Two Film Clips Of The 1920s Charleston Dance & Information About That African American Originated Dance

old boy piper, May 22, 2019

****

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest Update: July 28, 2023 [replaced film clip that was no longer available]

This pancocojams post showcases a film clip that was published on YouTube of the Charleston dance.

This post also presents information about that 1920s African American social dance. Two comments from that YouTube film clip 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 created the Charleston dance. Thanks also to all those who are featured in this film clip and all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publishers of these film clips on YouTube.
-snip-
This post is part of an ongoing pancocojams series on African American dances. Click the tags below for additional pancocojams posts in this series. 

****
SHOWCASE FILM CLIP #2 [Added July 28, 2023]

1920s Charleston

Sharon Davis, Oct 19, 2009

The Charleston was the dance that captured the spirit of the 1920s. It was danced with wild abandon by a new generation of independent young Americans, to the new hot jazz that was flooding the country.

****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE CHARLESTON (DANCE)
Excerpt #1
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charleston_(dance)
"The Charleston is a dance named after the harbor city of Charleston, South Carolina. The rhythm was popularized in mainstream dance music in the United States by a 1923 tune called "The Charleston" by composer/pianist James P. Johnson which originated in the Broadway show Runnin' Wild[1] and became one of the most popular hits of the decade. Runnin' Wild ran from October 28, 1923, through June 28, 1924.[1] The peak year for the Charleston as a dance by the public was mid-1926 to 1927.

Origins

While the dance probably came from the "star" or challenge dances that were all part of the African-American dance called Juba, the particular sequence of steps which appeared in Runnin' Wild were probably newly devised for popular appeal.[2] "At first, the step started off with a simple twisting of the feet, to rhythm in a lazy sort of way. [This could well be the Jay-Bird.] When the dance hit Harlem, a new version was added. It became a fast kicking step, kicking the feet, both forward and backward and later done with a tap." Further changes were undoubtedly made before the dance was put on stage.[3] In the words of Harold Courlander, while the Charleston had some characteristics of traditional Negro dance, it "was a synthetic creation, a newly-devised conglomerate tailored for widespread popular appeal." Although the step known as "Jay-Bird", and other specific movement sequences are of Afro-American origin, no record of the Charleston being performed on the plantation has been discovered.[2]

Although it achieved popularity when the song "Charleston", sung by Elisabeth Welch, was added in the production Runnin' Wild, the dance itself was first introduced in Irving C. Miller's Liza in the spring of 1923.[4][5]

Willie "The Lion" Smith noted that the dance was known well before that; in particular, he mentions the version done by Russell Brown under the name "Geechie dance".[6]

The characteristic Charleston beat, which Johnson said he first heard from Charleston dockworkers, incorporates the clave rhythm and was considered by composer and critic Gunther Schuller to be synonymous with the Habanera, and the Spanish Tinge.[8] Johnson actually recorded several "Charlestons," and in later years derided most of them as being of "that same damn beat." Several of these were recorded on player piano rolls, several of which have survived to this day.[citation needed]

The Charleston and similar dances such as the Black Bottom which involved "Kicking up your heels" were very popular in the later part of the 1920s. They became less popular after 1930, possibly because after seven years of being fashionable people simply became less interested. The new fashion for floor level sheath evening dresses was also probably a factor. The new dresses constricted the leg movements essential for the Charleston. There is a British Pathé Instructional Short from 1933 in which a new variation – The "Crawl Charleston" – is demonstrated by Santos Casini and Jean Mence. This shows a very sedate version of dance similar to a Tango or Waltz. It wasn't until dress hem lines rose toward the end of the thirties that the Charleston is again seen in film.

A slightly different form of Charleston became popular in the 1930s and 1940s, and is associated with Lindy Hop. In this later Charleston form, the hot jazz timing of the 20s Charleston was adapted to suit the swing jazz music of the 1930s and 1940s. This style of Charleston has many common names, though the most common are Lindy Charleston, Savoy Charleston, 30s or 40s Charleston and Swinging Charleston. In both 20s Charleston and Swinging Charleston, the basic step takes eight counts and is danced either alone or with a partner.

Frankie Manning and other Savoy dancers saw themselves as doing Charleston steps within the Lindy rather than to be dancing Charleston.[9]"

****
Excerpt #2
From https://chstoday.6amcity.com/history-of-the-charleston-dance/
"… while the current dance crazes may come and go, a ground-breaking dance from the 1920’s is still well-known today – and it all started right here in Charleston.

 “The Charleston” became a pop culture phenomenon in 1923 thanks to the song The Charleston – which was composed by James P. Johnson – from the Broadway show Runnin’ Wild.

 The dance was most popular throughout the 1920’s amongst “scandalous” men + women who shed the stuffy etiquette of their parents’ generation + wanted to flap their arms, kick up their heels, + let loose – hence the term ‘flappers.”

But long before the show-dance ever made its Broadway debut, the origins of the dance can be traced back to the coast of Charleston + the community of people who live there. Back when the morals were looser + the liquor was cheaper

The Charleston is said to be based on the “Juba,” a dance brought to Charleston by enslaved African Americans + performed by dock workers in the early 1900’s. The Juba involves rhythmic stomping, kicking, + slapping, and it became a challenge dance of the American American community at the time.

At the turn of the twentieth century, The Charleston was well-known amongst African American communities. During World War I, many Southern African Americans headed north, bringing the dance with them.

Then, in 1911, the Charleston was used by the Whitman Sisters in their famous stage act and was part of Harlem stage productions in 1913.

In 1922, the Charleston officially hit Broadway in the all-black stage play, Liza. While the dance became popular amongst black musicians, it did not become a part of mainstream culture until October 29, 1923, with the Flournoy Miller / Aubrey Lyles Broadway show Runnin’ Wild.

At the end of World War I, The Charleston became a staple of the Roaring 20s (a.k.a. The Jazz Age) as many white Americans felt liberated after the war. During the era, women cut their hair into short bobs, shook off their corsets, snuck booze during Prohibition, + danced the Charleston in speakeasies under the glow of new electric light bulbs.

Famous American/French dancer Josephine Baker (the first person of color to become a worldwide entertainer) danced the Charleston in the ‘20s, adding moves to make it silly – like crossing her eyes. When she traveled to Paris as part of the La Revue Negre in 1925, she helped make the Charleston famous in Europe, as well.

While the dance was choreographed from the original Juba dance to be “more appealing” to the masses, the specific steps were adapted throughout the era. Adaptations of The Charleston helped create swing dances + other popular challenges like the “Mashed Potato.”

The Charleston song was James P. Johnson’s biggest hit – and 95 years later, the song still instills images of flappers dancing to the tune upon hearing the notes (at least in our minds).

So, now that you know the history of The Charleston, how do you dance it? The Charleston can be danced alone or with a partner. The basic step is done in eight-count movements.

👯Begin in a straightforward, standing position with your palms parallel to the floor.

👯Step forward with your left foot. Move your right foot forward, + tap it in front of your left.

👯 Step backward with your right foot. Then step backward with your left foot, and tap it behind your right.

👯Swing your arms side to side or back and forth to the beat that you’re moving your feet.

👯To jazz it up, add a twist in the hips by balancing on the balls of your feet and moving your heels in and out as you step forward and backward."
-snip-
Also, click https://www.dancing-times.co.uk/how-the-charleston-changed-the-world/ for more information about the Charleston dance in 1920s and 1930s United States and in Great Britain, including the opposition to this dance by mainstream cultures.

****
COMMENTS FROM THE DISCUSSION THREAD OF THIS EMBEDDED FILM CLIP
[July 28, 2023-That film clip is no longer available.]

1. Barrow Ukpeavik, 2018
"This was actually the best Charleston video I've ever seen on the internet. This was Bee Jackson. She went to the Black peoples Clubs back then and learned how to dance the Charleston the right way, and then she brought it to the camera for the world to see. She did a good job. :-D"

**
Reply
2. Not Sure, 2021
"They were doing it the right way in white clubs as well, don't be racist."

**
Reply
3. ladyofbast250, 2021
"@Not Sure  for what it's worth I think the original poster had no intention of being racist. Since jazz music and the dances that came along with it all started in the Storyville in New Orleans. So perhaps by saying "the right way" means learning from the people who invented the dances."

**
4. W Thomas Hogan, 2020
"Anybody notice how the little black girls hold up their "skirts" like the big folks do?  If that isn't touching.ow....this is like Shuffle dancing but a hundred years ago......amazing!"

**
5. Caocao8888, 2020
"They weren’t carrying extra weight back then.  For the Charleston, this is the best video you’ll see on YT."

**
6. Sopaconondas, 2021
"This is the predecessor of the Shuffle!"

**
7. Pauline, 2021
"Wasn´t Josephine Baker the first Charleston dancer in America? She actually brought Charleston to the world."

**
Reply
8. Vintage Swing Dance, 2021
"The Charleston predates Josephine Baker though she did help popularize the dance in the 1920's."

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Pancocojams Reprint: "The Breakdown" & "The Breakaway" (Information About Two 19th Century African American Originated Dances)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post provides information about the 19th century & early 20th century African American "Breakdown" dances and the 1920s African American originated "Breakaway" dance moves.

This post also includes a YouTube film clip that alleges to be a performance of a "breakdown" or "pseudo-"breakdown". A film clip of an early "breakaway" dance moves is also included in this post.

The content of this post is presented for historical, folkloric, and cultural 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 film clips and thanks to the publishers of those film clips on YouTube.
-snip-
This pancocojams post was originally published in 2017. There are no comments in that post's discussion thread.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/02/what-breakdowns-mean-in-context-of-19th.html for a 2017 pancocojams post & comments about the meanings of the term "breakdowns" in the context of 19th century and early 20th century Old Time Music/Fiddle Music American music. That 2017 pancocojams post has 11 comments.

Also, click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/02/a-few-hip-hop-examples-of-what-break-it.html for a 2017 post entitled "What "Break It Down" & "Break It On Down" Mean In 20th & 21st Cultures (including Hip Hop cultures)". There are no comments in that post's discussion thread.

****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE BREAKDOWN (DANCE) IN THE UNITED STATES
Excerpt #1 [various quotes]
From Black Dance From 1619 to Today (2nd revised edition) by Lynne Fauley Emery (Princeton Book Company, 1988, originally published in 1972) [given without foot notes numbers or citations]

page 90 [quote added Feb.26. 2017]
"Pigeon wing

The pigeon wing appears to have been performed over a large geographical area. Reference 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

".... Just a reg'lar breakdown dance. Some was dancin' Swing De Corner and some in de middle de floor cuttin de chicken wing."...

-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-pigeon-wing-buck-wing-and-buck.html. for a longer version of this quote, and for one pancocojams post on "The Pigeon Wing, The Buck & Wing, and Buck Dancing"

**
page 139
"While the Breakdowns, the Cake-Walk, fiddle playing, and patting Juba were taking place on the plantations there were Afro-American dances in other places as well."
-snip-
Notice the plural for the word "Breakdown", which indicates that there were different types of dances that were referred to as "Breakdowns".

**
pages 186, 188
"On July 1, 1848, the (Illustrated London) News stated that "The most brilliant assemblage of rank and fashion have honoured the Gardens to witness the unparalleled PERFORMANCES of JUBA, immortalised by Boz in his American Notes...

Boz's description" was, of course, that of Charles Dickens in his book, American Notes, written shortly after his visit to the United States in 1842. While Dickens did not name the young Negro dancer he saw at Five Points in New York city, his description closely resembles later observations of Juba's dancing and is therefore included here. Dickens advised his readers that the dance he saw was a regular Breakdown, which began with five or six couples moving onto the floor and

....marshalled by a lively young negro, who is the wit of the assembly, and the greatest dancer ever known.

But the dance commences. Every gentleman sets as long as he likes to the opposite lady, and the opposite lady to him, and all are so long about it that the sport begins to languish, when suddenly the lively hero dashes in to the rescue. Instantly the fiddler grins, and goes at it tooth and nail: there is new energy in the tambourine...Single shuffle, double shuffle, cut and crisscut: snapping his fingers, rolling his eyes, turning in his knees, presenting the backs of his legs in front, spinning about on his toes and heels like nothing but the man's fingers on the tambourines; dancing with two left legs, two right legs, two wooden legs, two wire legs, two spring legs-all sorts of legs and no legs-what is this to him? And in what walk of life, or dance of life, does man ever get such stimulating applause as thunders about him, when having danced his partner off her feet, and himself too, he finishes by leaping gloriously on the bar counter, and calling for something to drink."...

-snip-
Notice that this description indicates that the male dancer (probably the famous dancer called "Juba") was dancing with a female partner.

On page 188, the same critic writing in that London newspaper mentions the "Virginny Breakdown".

**
page 192, 193
"Part One in the traditional minstrel show always ended with a dance, called the Walk-Around, done by the entire cast. Sometimes this was repeated as the finale of Part Three also. Discussing the Walk-Around, Nathan said in 1943 that this dance was still well remembered-borrowed from and modelled after the dances of the present day."

The Walk-Around was mentioned usually in connection with the Breakdown or old fashioned Hoe-Down. The Walk Around was derived from the Ring-Shout and the Breakdown from the old challenge dances such as the Juba....

Charles Sherlock described the format of the Walk-Around and continued with a description of a Breakdown which sounds similar to that of the Juba.

The walk-around was always made the finale of the first part, and was usually repeated at the end of the show as a spectacle on which to drip the curtain. It was intended to be written in march-time, and to its spirited strains the whole company would circumnavigate the stage, in a dance-step that was little more than a jerky elevation of the legs below the knees, much like the "buck and wing" dances of the present day. It was as long ago as this-the walk-around being in highest state with the Bryant's Minstrels in the sixties- that the spatting of dance-time with the outspread palms on the knees was invented. To this manual accompaniment the breakdowns were often done. Cleverly executed, this tattoo will set the saltatorial nerves in motion as quickly as the catchiest tune."

****
Excerpt #2:
From http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3brkdwn.htm
"The Breakdown
The Break-Down was an African-American Slave dance that was popular around the Reconstruction-era of the 1880-90's. There are different versions of the breakdown and variations from one era to the next such as the Birmingham and Cincinnati breakdowns. The Breakdown was later mixed with other dances such as tap, Jazz and Swing dances. The dance has its roots in the Hornpipes, jigs, Strathspeys, and reels, Hoe-downs, Clogs etc.

In the Notebook "Jig, Clog and Breakdown Made Easy" by Wm. F. Bacon he states the "Plantation breakdown" as thus:
1st Breakdown STEP: "Jump on both feet crossed, then throw right foot as high as possible, at the same time hop on the left foot, (2 motions). Repeat it, leaving the right foot up in front. Then hop on left foot, bring the right down, tap it and carry it behind. Hop on left foot, (3 motions). Then make five taps quick, commencing with the right foot, which is crossed behind the left. This is the first part of the Breakdown step, and is repeated on the other foot, reversed. Then done again same as first time. Then make a Cross and five taps quick, moving forward and commencing with the right foot.

2nd Breakdown STEP: Shuffle right foot, hop on left, carry right foot behind and tap it firm (3 motions). Then hop on right foot, lift up left high and bring it down solid, (2 motions). Repeat it. Then hop on both feet together, jump up and strike the ankles together, bringing down the left foot first, then the right solid. Tap left foot, then spring, bringing the right foot down first, then the left. Then repeat all, commencing on the other foot, and reversing everything.

3rd Breakdown STEP: Tap left foot. Tap right, carrying it high in front, hop on left foot. Tap right, carrying it behind, hop on left foot, tap right, carrying it high in front, hop on left foot (7 motions). Shuffle right, hop on left, tap right, carrying behind.

Hop on left, tap right, hop on left, tap right, hop on left, tap right. Now repeat the whole, commencing on the other foot and reversing it. Then do it again same as first time, make a cross and three very firm taps, commencing with the right foot, with the feet wide apart.

The following Breakdown steps are to be done all together directly after the third step:-- Do the cross four times, reversing it each time, then bring the toes together with heels apart (1 motion). Then turn the left toe out, and at the same time carry the right far behind and across the left foot (2d motion). Then repeat it 3 or 7 times (reversing it each time), at the option of the performer. Tap left foot, shuffle right, tap right, tap left, slide back slightly on both feet (5 motions). Then repeat it a number of times, optional with the performer. Turn around on left foot, describing a circle with the right foot. Tap right, tap left, shuffle right.

Tap right foot, tap left. Then loop on left foot, at the same time slide the right in front and across the left foot. Then repeat it, commencing with the right foot, and reversing it all through. Then retire, jumping on both feet, with cap in hand, or any way that may suggest itself" (end notebook).

Basic Step for: The "Cincinnati Breakdown" (9/1927- Dance Magazine.) ...
Feet apart, Hop up and come down with one knee bent. Come up with short jerks. It is optional as to whether one or both knees are bent on coming down. This can be mixed with other movement to lengthen the dance.

Basic Step for: The "Down East Breakdown" (Music: Clog Dance.) ... Form as for Spanish Dance, except two couples face each other up and down the room. Eight hands round, all right and left--ladies chain--all forward and back, forward again and pass onto next couples (every other couple raise their hands while the others stoop and pass through then turn around at each end of the set."

****
Excerpt #3
From http://www.dictionary.com/browse/break-dancing

[Added Feb. 26, 2017; italics added to highlight that sentence]

"Word Origin and History for break dancing
n.
1982, but the style itself evolved late 1970s in South Bronx. The reference is to the rhythmic break in a pop-dance song (see break (n.)), which the DJs isolated and the dancers performed to. Breakdown "a riotous dance, in the style of the negroes" is recorded from 1864".

****
SHOWCASE VIDEO: Vintage Breakdown / Buck dance (Pickaninnys Edison 1903)



Sonny Watson Uploaded on Feb 22, 2013

an old Edison video short of three dancers doing a kinda pseudo Breakdown / Buck dance.
-snip-
The term "pickaninnys" is a referent for Black children and - in the case of this YouTube video-a referent for Black people in general. In both cases, I consider that word to be offensive whether intentionally or not.

****
BREAKAWAY DANCE STEP
From https://prezi.com/3sjohe1aepzz/history-of-dance/ History of Dance by Mary Caldarella on 21 December 2012 1
"The Breakaway dance originated in the mid to late 1920s in Harlem by primarily African American communities. The Breakaway was danced to jazz and developed from the Texas Tommy and the Charleston. This style of dance got its name because while dancing you literally must break away from your partner and improvise your own dance moves."
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-texas-tommy-early-20th-century.html for a pancocojams post on the Texas Tommy.

****
From http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3brkawy.htm
"The Break-A-Way ... (a Swing Dance) was originally a syncopated Two-step. The dancing couple would split or "breakaway" from each other still holding hands (open position) and perform a solo impromptu of the same rhythm/beat of the music and come back together again (closed position). The Break-Away was the name of swing before being named the Lindy Hop by Shorty George in 1927. The Breakaway was a cross between the "Texas Tommy, Two-step, Apache Dance, Turkey Trot, Cakewalk and Grizzly Bear.

Prior dances, with the exception of the Apache and Texas Tommy did not have sections that you "Broke-away" from your partner (or Danced in open position), they mainly danced in closed position...

The Break-Away was only danced by African-Americans at the time. Whites were just starting to find entertainment in Harlem and were not very fond of "Race Music" (the blues), they just were not quite ready to dance those "Negro Dances" of those (unfortunate) racially segregated times. It was mainly danced to slow to medium Ragtime music and Blues. Shorty George Snowden was the "King" of the Break-A-Way in the mid 1920's.

When the Charleston became popular in the 1920's, the Breakaway and Charleston merged, as Harlem grew, it to grew. The "Break-A-Way" was now ready to be called the "Lindy Hop" but would take a Newspaper, a Dance Contest (marathon dance actually,) a man named "Shorty George" Snowden and the "Savoy Ballroom" to do so in 1927/28.The Breakaway quickly lost a lot of the Turkey Trot and Grizzly bear, however the Texas Tommy, Charleston, Cakewalk and Apache remain in the Lindy Hop to this day!. The breakaway as a dance is no longer done today however. The Landler Dance of the 1720's also used a breakaway/ freestyle basic as a variation to the dance, it was almost described as a "solo Jam", done by the man.

Spellings used are Breakaway (most common), Break-away, Break-A-Way"

****
SHOWCASE VIDEO: Legend Shorty George Snowden dances the Charleston & Breakaway in After Seben (1929)



JazzMAD London, Published on Jan 20, 2016

Learn to dance like this with JazzMAD, the authentic swing and jazz dance academy in North London. Sign up for workshops and courses at:
www.jazzmad.co.uk

In this clip: George Snowden aka Shorty George, and his dancers from the Savoy Ballroom (Harlem, New York), dance in a faux contest to music by Chick Webb And His Orchestra, in the 1929 film "After Seben." The announcer, James Barton, also dances in an eccentric style.

George Snowden is the third leader to dance, the couple is announced as "Shorty Stumps & Liza Underdunk". No resources seem to list the real name of his partner. I'm always troubled by the way swing dance history remembers leaders and forgets followers. From my research, I believe this is Mattie Purnell, Shorty's partner during this period. There are references to George & Mattie being "the smallest pair on the floor", and Liza Underdunk certainly matches that description in this clip. Please comment if you have information otherwise!

This clip represents a transitional moment in the history of partnered jazz dancing. You can see each couple dancing the Charleston on its way in evolution to the Lindy Hop, with what we call the "Breakaway" in between (being the moment the dancers begin to break away from closed position, to Lindy Hop's signature open position). These are early "swingouts".

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.