Dance In The 1920s

All throughout human history, dance has played an important part in cultures around the world its purpose ranging from rituals to entertainment. As cultures grow and mature dance often reflects the movements and mood of the era. So how does dancing of the 1920’s reflect the cultural movements of the 1920s? Such as the changes in both the Women’s right and African Americans movements.
During the 20’s, a majority of the workforce was mostly strictly males professionals, although some women in previous years worked it never measured to that of a male’s job. The social shifts in the social environments with gaining the right to vote confused many males whose mindsets remanded in the traditional past roles of women in the home. However one of
the waves of feminism had recently pushed for greater equality in the home and society, gaining the right to vote in 1920. One of the products of the roaring 20’s was the culture of the Speakeasy where people would come together after a hard day at work. Speakeasies were also social meeting places for both men and women and gave birth to a new kind of social standard for women. For many modern women of the time, it became stylish to cut their skirts and bob their hair, this meant they had more physical freedom than the previous generation of women. This newfound physical freedom only added to the liberation of Women and helped created a new type of dancer called Flappers. Where the combination of breaking away from traditional social views with the use jazz music. With the dance crazes of the flappers, famous entertainment industry's such as Hollywood and Broadway tried to mirror the rapidly changing society. As Musical Theatre Heritage points out Broadway shows such as “Shuffle Along (1921), Runnin’ Wild (1923) and George White’s Scandals (1919-1926, 1928-1929) were instrumental in popularizing 1920s dance crazes.” Also, songs during this period became instructive, with lyrics for people to follow such as today’s “Cupid Shuffle”. This new found movement of women also broke down some racial barriers.
Dancing was also greatly influenced by African Americans and the Harlem Renaissance. Many African Americans during this time contributed largely to the Harlem renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance was a movement the promoted a new African American cultural identity, some of the notable things from this movement were dancing, visual arts, and jazz. What became known as the ‘Jazz Age’ helped further developed the contemporary dances of the time such as the Foxtrot, the Waltz, the Charleston, and Salsa dancing. These dance moves became widely spread social dance moves, often reflecting African American culture of the time. These dance moves also include swing, lindy hop, and the charleston. The development of Tap dancing also developed during this time, reflecting the early fractions during the slave trade. Most Slaveholders of the time were fearful of slave revolts, which resulted in banning all forms of communications between each other. However, African Americans still held their rational roots in rhythm, by moving beats to their feet. As All About Tap Dance mentions “The skill of tapping out complex rhythmic passages was widely developed, and a subtle, intricate and vital physical code of expression was
born.”

Social movements during the roaring 20’s, can also be seen reflected in the dancing styles of the time. Such as the flapper’s and African American culture can be seen in the dance moves of musical theater today.