Edited by Azizi Powell
Latest Revision: September 10, 2018
This pancocojams post was originally titled "Various 19th Century & Early 20th Century African American Bird Dances". I changed that title since some of the dances covered in this post are documented as being performed in the early and mid 19th century United States. I also changed the title since all of the dances showcased in this post aren't "bird dances".
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This post provides information about various 19th century & early 20th century African American bird dances. The dances described in this post are "The Buzzard Lope", [Cutting] The Pigeon Wing, the "Buck & Wing", and "The Eagle Rock".
The content of this post is presented for historical, folkloric, and aesthetic purposes.
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INFORMATION ABOUT VARIOUS 19th & early 20th CENTURY AFRICAN AMERICAN BIRD DANCES
(The information about these dances are posted in what I believe is their relative chronological order with the oldest dances given first.)
THE BUZZARD LOPE
From http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3buzzardlope1.htm
"The Buzzard Lope was similar to the more modern Eagle Rock Dance and was very popular in the South and most likely related to the W. African Buzzard dance. Sunbury Georgia was the first discovery of this dance but may not have originated there.
The Buzzard Lope used outstretched arms like a bird and consisted of a shuffle step and a little buzzard like hop. The dance is said to be similar to the West African Buzzard Dance. It's [sic] original form is representing a Turkey Buzzard getting ready to eat a dead Mule (some report a Cow). Many people in the sidelines watching the dance would do a 'Patting', or make a rhythm by slapping (patting) their thighs, etc. while someone would call out the cues...
The Eagle Rock replaced the Buzzard Lope in popularity as the buzzard lope was considered to risque as well as [too connected to] Plantation life by city folk."
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[This site gives 1890 as the first documented date for "The Buzzard Lope"].
Here's a video of a depiction of "The Buzzard Lope":
Throw Me Anywhere Lord
Uploaded by mediageneration on Dec 12, 2009
Georgia Sea Island Singers from the DVD- The Films of Bess Lomax Hawes- available from http://www.media-generation.com
Comment:
"The dance is called the Buzzard Lope, and John Davis is the buzzard circling the carrion and picking it up at the end of the song".
-mediageneration; 20104
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The producer of this video indicated that the man dancing said that if he had worn his jacket, you could have seen the arm flapping movements better.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/07/throw-me-anywhere-lord-buzzard-lope.html for the lyrics to the song "Throw Me Anywhere Lord" and an explanation of the song's meaning.
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CUTTING THE PIGEON WING & THE BUCK & WING
Excerpt #1:
From Tap roots: The Early History Of Tap Dancing
by Mark Knowles (McFarland & Company Jefferson, North Carolina May 2002)
Page 44
"Old style buck dancing consisted mainly of stamps and chugs, sometimes embellished with toe bounces. The origins of buck dancing are unclear, but sources indicate that it has many elements in common with the Cherokee stomp dance. There is conjecture that it is also related to the ceremonial dances in which Indians braves would put on the antlers and skin of a male deer.
Most authorities believe that the buck dance was the forerunner of the time-step. The connection with the term “wing” as in “buck and wing” generally suggest that wild footwork was accompanied by a flapping of the arms, and that the steps were syncopated. At the turn of the 19th century buck and wing was used as a sort of catch-all phrase for many forms of percussive dance.
One of the most popular buck dances among African American slaves was the pigeon wing (also called the chicken wing), When performing the pigeon wing, dancers strutted like a bird and scrapped their feet, while their arms bent at the sides, were flapped like wings. When interviewed for the Virginia’s Writers Project, ex-slave Fannie Berry described the pigeon wing thus:
"Dere was cuttin’ de pigeon wings-dat was flippin’ you arms an legs roun’ an’ holdin ya neck stiff like a bird do.”
...the pigeon wing imitated the courting of birds. The movements, scrapping the feet and fluttering the arms had been part of the juba and survived on their own to be one of the most popular steps among African Americans. Early minstrels used the dance often and expanded it with more elaborate foot shaking."
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Pancocojams Editor's Note and Excerpt #2
There are a number of references to the "buck & wing" and "[cutting] the pigeon's wing in folk songs. In his 1922 book Negro Folk Rhymes Thomas W. Talley writes that 'cuttin the Pigeon's wing' and 'skinnin' the cat' in the song "Juba" refer to dance steps. [end of quote].
Too often these words are taken literally.
Here's a quote about cutting the pigeon's wing & the buck and wing dances from Lynne Fauley Emery's 1989 book Black Dance: From 1619 to Today(page 90):
"The Pigeon Wing appears to have been performed over a large geographical area. References were made to the Pigeon Wing from South Carolina to Texas, and from Indiana to Mississippi. Horace Overstreet, of Beaumont, Texas, remembered the dance by another name. Overstreet stated that on Christmas and July 4, a big dance would be held on their plantation. '...jus' a reg'lar old breakdown dance. Some was dancin' Swing de Corner, and some in de middle de floor cuttin' de chicken wing.' ...
The Pigeon Wing and the Buck dance appear as authentic dances of the Negro on the plantation, much before they were picked up for the minstrel shows and billed as the "Buck and Wing"."
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Excerpt #3
THE EAGLE ROCK
From http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3eaglerock1.htm
"The Eagle rock is basically a dance movement, extending their arms in the “eagle wing”.... The head tilts back while the body sways back and forth...
The Eagle rock originally had a hop to it but as it spread north and south it was discarded in favor of a shuffle. The Eagle rock started to wane in popularity in the 1920s."
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This site also provides several theories about the source of the dance name "The Eagle Rock". However, I'm not convinced about the credibility of those theories.
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This site provides the date of the 1900s for the first documentation of this dance.
An additional comment about "The Eagle Rock" is included in the section above on "The Buzzard Lope".
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Excerpt #4:
From http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3buckw1.htm Buck Dance and Pigeon Wing
"This page deals with all things Buck or Wing. The history of the Buck dance, Flat Footing, Pigeon Wing, and Wings. Buck dancing is a pre-tap dance routine and was done by Minstrel and Vaudeville performers in the mid nineteenth century portraying the African-American males, known as "Bucks." Originally the Pigeon Wing steps (foot shaking in the air) were a big part of this early folk dance but later separated when variations began such as the shooting out of one leg making a "Wing."
[...]
Buck: (Buck dance)
Rhythm and Percussive, originally just a stamping of the feet to interpret the music which later became more refined when mixed with the Jig and Clog. Buck dancers usually dance alone and in a small area of space. In Tap Dance it is known as the earliest version of the "Shuffle and Tap Steps." The basic Chug or Buck step is done by pushing the ball of the foot across the floor, at the same time dropping the heel, with or without weight. Buck dancing was the first known American Tap form performed to syncopated rhythms. These rhythms were performed on the "Offbeat or Downbeat" which came from Tribal rhythms in Africa. Buck dance was a type of countrified Clog or Tap dance. Usually associated with Barn Dancing or Country Dance. The Indians (Mainly Ute), also had a dance, participants would dress in Deer Skins (Buck) and do a ceremonial dance called Buck Dancing.
Originally the music used was 2/4 time and was of the Syncopated March type. The Mobile Buck was an ancestor of the common Buck Dance that later evolved into the Time Step.
Flatfoot:
Flatfoot dancing is mostly Buck dancing in nature, but much more laid back in which the feet stay very close to the floor and without the soles of the dancers shoes making much noise, nor stomping. The flatfoot dancer seems relaxed and carefree while he or she dances, even though the feet are constantly moving. If you could imagine a "soft-shoe" Buck dance. This dance is a spot dance (done in place) with the arms moving only slightly to flow with the dancers balance which gives them a fluid look. If more than one person wants to dance at the same time, they each dance individually i.e. freestyle, but still adhering to the rhythm of the music being played.
Pigeon Wing:
Originally (1830's) just the shaking of one leg in the air. Was also known as the "Ailes De Pigeon" in Ballet. For a time it was commonly referred to as ">Pistolets" by the French and just plain ole "Pigeon Wing" by the Folk dancers, later being taken over by the Minstrel dancers. In the Can-Can the "Pigeon Wing" was bringing the bust into play by leaping forward, kicking high and throwing the shoulders back while "carrying on the arm" (or holding one leg up against the cheek, while hopping lightly on the other leg). Basically it's just the lifting of the leg (demi-Plie') and move the leg too beat the back calf of the other foot. Can be done in front of other leg or as in the variation of Michael Jackson's modern version of his front lifting leg swing. When Minstrel dancing came en vogue, many variations came about, namely a small hop on one leg while shooting out the other leg to form a "Wing."
Wings:
Wings Evolved into a waving of the body with arms and legs flapping to appear like wings on a bird ... which makes the Buck, Tap, Hip-Hopper, Charleston, Jig dancer more animated. The more modern "Wings" started to become a basic stable to tap dancing around 1900. "Wings" are basically derived from the much older minstrel variations of the Pigeon Wing but no real air step. Eventually becoming what they'd call "air steps" (not adagio), and even later "Flash/Shine steps" that have the dancer springing up from one leg off the floor, and using the correct timing to do a certain amount of taps with the same foot before landing back down while the other "winging leg" usually remains motionless. There are variations such as the pump (winging leg goes up and down), double back, pendulum, Three-tap wing (one tap on the way up and two on the way down), Five-tap wings, etc. Today Wings are part of the Tap dance family.
Don't be surprised if you see a Buck or Flatfoot dancer bring a $mall portable dance floor or plywood, lay it down on the ground and start dancin' away. Music is often times a string band. A great DVD on this subject is "(2007) by Smithsonian Folkways dvd $ Talking Feet: Solo Southern Dance - Flatfoot, Buck and Tap" (2007) by Smithsonian Folkways."
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Videos of these dance movements are included on that page.
I added italics to highlight these sentences.
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RELATED LINKS
Here are links to other pancocojams posts in this series:
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/10/african-roots-of-wing-flapping-dances.html "African Roots Of African American Arm Flapping Dances"
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http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-turkey-trot-dance-descriptions.html
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http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/05/rufus-thomas-crowd-control-at-wattstax.html "Rufus Thomas & Crowd Control At Wattstax (The Funky Chicken Dance)"
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND THANKS
Thanks to the creators of these dances, to those whose comments are quoted in this post, and those who are showcased in these featured videos. Thanks also to the uploaders of these videos.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
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