Edited by Azizi Powell
Latest revision - January 2, 2023
This pancocojams post provides information about the early history of Historically Black Colleges And Universities' high step show style marching bands.
This post is divided into two sections: "Early Influences On High Step Marching Styles" and "William P. Foster's Influence On High Stepping Marching Styles".
The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all unknown and known Black musicians who contributed to the development of the high step style of marching bands. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.
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PART I
EARLY INFLUENCES ON HIGH STEPPING MARCHING STYLES
From http://www.folkstreams.net/context,249
A Brief History of African American Marching Bands
Excerpted from:
Lewis, William Dukes. Marching to the Beat of a Different Drum: Performance Traditions of Historically Black College and University Marching Bands. Thesis (M.A., Folklore) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2003. ... Thesis is available at UNC-Chapel Hill Libraries
"The earliest marching bands in America were most likely the fifers, drummers, trumpeters, and pipers of Colonial-era militias. Like their European predecessors, these bands functioned to regulate daily life in military camps, give signals or pass orders in battle, and boost the morale of soldiers during wartime (White 1944: 9). Each company had at least one drummer and fifer (Southern 1983: 43). Historians Al Right and Stanley Newcomb maintain that when the Continental Congress drafted the bill forming the United States Marine Corps in 1775, the bill “also provided for a Marine Band consisting of one drum major, one fife major, and 32 drums and fifes” (1970: 65)...
[Editor of The Music Of Black Americans: A History Eileen] Southern argues that the numerous black musicians who composed the military bands of the early nineteenth century “undoubtedly acquired their training—as well as access to instruments—during the War of 1812” (1983: 67). To bolster her assertion, she refers to the myriad all-black brass bands that emerged soon after the war ended, especially in the cities of New Orleans, Philadelphia, and New York, and in sections of New England (1983: 67). One such band was led by Francis “Frank” Johnson, who Carolyn Bryant describes as “a talented Negro band leader and composer” whose band “performed as a military band, played concert engagements, and provided music at many fashionable balls” (1975: 10). Johnson was purportedly born in the West Indies around 1792 and migrated to the United States in 1809, where he settled in Philadelphia (Southern 1983: 108)....
By the time the Civil War had begun in 1861, new brass instruments were being used universally among the military bands that were beginning to thrive in America. Southern emphasizes that in the Union Army, “one of the first acts of the white commanding officers of Negro regiments was to procure instruments and music instructors for the formation of bands” (1983: 207). Through parades and other public performances, these bands helped recruit other black men to join the Union Army. According to Southern, by the war’s conclusion in 1865 “more than 185,000 black men had been inducted into the army as the ‘United States Colored Troops’” (1983: 205). Each of the black regiments had its own band (Southern 1983: 207)....
Many black regimental bands were disbanded soon after the Civil War. Although some of these ex-bandsmen certainly stayed on to form the first black units to be organized into the United States Regular Army, others attached themselves to civilian bands or toured with road shows (Southern 1983: 255). By the last quarter of the nineteenth century, marching bands had become thoroughly integrated into American society. Music historian William Schaefer affirms that during this time bands of well-trained ex-military musicians were found in almost every town and village in America. These bands were playing for political rallies, circuses, minstrel and medicine shows, carnivals, picnics, dances, athletic contests, reunions, seasonal parades, serenade fairs, and holiday gatherings. Schaefer maintains, “every military troop, quasimilitary drill team, volunteer fire squad, lodge, or social club had its auxiliary band to swell holiday pageantry” (1977: 8).
From about 1830 until 1900 minstrelsy reigned as one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the United States. First-rate bands frequently toured with minstrel troupes and vaudeville companies (Southern 1983: 255). “Although troupes composed of black entertainers date back to the 1840s,” argues Southern, “it was not until 1865 that the first permanent black minstrel troupes were formed” (1983: 229)... Among those that began their careers as minstrel performers were “‘Father of the Blues’ W.C. Handy, vaudevillian Tom Fletcher, musical comedy and ragtime composer Ernest Hogan, Gertrude ‘Ma’ Rainey, Bert Williams, and Bessie Smith” (Malone 1996: 54).
W.C. Handy joined the Mahara Minstrels as a cornetist in 1896, and in time he was appointed as the director of the troupe’s forty-two musicians. Minstrel shows were held in the evenings; therefore, troupes would bait the public’s interest in the afternoons by staging elaborate parades through the downtowns of the towns in which they were performing. The minstrel band strutted along and provided the procession with its spirited marching tunes (Handy 1947: 35-38)....
According to Jacqui Malone, “by the last decade of the nineteenth century there were approximately ten thousand bands in the United States, many of them marching bands” (1996: 137). This time period—between 1880 and 1910—is considered by many to be the “golden age of the brass band in America” (Schafer 1977: 2).
Due to the general popularity of brass bands, the widespread availability of black military-trained musicians, and an overabundance of cheap military wind instruments in the post-Civil War period, the marching band tradition also flourished in African American communities. Many African American benevolent societies and organizations formed bands to help raise money for their own causes....
The city of New Orleans became a hotbed of fine black brass bands during the post-Civil War period. Part of the reason these bands (among other African American art forms) proliferated in New Orleans is because of the city’s African American leadership....
In June 1916, Colonel William Hayward organized an all-black National Guard unit in New York. Hayward was serving as public service commissioner for New York City at the time and was familiar with the black leaders and communities of the city, especially the ever-growing Harlem district. Thus, the 15th Infantry Regiment (Colored) of the New York National Guard came into existence. Having “no rifles, ammunition, uniforms, armory to drill in, headquarters for recruitments, or troops,” Hayward began pursuing ways to recruit and raise funds to support his regiment (Badger 1995: 141). Biographer Reid Badger writes, “Colonel Hayward understood from the first that successful recruiting depended in large part on showmanship, and that meant parades and uniforms, and the stirring music of a military brass band” (1995: 142). Consequently, Hayward charged Lieutenant James Reese Europe, whom he knew had a reputation as one of the most talented dance orchestra leaders in New York, with the task of organizing an army band of the same caliber as his famed Clef Club and Temp Club groups (Badger 1995: 143; Southern 1983: 350).
Having recruited a large group of talented black bandsmen, including drum major/famed songwriter Noble Sissle, Lieutenant Europe and his 369th Infantry “Hellfighters” band gained tremendous fame throughout France for their syncopated rhythms and jazz-spirited versions of written standards; they were even invited to play in Paris at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees in 1918 (Malone 1996: 143). Jacqui Malone writes, “While white-American soldiers of World War I ardently strove to march like well-oiled war machines, like battle-ready robots, James Reese Europe’s black bandsmen of the 369th Regiment stepped to the beat of a different drummer” (1990: 59). Dance historians John Szwed and Morton Marks assert that the African American drill sergeants of World War I, such as Lt. Europe, introduced melody and foot-stomping syncopation into military cadence-counting, which permanently altered the standard European marching call that had existed for centuries (1988: 32)."...
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PART II
WILLIAM P. FOSTER'S INFLUENCE ON HIGH STEPPING MARCHING STYLES
Excerpt #1
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_P._Foster
"William Patrick Foster (August 25, 1919 – August 28, 2010), also known as The Law and The Maestro, was the director of the noted Florida A&M University Marching "100". He served as the band's director from 1946[1] to his retirement in 2001. His innovations revolutionized college marching band technique and the perceptions of the collegiate band. Foster was inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame, the National Association for Distinguished Band Conductors Hall of Fame, the Florida Music Educators Association Hall of Fame and the Afro-American Hall of Fame among others. He also served as the president of the American Bandmasters Association and was appointed to the National Council on the Arts by President Bill Clinton. Foster wrote the book titled The Man Behind the Baton.[2]...
The Marching "100"
The original FAMU Band was organized in 1892 under the leadership of P.A. Van Weller. At that time, the school was still known as the State Normal and Industrial College for Colored Students. When Foster became the director of bands in 1946, the school was known as the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College for Negroes.[4] Foster brought over 30 new techniques to the band, which have now become standard procedure for high school and college bands nationwide.[1][2]...
At FAMU, Foster began redefining band pageantry with a showy style—rapid tempos, high-stepping, dancing, etc., which was eschewed by some band directors who continued to cling to more staid military tradition and its emphasis on correct carriage and marching precision.
Foster has been credited with developing at least 30 new marching band techniques, including the double-time marching step of 240 steps per minute or four steps per second, and the triple-time marching step of 360 steps per minute, the death-slow cadence of 20 steps per minute or one step every three seconds, and memorization of all music played in stands, parades, pre-game and halftime shows."....
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Excerpt #2
From http://www.hbcusports.com/forums/threads/an-article-on-the-history-of-hbcu-marching-bands.24538/
An article on the history of HBCU marching bands
Discussion in 'The Band Board' started by PsychoJag, Dec 19, 2003.
(Excerpted from A Different Drummer, originally published in BVQ Magazine Winter 2000 issue.)
"Let's see, there were fans and two teams. The teams played two 45-minute halves. Must have been a break in there for halftime. But, hey, wait a minute. No bands! A black college game with no bands! How could that be? Every black college football fan knows you can't have a game without the bands. That's what the fans really come to see (sorry coaches!).
Indeed, to say that Biddle (Now J.C. Smith) and Livingstone quietly kicked off the rich history of black college football is an understatement in more ways than one. There were no marching bands high-steppin' and struttin' onto the field, but then they were absent at the other college football games of that era, too. In fact, very few schools had marching bands before the 1920s.
Imagine that. Back then, when you went to a football game, well, you went to a football game. Now, and really for the last 50 years or so, going to a black college football game means you get a nice dose of blocking and tackling displays, but it's that party and concert for "five quarters" that really keeps you near your seat - near it, but not always in it.
The formal term for what most contemporary marching bands do at halftime is "pageantry." More accurately, it is "showmanship," and no one can put on a show like a black college band, musical athletes marching to the beat of, Lord yes(!), a different, funkier drummer.
The bands' collective style evolved by happenstance at a Florida A&M University (FAMU) practice in 1946. "Our first dance routine, I don't know how or why it came about," says Dr. William Foster, FAMU's band director emeritus, widely acknowledged as the precipitator of black college band showmanship and author of "Band Pageantry, A Guide for the Marching Band."
It was to the tune of 'Alexander's Ragtime Band.' We were just doing steps and high-knee lifts, and people thought that was the greatest thing on earth. Later, I had a physical education teacher (Beverly Barber) to help with the choreography, putting the steps to music.
"I didn't know what I was doing, but it drew in the audience. The band members hadn't seen anything like it before and they thought highly of me, so they thought it was all right. And very shortly afterwards, other bands started doing it."
The elapsed time was more likely about as long as it took band directors to get their groups onto the nearest practice field.
Foster's break with tradition was a fanfare that trumpeted the changing of the guard in marching band style and forever changed the look, feel and emotion associated with halftime performances. The block, militaristic, corps style - borrrrrrring! - immediately became second fiddle to Foster's upbeat, high-energy shows and, by the '60s, bands such as Grambling, Southern and Tennessee State in addition to Florida A&M began to garner national attention....
Black historian Sterling Stuckey and music historians connect black college band showmanship to influences from 13th-century West Africa and the Egun masqueraders of the Yoruba tribe, who would play musical instruments and dance in funeral processions. Other historians point to black drill sergeants during World War I who introduced both melody and foot-stomping syncopation into their cadence counting, permanently altering the standard, Western marching call.
But let's go back to the spring of 1941 and the University of Kansas.
"I don't know what possessed me to go to the dean's office, but I was there and he asked me what I wanted to do," recalled FAMU's Foster, who graduated from Kansas that year with a music degree. "I told him I wanted to be a conductor, but he said, 'You should rethink that. There are no jobs for colored conductors.' And he was right! So I wanted to develop a band that would be better than any white band in the country."
That's a done deal today, though that notion is void where other black college bands are concerned, unless you're looking for an argument.
The process took Foster through Lincoln High School in Springfield, Mo., Fort Valley State and Tuskegee before he landed at FAMU in 1946 to being what would be a 52-year career. At FAMU, he began redefining band pageantry with a showy style - rapid tempos, high-stepping, dancing, etc., that was eschewed by some band directors who continued to cling to more staid military tradition and its emphasis on correct carriage and marching precision.
"Dr. Foster is a creator, an innovator and probably the most widely known and respected band director in the world," said Dr. John M. Long, chairman of the prestigious National Band Association Hall of Fame, upon Foster's induction in 1998.
"Bill Foster was the first director I saw do the fast step," says Dr. Isaac Greggs, director of Southern's "Human Jukebox." "I was in school the first time I saw it (in 1948) and I thought it was outstanding. It created great excitement. I had never seen anything like that. Some bands were playing symphonic numbers. Frank Greer at Tennessee State, that's what they'd do because it was a big thing to sound like a symphony, then go into a figuration. Most of the (band) books were coming out with the same things, but that fast-stepping, that was Bill Foster at Florida A&M."...
-snip-
Selected comments from that article (with numbers added for referencing purposes only)
1. PsychoJag, Dec 19, 2003
"Good Article and interesting read. LOL@Doc Greggs. I tell ya that man is funny as hell. Always a good interview with him. Doc Foster was/is the man. I remember Doc telling us about how they(SU) went to FAMU in 48 and got wiped out. He said FAMU came in doing that death march and then that rattler(fast march) kicking up so much dust that it settled on top of SU. He vowed if he ever became band director at SU that would never happen again. I think Pop Dupless is who used to be at JSU was in the band with Doc at the time told the same story.
Anyway that's some good history."
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2. Chi-Tone, Dec 21, 2003
"Wonderful article. It teaches us where we truly come from and also whose shoulders we stand on. Such people as Dr. Foster, Dr. Greggs and the late Conrad Hutchinson."
**
3. C-Murder, Dec 22, 2003 #7
"i think this article should be give out to all band members as homework and then tested on the content...i say this because the most important thing in the world is history. without history you wouldn't know where you come from so ho do you know where you are going. it will also be good because it is good to know the pioneers of the things that we can directly relate to and to the things that we love.....i never knew the history of our style of marching and it kind of made me sit back and imagine what was going on when it all jumped off..........:) :) ...i'm feeling all warm inside:lmao: :lmao: :lmao: i want to say thanks to fam and su , because ya'll are our history.....much love"...
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Showing posts with label drum majors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drum majors. Show all posts
Thursday, September 15, 2016
Thursday, January 9, 2014
African American & South African Batons, Flags, and Other Twirling Videos
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post showcases videos of African American & South African baton, drum major maces, flags, and rifles, and hoops twirling (spinning).
Two brief excerpts about the Kongo roots of baton twirling and a brief excerpt about African American juggling as a source of American baton twirling are also included in this post.
The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to all those who are featured in these videos and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
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THE KONGO POSE AND BATON TWIRLING
From https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0253217490 Africanisms in American Culture edited by Dr. Joseph E. Halloway pp. 12-13
"Robert Farris Thompson's essay (chapter 10) contributes to our understanding of Africanisms found in African American aesthestics, revealing that the majority of African retentions in African American folk art are Bantu in origin. Thompson shows that the impact of the Kongo on African American culture contributed to the foundation of black American aesthetics and musical culture in the New World. The Kongo influence contributed to the rise of the national music of Brazil (the samba) and to one of the most sophisticated music forms in the United States (jazz).
Thompson demonstrates that Kongo influences are widespread.
...The African Haitian ritual dancing based on a dance form found in northern Kongo was adopted by the baton-twirling "major jonc" called rara. Its members twirl batons and strike a Kongo pose when confronting a rival group. it is hypothesized that in Mississippi. where many Kongo slaves resided, such groups had a major impact. Mississippi has become a world baton-twirling center".
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From http://www.asarimhotep.com/index.php/articles/18-posture-and-meaning-interpreting-egyptian-art-through-a-kongo-cultural-lens publisher Asar, 27 January 2012
"The book Africanisms in American Culture edited by Dr. Joseph E. Halloway documents some of the Africanisms that have survived in the Americas during and after the enslavement period. A good number of the surviving Africanisms that have survived are in the form of poses...
Telema
The most dramatic incursion of a Kongo gesture in Haiti is the reemergent biika mambu stance. This stance is frequently called telama lwimbanganga in Northern Kongo. This pose is identifiable as the left hand on the hip and the right hand forward. This became the drum majorette pose that gave way to baton twirling in the United States.
In Kongo, placing the left hand on the hip is believed to press down all evil, while the extended right hand acts to “vibrate” the future in a positive manner. Important women used this pose at dawn to “vibrate positively” the future of town warriors. Advocates used its power to block or end a lawsuit (Halloway 2005: 298). One will notice that this is the pose for the famous Supremes song, “Stop in the name of love.”
.... The telema stance has to do with power and mediating force (power grasped and evil contained).
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THE PROBABLE INFLUENCE OF EARLY 20TH CENTURY JUGGLING BY BLACK PERFORMERS ON AMERICAN BATON TWIRLING
From http://www.juggling.org/jw/87/2/joetaylor.html
Juggler's World: Vol. 39, No. 2 "Joe Taylor And Other Early Black Jugglers"
"With the [Negro League baseball team the] Indianapolis Clowns, he [Joe Taylor] was the pitcher, tossing balls, clubs and dinner plates around the diamond and rolling a baseball around his body.
The tradition of the minstrel show, performed by people without the need of burnt cork makeup, digs deep into the roots of American family entertainment. Though black jugglers remain a rarity, it is important to remember the solid influence that blacks have played in the field.
The Harlem Globetrotters certainly represent the oldest continuous object manipulation troupe in the world. The statistics on their travels and audiences read like world census reports - their impact on the world's acceptance of tom-foolery juggling, to say nothing of blacks and serious basketball technique, is immeasurable.
He [Joe Taylor] toured for two years with the New York Broadway Clowns basketball club before being drafted and serving in postwar Germany. On his return, he played with the Harlem Magicians Basketball Show and later the Indianapolis Clowns Baseball Team. With the Indianapolis Clowns, he was the pitcher, tossing balls, clubs and dinner plates around the diamond and rolling a baseball around his body.
As he matured, he stayed in touch with other jugglers. He visited Montandon when he passed through Oklahoma and wrote a piece on comedy ball rolling for Montandon's "Juggler's Bulletin Annual." While in Germany, he met with Max Koch and sent back an interview with this human Mecca of the juggling world for readers of the "Newsletter."
And that's about all we know of Taylor, the IJA's first black member. The "Bulletin" and "Newsletter" can take a little pride in the fact that they publicized him. And Taylor can take pride in having left Wellington Street to take a run at having his skills, rather than his color, recognized by the world.
A Sampling of Early Black Jugglers
George Rowland: Probably the best known, most successful black juggler, and one of the earliest; he was one of the first "dressed up" tramp jugglers, playing the circuits in the early decades of this century.
Thatcher, Primrose, and West: included baton twirling in their act.
"The Great English:" Hoop roller, popular around 1910.
The Billy Kersard Colored Minstrels: employed a juggler of balls, hats, cigars, and plates.
Will Cook: toured with the Black Patti Colored Musical Comedy Co.
Albert Drew: juggler and wire walker with the A.G. Allen Colored Minstrels.
Arthur Prince: Club and hoop juggler with the Huntington Colored Minstrels.
Coy Herndon and Silas Greer: With the New Orleans Colored Musical Comedy troupe. Herndon was reported to be one of the best hoop rollers ever"...
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FEATURED VIDEOS - CONTEMPORARY BATON TWIRLING IN THE UNITED STATES AND SOUTH AFRICA
Example #1: Saint Dominics High School Drum Majorettes 2005 LARGE DRILL [South Africa]
Quepeedoo Uploaded on Aug 14, 2010
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Example #2: SOUTH SHORE DRILL TEAM - Bud Billiken Parade 2010 [United States]
South Shore Drill Team, Uploaded on Mar 2, 2011
South Shore Drill Team doing it at the Bud in 2010!
-snip-
The Bud Billiken Parade is an annual Chicago, Illinois parade commemorating the beginning of the school year for children and youth.
From my YouTube video searching it appears that this South Shore Drill Team [from Chicago, Illinois] and the other Chicago, Illinois drill team showcased in Example #4 are rare examples of African American drill teams that do rifle [and other types of] twirling routines. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/09/in-praise-of-south-shore-drill-team.html for a pancocojams post of the South Shore drill team that includes a video of that unit of that group doing flag and other types of twirls routines.
View Video #6 & Video #7 [added January 9, 2014] for videos of a predominately African American troupe of baton twirlers.
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Example #3: 2013 Mokete Wa Leru [South Africa]
Ngedwani Mgcina Published on Apr 23, 2013
Majeremane (Selemo se secha)
Mehlomakhulu 2013
-snip-
Hat tip to slam2011 who shared the information that "Selemo se secha" means "Happy New Year" in Lesotho, a South African language on this pancocojams post- http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/01/videos-of-south-african-gospel-brass.html
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Example #4: GOLDEN KNIGHTS DRILL TEAM 2013 [United States]
Ronnell Johnson, Published on Aug 11, 2013
2013 BUD BILLIKEN PARADE
-snip-
Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIi8BViWnZM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIi8BViWnZM for a brief video of toddler in this group's uniform practicing twirling a rifle.
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Example #5: NC A&T - Halftime (Post-Game) 9.7.2013 [United States]
Thomas L. Jones, Jr. Published on Sep 8, 2013
The Aggie band salutes legendary artists Madonna and Lady Gaga during the post-game festivities against Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. I'd also like to point out that all songs are in their original keys: "Edge of Glory" - A Major, "Borderline" - D Major, Express Yourself/Born This Way" - G Major, "Crazy for You" - E Major, "Poker Face" - Ab Minor...
-snip-
NC A&T = North Carolina Agricultural & Technical University, Greensboro, North Carolina.
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ADDED VIDEOS [January 10, 2014]
EDITOR'S COMMENT:
From searching YouTube, it appears that many (if not most) contemporary African American marching bands and African American drill teams have changed the definition of majorettes from "female baton twirlers" to "females who perform certain styles of dancing and/or marching/step movements to certain types of music", which rarely includes snare drums.
It's very difficult to find any video of a HBCU (historically Black college and university) or an African American high school unit (or predominately African American high school unit) that features baton twirling. Here are three such videos that I found:
Example #6: Intro the KSU Majorettes [United States]
ksumajorette. Uploaded on Sep 5, 2010
Kentucky State University added the auxiliary twirling group to the Marching Thorobreds in January 2009 thanks to the efforts of Sophia Marie Thompson [captain of that group].
-snip-
"KU" = Kentucky State University, a historically Black university. From the comment section, this unit was just started in January 2009. Other commenters indicated that these were basic baton twirling techniques.
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Example #7: Mcd 35 Majorettes 2008-2009 [United States]
msgee351 Published on Oct 23, 2012
An Old video from 35 vs a school in Alexandria I think. I cant remember. Missing our first co-captain this night Monique!!!
-snip-
"Mcd" = McDonogh. I think this is a high school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. But I'm not sure of that.
There is also a 2012 video of this group performing baton twirls.
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Example 8: McMain Majorettes 2012 [United States]
tayariane, Published on Nov 11, 2012
Homecoming 2012
-snip-
I think that this video is of a high school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. But I'm not sure of that.
-snip-
Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWlbtt3njyQ, and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmx2JF1es8Y for two videos of African American troupes with the word "majorette" in the group's name who didn't perform any baton twirling in those videos. The first video, from 2011, is entitled "Lovely Lavish Ladies, Majorettes of MTSU *Game 1*" "MTSU" is Middle Tennessee State University. It is a non-historically Black university.
The summary of the second video, published in 2013, indicates that "Bellevue Middle School Majorettes take it back to the old school with a drumline, while all the other majorettes at the jamboree used CD's."
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RELATED LINK
Cane twirling is another form of twirling that is performed by certain historically Black Greek lettered organizations. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/11/cane-performances-in-black-fraternities.html for videos of cane twirling.
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Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos or who have been quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
Thank you for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This post showcases videos of African American & South African baton, drum major maces, flags, and rifles, and hoops twirling (spinning).
Two brief excerpts about the Kongo roots of baton twirling and a brief excerpt about African American juggling as a source of American baton twirling are also included in this post.
The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to all those who are featured in these videos and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
****
THE KONGO POSE AND BATON TWIRLING
From https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0253217490 Africanisms in American Culture edited by Dr. Joseph E. Halloway pp. 12-13
"Robert Farris Thompson's essay (chapter 10) contributes to our understanding of Africanisms found in African American aesthestics, revealing that the majority of African retentions in African American folk art are Bantu in origin. Thompson shows that the impact of the Kongo on African American culture contributed to the foundation of black American aesthetics and musical culture in the New World. The Kongo influence contributed to the rise of the national music of Brazil (the samba) and to one of the most sophisticated music forms in the United States (jazz).
Thompson demonstrates that Kongo influences are widespread.
...The African Haitian ritual dancing based on a dance form found in northern Kongo was adopted by the baton-twirling "major jonc" called rara. Its members twirl batons and strike a Kongo pose when confronting a rival group. it is hypothesized that in Mississippi. where many Kongo slaves resided, such groups had a major impact. Mississippi has become a world baton-twirling center".
****
From http://www.asarimhotep.com/index.php/articles/18-posture-and-meaning-interpreting-egyptian-art-through-a-kongo-cultural-lens publisher Asar, 27 January 2012
"The book Africanisms in American Culture edited by Dr. Joseph E. Halloway documents some of the Africanisms that have survived in the Americas during and after the enslavement period. A good number of the surviving Africanisms that have survived are in the form of poses...
Telema
The most dramatic incursion of a Kongo gesture in Haiti is the reemergent biika mambu stance. This stance is frequently called telama lwimbanganga in Northern Kongo. This pose is identifiable as the left hand on the hip and the right hand forward. This became the drum majorette pose that gave way to baton twirling in the United States.
In Kongo, placing the left hand on the hip is believed to press down all evil, while the extended right hand acts to “vibrate” the future in a positive manner. Important women used this pose at dawn to “vibrate positively” the future of town warriors. Advocates used its power to block or end a lawsuit (Halloway 2005: 298). One will notice that this is the pose for the famous Supremes song, “Stop in the name of love.”
.... The telema stance has to do with power and mediating force (power grasped and evil contained).
****
THE PROBABLE INFLUENCE OF EARLY 20TH CENTURY JUGGLING BY BLACK PERFORMERS ON AMERICAN BATON TWIRLING
From http://www.juggling.org/jw/87/2/joetaylor.html
Juggler's World: Vol. 39, No. 2 "Joe Taylor And Other Early Black Jugglers"
"With the [Negro League baseball team the] Indianapolis Clowns, he [Joe Taylor] was the pitcher, tossing balls, clubs and dinner plates around the diamond and rolling a baseball around his body.
The tradition of the minstrel show, performed by people without the need of burnt cork makeup, digs deep into the roots of American family entertainment. Though black jugglers remain a rarity, it is important to remember the solid influence that blacks have played in the field.
The Harlem Globetrotters certainly represent the oldest continuous object manipulation troupe in the world. The statistics on their travels and audiences read like world census reports - their impact on the world's acceptance of tom-foolery juggling, to say nothing of blacks and serious basketball technique, is immeasurable.
He [Joe Taylor] toured for two years with the New York Broadway Clowns basketball club before being drafted and serving in postwar Germany. On his return, he played with the Harlem Magicians Basketball Show and later the Indianapolis Clowns Baseball Team. With the Indianapolis Clowns, he was the pitcher, tossing balls, clubs and dinner plates around the diamond and rolling a baseball around his body.
As he matured, he stayed in touch with other jugglers. He visited Montandon when he passed through Oklahoma and wrote a piece on comedy ball rolling for Montandon's "Juggler's Bulletin Annual." While in Germany, he met with Max Koch and sent back an interview with this human Mecca of the juggling world for readers of the "Newsletter."
And that's about all we know of Taylor, the IJA's first black member. The "Bulletin" and "Newsletter" can take a little pride in the fact that they publicized him. And Taylor can take pride in having left Wellington Street to take a run at having his skills, rather than his color, recognized by the world.
A Sampling of Early Black Jugglers
George Rowland: Probably the best known, most successful black juggler, and one of the earliest; he was one of the first "dressed up" tramp jugglers, playing the circuits in the early decades of this century.
Thatcher, Primrose, and West: included baton twirling in their act.
"The Great English:" Hoop roller, popular around 1910.
The Billy Kersard Colored Minstrels: employed a juggler of balls, hats, cigars, and plates.
Will Cook: toured with the Black Patti Colored Musical Comedy Co.
Albert Drew: juggler and wire walker with the A.G. Allen Colored Minstrels.
Arthur Prince: Club and hoop juggler with the Huntington Colored Minstrels.
Coy Herndon and Silas Greer: With the New Orleans Colored Musical Comedy troupe. Herndon was reported to be one of the best hoop rollers ever"...
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FEATURED VIDEOS - CONTEMPORARY BATON TWIRLING IN THE UNITED STATES AND SOUTH AFRICA
Example #1: Saint Dominics High School Drum Majorettes 2005 LARGE DRILL [South Africa]
Quepeedoo Uploaded on Aug 14, 2010
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Example #2: SOUTH SHORE DRILL TEAM - Bud Billiken Parade 2010 [United States]
South Shore Drill Team, Uploaded on Mar 2, 2011
South Shore Drill Team doing it at the Bud in 2010!
-snip-
The Bud Billiken Parade is an annual Chicago, Illinois parade commemorating the beginning of the school year for children and youth.
From my YouTube video searching it appears that this South Shore Drill Team [from Chicago, Illinois] and the other Chicago, Illinois drill team showcased in Example #4 are rare examples of African American drill teams that do rifle [and other types of] twirling routines. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/09/in-praise-of-south-shore-drill-team.html for a pancocojams post of the South Shore drill team that includes a video of that unit of that group doing flag and other types of twirls routines.
View Video #6 & Video #7 [added January 9, 2014] for videos of a predominately African American troupe of baton twirlers.
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Example #3: 2013 Mokete Wa Leru [South Africa]
Ngedwani Mgcina Published on Apr 23, 2013
Majeremane (Selemo se secha)
Mehlomakhulu 2013
-snip-
Hat tip to slam2011 who shared the information that "Selemo se secha" means "Happy New Year" in Lesotho, a South African language on this pancocojams post- http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/01/videos-of-south-african-gospel-brass.html
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Example #4: GOLDEN KNIGHTS DRILL TEAM 2013 [United States]
Ronnell Johnson, Published on Aug 11, 2013
2013 BUD BILLIKEN PARADE
-snip-
Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIi8BViWnZM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIi8BViWnZM for a brief video of toddler in this group's uniform practicing twirling a rifle.
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Example #5: NC A&T - Halftime (Post-Game) 9.7.2013 [United States]
Thomas L. Jones, Jr. Published on Sep 8, 2013
The Aggie band salutes legendary artists Madonna and Lady Gaga during the post-game festivities against Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. I'd also like to point out that all songs are in their original keys: "Edge of Glory" - A Major, "Borderline" - D Major, Express Yourself/Born This Way" - G Major, "Crazy for You" - E Major, "Poker Face" - Ab Minor...
-snip-
NC A&T = North Carolina Agricultural & Technical University, Greensboro, North Carolina.
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ADDED VIDEOS [January 10, 2014]
EDITOR'S COMMENT:
From searching YouTube, it appears that many (if not most) contemporary African American marching bands and African American drill teams have changed the definition of majorettes from "female baton twirlers" to "females who perform certain styles of dancing and/or marching/step movements to certain types of music", which rarely includes snare drums.
It's very difficult to find any video of a HBCU (historically Black college and university) or an African American high school unit (or predominately African American high school unit) that features baton twirling. Here are three such videos that I found:
Example #6: Intro the KSU Majorettes [United States]
ksumajorette. Uploaded on Sep 5, 2010
Kentucky State University added the auxiliary twirling group to the Marching Thorobreds in January 2009 thanks to the efforts of Sophia Marie Thompson [captain of that group].
-snip-
"KU" = Kentucky State University, a historically Black university. From the comment section, this unit was just started in January 2009. Other commenters indicated that these were basic baton twirling techniques.
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Example #7: Mcd 35 Majorettes 2008-2009 [United States]
msgee351 Published on Oct 23, 2012
An Old video from 35 vs a school in Alexandria I think. I cant remember. Missing our first co-captain this night Monique!!!
-snip-
"Mcd" = McDonogh. I think this is a high school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. But I'm not sure of that.
There is also a 2012 video of this group performing baton twirls.
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Example 8: McMain Majorettes 2012 [United States]
tayariane, Published on Nov 11, 2012
Homecoming 2012
-snip-
I think that this video is of a high school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. But I'm not sure of that.
-snip-
Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWlbtt3njyQ, and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmx2JF1es8Y for two videos of African American troupes with the word "majorette" in the group's name who didn't perform any baton twirling in those videos. The first video, from 2011, is entitled "Lovely Lavish Ladies, Majorettes of MTSU *Game 1*" "MTSU" is Middle Tennessee State University. It is a non-historically Black university.
The summary of the second video, published in 2013, indicates that "Bellevue Middle School Majorettes take it back to the old school with a drumline, while all the other majorettes at the jamboree used CD's."
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RELATED LINK
Cane twirling is another form of twirling that is performed by certain historically Black Greek lettered organizations. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/11/cane-performances-in-black-fraternities.html for videos of cane twirling.
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Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos or who have been quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
Thank you for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
African American Battle Of The Bands
Edited by Azizi Powell
These videos of marching bands from a small number of historically Black colleges & universities are presented for their historical, folkloric, and aesthetic value.
A complete listing of historically Black colleges & universitites is found at http://www.petersons.com/college-search/historically-black-colleges.aspx
Here's an excerpt from that page:
My thanks to the video uploaders, and all those groups that are showcased in this post.
These videos are not placed in any ranking order.
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Video #1: Black History Month on ESPN: Marching Bands from Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M Compete In Battle of The Bands
Uploaded by ESPN on Feb 11, 2011
"Marching Bands from Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M compete in the Battle of the Bands using a mix of modern tunes, fight songs and traditional standards. The 300-plus sized band that learns over 20 songs with dance routines, military style formation and chants is mentally and physically demanding with practices that rival the football team's preparation for game day. The long hours and hard work are only a small part of the payoff that is the hometown pride and year-long bragging rights to the school with the most powerful sound and creative show.
Black History Month on ESPN Season 1 Ep. 23
-snip-
Both of these historically Black universities are located in Florida.
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Video #2: SU Marching Into Stadium vs JSU 2010
Uploaded by TBoneNupe1911 on Oct 18, 2010
Editor:
SU = Southern University (New Orleans, Louisiana); "JSU" is "Jackson State University" located in Jackson, Mississippi.
-snip-
Notice at 8:15 that some members of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. do a (probably impromptu) stroll (slow walking dance routine) to the music.
The “Nupe” (pronounced Newp) in the video uploader’s name indicates that he is a member of that Black Greek lettered fraternity.
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Video #3: NCCU vs. A&T 5th Quarter 9.25.2010 - Part 1
Uploaded by SpeechlessQue on Sep 26, 2010
North Carolina Central University versus North Carolina A&T State University, battling it out in the 5th Quarter after the Aggie-Eagle Classic. Video by Harvey Thompson. Editing by me.
-snip-
Editor: A&T = "Agricultural and Technical".
Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utjRvAwqxMU&feature=related for Part 2 of that video.
The "Que" in the video uploader's name indicates that he is a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
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Drumline #4: Southern Heritage Classic Big Ballin' Battle 2011
Uploaded by PacMan12995 on Sep 11, 2011
TSU and JSU go at it with Big Ballin'
-snip-
TSU = Tennessee State University; "JSU" is "Jackson State University" located in Jackson, Mississippi.
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Thanks for visiting this page.
Viewer comments are welcome.
These videos of marching bands from a small number of historically Black colleges & universities are presented for their historical, folkloric, and aesthetic value.
A complete listing of historically Black colleges & universitites is found at http://www.petersons.com/college-search/historically-black-colleges.aspx
Here's an excerpt from that page:
There are 105 historically black universities and colleges, and the majority were created in the United States after the Civil War. They were defined by the Higher Education Act of 1965 as any college or university established prior to 1964 whose main mission was (and is) to educate black Americans, and were accredited--or made strides toward being accredited--by nationally-recognized agencies.-snip-
The history of these historical black colleges and universities offer stories of courage, dedication, and commitment to the ideal of intellectual pursuit for all Americans.
My thanks to the video uploaders, and all those groups that are showcased in this post.
These videos are not placed in any ranking order.
****
Video #1: Black History Month on ESPN: Marching Bands from Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M Compete In Battle of The Bands
Uploaded by ESPN on Feb 11, 2011
"Marching Bands from Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M compete in the Battle of the Bands using a mix of modern tunes, fight songs and traditional standards. The 300-plus sized band that learns over 20 songs with dance routines, military style formation and chants is mentally and physically demanding with practices that rival the football team's preparation for game day. The long hours and hard work are only a small part of the payoff that is the hometown pride and year-long bragging rights to the school with the most powerful sound and creative show.
Black History Month on ESPN Season 1 Ep. 23
-snip-
Both of these historically Black universities are located in Florida.
****
Video #2: SU Marching Into Stadium vs JSU 2010
Uploaded by TBoneNupe1911 on Oct 18, 2010
Editor:
SU = Southern University (New Orleans, Louisiana); "JSU" is "Jackson State University" located in Jackson, Mississippi.
-snip-
Notice at 8:15 that some members of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. do a (probably impromptu) stroll (slow walking dance routine) to the music.
The “Nupe” (pronounced Newp) in the video uploader’s name indicates that he is a member of that Black Greek lettered fraternity.
****
Video #3: NCCU vs. A&T 5th Quarter 9.25.2010 - Part 1
Uploaded by SpeechlessQue on Sep 26, 2010
North Carolina Central University versus North Carolina A&T State University, battling it out in the 5th Quarter after the Aggie-Eagle Classic. Video by Harvey Thompson. Editing by me.
-snip-
Editor: A&T = "Agricultural and Technical".
Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utjRvAwqxMU&feature=related for Part 2 of that video.
The "Que" in the video uploader's name indicates that he is a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
****
Drumline #4: Southern Heritage Classic Big Ballin' Battle 2011
Uploaded by PacMan12995 on Sep 11, 2011
TSU and JSU go at it with Big Ballin'
-snip-
TSU = Tennessee State University; "JSU" is "Jackson State University" located in Jackson, Mississippi.
****
Thanks for visiting this page.
Viewer comments are welcome.
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