Part Three: The Roaring Twenties

This is part three of a series of articles charting highlights of partner dancing in the twentieth century. It was originally commissioned and published by Vintage Life Magazine, December 2015* with a new article following each month for each subsequent decade.

Flapper image thanks to ecaillou-bordeaux.com

The roaring of engines and bandstands, the raising of hemlines and haircuts: the 1920s had arrived! 

Think of dance in the 1920s and I’ll wager it won’t be long before you picture ‘The Charleston’. Charleston came into it’s own during this decade and to this day is hugely popular with party planners and party goers alike!

Want to try it? Stand tall with your feet shoulder width apart. Swing or kick your right leg forward, but don’t step down, rather swing it back to step back onto it. Then swing or kick your left leg behind you, then swing it forward and step onto it. If you do this at 2 beats per kick, it should take you 8 beats to get back to the start. Add your arms in front of you, moving side to side like windscreen wipers and you’ll look like a 1920s Flapper or Dapper Gent in no time!

By the end of January 1920, Prohibition - outlawing the sale of alcohol in the USA - had been in force for a year. Bitter territorial disputes between gangs making and distributing illicit alcohol continued. Both rich and poor alike looked for live music, dance and merriment. The age of the ‘Speakeasy’ was underway. Lavish ‘password protected’ nightclubs started in secret locations across the larger cities. The less affluent threw ‘rent parties’ where a modest entry fee allowed access to music and space for dancing and the ‘host’ could then pay their rent.

The Iconic Savoy Ballroom opened on March 12th 1926 in Harlem. Spanning an entire block from 140th to 141st Street on Lenox Avenue, it became synonymous with big band swing music and amazing nights of dancing. One of the first racially-integrated public places in the USA, The Savoy was billed as the "World's finest ballroom,". It’s said that as many as 700,000 guests visited every year. Downtown visitors were met by hostesses who would teach them dance steps. The going rate was ‘a dime a dance’.  It’s elongated dancefloor was dubbed  "The Track" and became home to many a ‘dance-off!'

Thanks to Jazz Lives blog

As the post-Ragtime pop music starts to really swing, it merits a new form of movement, and the Swing era begins. The most famous of all the Swing dances is Lindy Hop, purportedly named after Charles Lindbergh's solo flight or ‘hop’ across the Atlantic in 1927. You can find the most famous clip of Lindy if you look up ‘Hellzapoppin’ online. The jaw dropping lifts and aerials in the film’s dance scene were performed by ‘Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers’, a troupe of young and talented dancers managed by Herbert White (aka Whitey). Lindy Hop continues to thrive to this day thanks to the dedication of dancers such as Frankie Manning & Norma Miller. More on their huge contribution next month! It was also boosted more recently in a continual and consistent revival nudged along by films like ‘Swing Kids’, The 1998 'Khaki Swing' Gap advert and of course Strictly....

Last month we featured dance crazes of the 1910s, some of which endured such as The ‘Camel Walk’, and those that enjoyed a less popular fate, such as ‘The Grizzly Bear’ . The 1920s saw it’s own succession of dance fads, and it's generally agreed that the environment at The Savoy led the way for many of them. Given the stunning live music on offer, the dancers couldn’t help but be inspired. Many of the dances we have already covered before saw variations and fusions of existing dances.

Digital scan of the floor plan of the Savoy Ballroom from the New York Public Library Digital Collection

Looking out across "The Track" you would have seen The Peabody, The Waltz, One Step, Two Step, Tango, Rhumba and Ballroomin’ Blues (more on that next month). Solo dancers would do Soft Shoe Shuffle, Tap, Solo Blues (typically to the slower jazz) and what we now refer to as ‘Jazz Steps’ (typically to the more uptempo numbers). These are rhythmic, whole-body solo movements; sometimes simple, sometimes complex.

On the west coast in the crowded Ballrooms of San Francisco and Bay Area, the dancers enjoyed much less space, and so created a dance that was much more economical: Balboa. Named after the peninsula, dancers were occasionally fined if they strayed too far apart! We will delve further into Balboa next month as we go forward into the 1930s.

When planning your next 1920s theme party take time to watch ‘The Aviator’, ‘Gatsby’ or ‘Downton Abbey’ to soak up the fashions and hairstyles. Play some ‘Pee Wee Hunt’ or ‘George Gershwin’ whilst you research vintage cocktails and practice your Charleston. Time taken to look up Art Deco design will not disappoint!

Thanks to New York Film Academy

Better still, get up on your Happy Feet and take a local Lindy hop or Charleston class yourself and wow your friends and family with some stylish new moves!

Velody helps you maximise your comfort and fun on the dance floor.
She curates many vintage dance events, including the Cotton City Blues festival:

*This article was originally printed in Vintage Life Magazine, December 2015. Most previous editions are now SOLD OUT so subscribe to this blog to get more dancing through the decades straight to your inbox!