Friday, April 5, 2013

Soulful Struts (Definition & Examples Of Strutting)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post provides definitions of the word "strut" and four video examples of different ways that Black people strut their stuff.

The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

DEFINITIONS OF "STRUT" & "STRUTTIN" (strutting)
From http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/strut
"strut – to walk with a proud gait"
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Additional definitions of "struttin'"
walking with attitude [self-confidence, pride]
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walking with lots of "swag" [swagger], walking like you just KNOW you bad [with "bad" here meaning “very good”]
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a type of hip-hop dance
-snip-
The phrase "strut your stuff" usually refers to walking with a swaying gait so that your butt shakes.

The phrase "struttin down the alley" is found in the Black children's singing games "Zoodio" and "Strut Miss Lucy" (also known as "Thisa Way Valerie"). In both of those games, at a certain part of the song, a person or a couple are supposed to strut down (later, dance down) the aisle made by people standing facing each other in two lines. Because of its popularity on that television dance show, this formation is now commonly known in the United States as a "Soul Train line". Click http://zumalayah.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-stroll-model-for-soul-train-line.html for a post on my zumalayah blog that provides a video example of Zoodio and a video of an early Soul Train line formation on the television show of that name.

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FEATURED VIDEOS

Example #1: Uncle Tom's Cabin - Cakewalk - 1903 Edison Version



uncletomscabindvd, From Uncle Tom's Cabin Reconsidered - http://www.uncletomscabindvd.com

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Example #2: Jsu exit again! MSU 2009



Patrick Pettaway, Uploaded on Sep 15, 2009
The whole vid
-snip-
This video shows the JSU band (Jackson State University (located in Jackson, Mississippi) exiting the stadium area after their team played a football game with MSU (Mississippi State University).

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Example #3: Joint Usher Board Anniversary Pt 1



smartvids09, Uploaded on Sep 30, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010 TheFBCD Washington DC
-snip-
I'm not sure what the letters "FBCD" stands for. I think the "FBC" stands for "First Baptist Church", but I don't know what the "D" stands for.

This video shows the ushers struttin (marching) into their "Ushers Day" anniversary with a single person in the lead. It's likely that another type of church processional would be used for an actual church services.

Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu_LdVjIPjk for Part 2 of this video.

Click http://zumalayah.blogspot.com/2013/03/african-american-church-processionals.html for a post on my zumalayah blog that features more Black church processions.

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Example #4: Roots New Years Day Junkanoo 2010 [Bahamas]



Uploaded by hugomanager on Jan 6, 2010

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Example #5: Strutting | Popping Basics



grygorenko1, Uploaded on Nov 9, 2011
Проводится набор в школу танцев

DANCE PROJECT TRICK!

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BONUS SOUND FILE - Soulful Strut/Young-Holt Unlimited [1968]



oldies55, Uploaded on Aug 22, 2008

put your soul in a groove

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND THANKS
Thanks to all those who are featured in this post. My thanks also to the producers and the publishers on YouTube of these videos and this sound file.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

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