 couples at
a time
---
Many dance bands of the day would travel the
"band circuit" from San Francisco
thru Mississippi to Kentucky, New Orleans
etc., and end in New York and then start back
again. The first written record was in San
Francisco, California in 1909. Many dance
bands or composers of the day would write
dance music that had the directions for doing
the dance in the verses, such as the Maxixe,
Texas Tommy, Bunny Hug, Grizzly Bear, Turkey
Trot etc. At the time, many Composer / Musicians
would look for a new dance to write a song
about.
---
The "Fairmont Hotel" in San Francisco
is written to have given birth to the Texas
Tommy, which had a house band that regularly
played the Texas Tommy music and was a major
place to be for dancing. Dancers from Lew
Purcell's would dance the Texas Tommy and
make it popular in San Francisco, many of
these dancers would bring some of the dances
with them to the Fairmont, which was the swankiest
Hotel and ballroom at the time. Anyone who
was anyone could be found at the Fairmont
doing all the latest dances.
--
Who originated the Texas Tommy is obscure,
but most likely it was being done and someone
capitalized upon it. Some say "Johnny
Peters and his partner Mary Dewsen,"
two African-Americans, brought the the dance
to San Francisco in 1911 from the South...
but exactly where, they don't say. Peters
and Ethel Williams became partners in 1912
and after Dewsen became ill, Williams replaced
her in Al Jolsons troupe. Williams and Peters
danced in contests all over the country and
especially New York City and the Barbary Coast,
winning many contest dancing the One-Step,
Maxixe, Tango and Texas Tommy, etc., they
were masters of the Tommy and reportedly danced
it regularly at the Fairmont when in town.
--- The Broadway musical entitled "The
Darktown Follies" held at the "Lafayette
Theater", Harlem in 1913 had a performance
by Ethel Williams dancing with Peters along
with some other performers, performing a dance
called the "Texas Tommy." The dance
was a huge success of the show, only bested
by the group Circle dance by the cast. However
her written performance mentioned earlier
supercedes this date of it originating here
as has been written (Note: "Ballin' The
Jack" was also introduced in this Musical.)
---
Another dance called the "Apache Dance"
used a "break-away" ... the most
popular pattern in the Apache was a "Behind
the Back turn" (pattern), most people
to this day call this pattern the "Texas
Tommy" in Lindy Hop or "Apache Whip/Turn"
in West Coast Swing, so the older Apache Dance
may have had something to do with the Texas
Tommy... as the Apache was popular around
1903 and the Apache was really the first dance
to use the break-away pattern described above.
---
Tommy by the way was a slang term for a Trench
or Foot Soldier in the 1800-1910's, which
the song title could be saying Texas Soldier.
A 'Texas' Tommy was a female prostitute who
worked the trenches and/or walked the streets
in the early 1900s.
--
The Texas Tommy may go all the way back to
the Civil War... however unlikely; There was
a famous black dancer named "Tom from
Palestine," Texas, that was known for
"putting a glass of water on his head
and making his feet go like trip-hammers and
sounding something like a snare drum,"
he would "whirl around and such"
while all his movements were from the "waist
down, without spilling a drop of water."
He was known as "The Jigginest fellow
ever was" (sounds like Juba.) Although
this does not sound like a swing dance because
he danced by himself, and was probably doing
a form of Jig or Buck dancing, he may have
later had something to do with the rhythms
and such. Another may have been in east Texas,
by a well known Blues Pioneer "Ragtime
Texas Henry" Thomas in the late 1800's,
who played at many "Juke Joints"
along the way to his fame. Note:
1) Also, there was a dance called "Come
To Me Tommy" which allowed dancers to
dance real close, around 1912? (possible relation?
... dunno.)
2) In B.F. Keith's Programme for his shows
(Vaudeville Bill), writing about the "upcoming
attractions on sept, 13, 1916", it states
in one actors description that "Even
overseas in the trenches the tommies sing".
(never seen this word used this way in a dance
program except for there, could have meant
a Soldier). Probably no relation, but thought
you might find it interesting?
3) 10th Annual Rexall Drug Convention (A Smokers
Convention) held Sept 17-20, 1912. in St.
Louis at the St. Louis Coliseum featured Texas
Tommy Dancers.
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