Chapter 5

1. Chapter 5 Rhythms That Dance

2. Dance Traditions in America • Social diversion and creative/athletic art form • Irish Ceili & Step-Dancing • Irish settlers’ music influenced American folk music • Jigs: triple meter with up-and-down movement • Reels: duple meter with weaving movement • Ceili: Scottish and Irish social dances • Step-dancing: close-to-ground footwork; beats rhythm to music with feet (called clogging in Vaudeville shows)

3. Dance Traditions in America (cont.) • Mexican-American Conjunto Dances • Tradition in American Southwest • Texan-Mexicans influenced by European neighbors to create tejano and conjunto music • Uses duple polka rhythm • Button accordian, bajo sexto, electric bass guitar, & drum set • Spanish lyrics sung in close harmony

4. Dance Traditions in America (cont.) • Hawaiian Hula • Popularity grew with Hawaii entertainment industry starting in 1950s • Accompanied by ukulele (4-stringed guitarlike instrument) and ipu heke (idiophone created from two gourds) • Hula kahiko: ancient hula developed thousands of years ago by original Polynesian settlers • Mele: poetry in physical form; interpreted by body movements/gestures; Family histories, life stories, history narratations • Ho’opa’a: chanters and instrumentalists

5. Classical Dance • Ballet • Western classical dance; roots in European court dances (Italy and France) during 16th Century • Danced as part of royal pageants; told stories in many scenes • Basics established during reign of Louis XIV in France with state-supported academies • Russia played big role in creation and proliferation of ballet in 19th Century • The Nutcracker is the most frequently performed Christmas ballet in North America

6. Classical Dance (cont.) • Ballet Breaks New Ground • Ballets Russes: Russian ballet company formed in Paris by Sergei Diaghilev • 1913: Vaslav Nijinsky choreographed The Rite of Spring based on music by Igor Stravinsky • Based on prehistoric Russian history with pagan storyline • Music and dance broke all conventional rules of French ballet • French patrons broke out in a riot during premiere • The Rite of Spring now central modernist work

7. Classical Dance (cont.) • Theatrical Dance • Late 19th/early 20th century minstrel shows, operettas, and vaudeville shows • Standard in Broadway musicals, such as West Side Story • Modern-day version of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet • Dances embody story’s plot • Jerome Robbins choreographed dances to Leonard Bernstein’s music (jazz to convey youth) • Dances depict tension between gangs; Latin American dance rhythms used in Sharks’ choreography

8. Popular Dance & the Youth Culture • 20th Century social trend of teens developing new dances and their parents disapproving of them • Charleston • Hot jazz; youthful rebellion against anything old-fashioned; shift away from couple dancing toward individual expression • Charleston dance iconic of Jazz Age • Introduced in African American musical Runnin’ Wild; danced to tune “Charleston” by James P. Johnson

9. Popular Dance & the Youth Culture (cont.) • Tap Dancing • African American roots (combination of rhythmic African dancing with Irish step dancing) • Feet percussive instruments that improvise complex rhythms • “Buck and Wing” syncopated tap style evolved with ragtime (made famous by African American Bill “Bojangles” Robinson) • Racial prejudice limited dancing roles in Hollywood to mostly white dancers like Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, and Ginger Rodgers • Current tap dancers include Gregory Hines and Savion Glover

10. Popular Dance & the Youth Culture (cont.) • Lindy Hop • Great Depression ended the Jazz Age • African Americans from Harlem danced at Savoy Ballroom • Bands led by Count Basie and Duke Ellington developed new jazz style called swing; dancers developed Lindy hop to dance to new musical style • Breakaway: Lindy hop feature where dance partners separate and improvise for a few measures before coming back together

11. Popular Dance & the Youth Culture (cont.) • The Latin Influence • Latin American (especially Cuban) dances became popular in 1930s and 1940s • Catchy rhythms, easy and fun to learn • Latin American and Carribean music have roots in African music • Syncopated rhythms, improvised drumming, variety of percussion instruments • Tango and Samba

12. Popular Dance & the Youth Culture (cont.) • Rock and Roll • Radically change the course of popular music • Blend of Rhythm & Blues (R&B), Country, and Gospel music genres • Small ensemble combos with strong backbeat • Disc jockey Alan Freed named genre “rock and roll” • Elvis Presley considered “king” of rock and roll; first popularized with national television appearances; dance moves emphasizing pelvis and legs had long been a feature of African American dance styles

13. Popular Dance & the Youth Culture (cont.) • visual nature of dance fits television and film • TV channels such as BET, MTV, and CMT • Films such as Flashdance, Footloose, and Saturday Night Fever • Disco • Mix of R&B, gospel, soul, and Latin dance music • Short for discotheque, meaning record library • Usually from recordings instead of live bands • Creation of new profession in dance clubs: the DJ • Resurgence of partner dancing

14. Conjunto – a dance music created by Mexicans in Texas Ballet – refined style of classical dance emphasizing the verticality of the body, and outward rotation of the legs with fluid foot and leg work Mambo – type of ballroom dance that originated in Cuba Cha-cha – rhythmic Latin American dance with the basic pattern of three steps and a shuffle Charleston – an athletic dance that includes kicks and inward leg rotations on syncopated beats of the music Ch. 5 Vocabulary

15. Tap dancing – step dance in which foot movements produce audible rhythms emphasized by small metal plates on the soles of the dancer’s shoes Lindy hop – jazzy dance in which couples swing, balance, and twirl Tango – Latin American dance performed at a moderately slow walk-like tempo in 4/4 meter Samba – African-Brazilian dance that is faster and jazzier than the tango Ch. 5 Vocabulary (cont.)