Breakdancing History

“Stripping the Emperor: The Africanist Presence in American Concert Dance”, and excerpt from Moving History/Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader, was written by Brenda Dixon Gottschild. Gottschild is a well-known author, dance historian, performer, and choreographer as well as a professor of dance studies at Temple University. She has also written multiple books including The Black Dancer Body, Waltzing in the Dark, and Digging. In her article “Stripping the Emperor: The Africanist Presence in American Concert Dance”, Gottschild explores the similarities and differences in the characteristics of Africanist and European technique, and how they draw from each other.

Tap dance is an uniquely American dance form. The percussive use of one’s feet combined with the use of rhythms and amplification of sound, has a complex history that involves the intercultural fusions of English, Irish and African musical and dance traditions. The evolution of tap dance in America is further complicated by issues of race, class and gender. Unlike ballet with its formal technique, tap dance emerged from people listening to and watching each other dance, in a variety of settings, where steps were shared, stolen and reinvented. Through its metamorphosis the dance form has progressed from local entertainment, to Vaudeville shows, to Broadway shows, to the Silver Screen and to Concert Halls across the world. The legacy of the art form is characterized by the rise, fall and reemergence of popularity. Savion Glover, a 21st century American dancer, is credited with bringing tap into a new era of popularity as he has wowed the masses with his unique style focusing on African American rhythms. Tap dance, uniquely American in that it is a true melting pot of dance forms, is a dance form rich in rhythms, sounds and amplifications and has transcended social and cultural barriers.

Capoeira is the mixture of martial art, fighting and dance. It's been created by African slaves brought to Brazil and their descendents.

Single swing is one kind of swing dance that developed with the swing style kind of jazz music in the 1920s-1940s. “Swing” refers to a style of jazz music where the emphasis is on the off-beat part in the music and it influenced the evolution of swing dance because the feeling of the dance was “swinging”. It uses a strong rhythm section that results in more wind and brass instruments. Swing bands also featured soloists who improvised during their performance. Sometimes two or three band members even improvised at the same time. But, not everyone liked swing music and the wild dancing that went with it. This kind of wild dancing includes a mix of tap, Charleston, and improvisation. But, different kinds of swing dance were created as a result

“Stripping the Emperor: The Africanist Presence in American Concert Dance”, an excerpt from Moving History/Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader, was written by Brenda Dixon Gottschild. Gottschild is a well-known author, dance historian, performer, and choreographer as well as a professor of dance studies at Temple University. She has also written multiple books including The Black Dancer Body, Waltzing in the Dark, and Digging. In her article “Stripping the Emperor: The Africanist Presence in American Concert Dance”, Gottschild explores the similarities and differences in the characteristics of Africanist and European technique, and how they draw from each other.

As Bame once said, “In dancing, each one finds themselves in ecstatic harmony with other participants, it heightens their sense of belonging and attachment and thereby generates social solidarity among them and the entire community”(40). Ultimately, African music and dance is a relationship that can’t be broken apart. It has been a huge part in life where everybody comes together within their communities and grow together socially and

The inner city areas were comprised of almost only African Americans with similar struggles and oppressed lifestyles. Krumping, and dance groups in general, served as an outlet for those with similar interests and ethnicities to come together and fight against their struggles. Within their African communities, dancers were able to battle for status and authority on the streets. Krump dance, still today, has been given an “underground status,” even though it has become a widely celebrated form of social dance because of its Black roots (Zanfagna, pg. 342). Krumping is considered to be “low art” because it is performed on the streets and by a lower social class, lacking any form of technical training. Recently, there has been some evolution in the Krumping community and there is a major annual Krump battle held in L.A. named the Battle Zone. The battle showcases competition for an audience and there are actual winners and losers. This is still a form of low art because of its relationship to low class and the African American race as opposed to structured European forms of

Originating during the late 60’s early 70’s, this new style of dance was about to revolutionize the industry and the sport known as dancing. Popping up from around the Bronx, during one of the most violent times in New York’s History,

“It started, some say, back in 1969 with James Brown releasing Get on the Good Foot. The physical panache with which Brown performed inspired fans to develop imitations. What started out as a street/club dance called The Good Foot rapidly spawned a whole genre called b-boy dance, aka break-boy, aka breakdance. ”(Mackrell, Judith). Mackrell also mentions that in the Bronx ghettos of New York, organized rival gangs or crews to compete in dance combats.

The origins of jazz music and dance are found in the rhythms and movements brought to America by African slaves. The style of African dance is earthy; low, knees bent, pulsating body movements emphasized by body isolations and hand-clapping. As slaves forced into America, starting during the 1600’s, Africans from many cultures were cut off from their families, languages and

The Fox Trot Approaching the 20th century it was hard to pick just one topic to write on. Since I did not have a good understanding on what the Fox Trot was or how it originated, I decided to dig into some research. After spending some time I had found that the Fox Trot was one of the most famous dances at this particular time.

After viewing their performance, I immediately detected two important components associated with the breakdancing culture. The first aspect I noticed was how much the audience contributes to the progression of the performance. I felt like whenever the audience began to get loud and applaud, the performers would be more motivated to continue their dancing. In other words, it seemed like the performers seemed to draw their energy from

Sarah Fryman Smolinski with 24 years of dance experience, began dance training in 1994 in Phoenix, Arizona. Joined the Greater Phoenix Swing Dance Club (GPSDC) 1995 and fell in love with West Coast Swing Dance. Competed in the GPSDC Jack & Jill contests 1996 and began formal dance teachers training under Atlas Griffith Phoenix, AZ. Entered the Novice couple's division competition's in United Country Western Dance Council (UCWDC) doing all the ballroom dances during 1997. Winner of the 1997 “Marlboro Country Nights Dance Showdown” Phoenix, AZ, dancing the Waltz, West Coast Swing and 2-Step. Placed 2nd in Novice division West Coast Swing Jack & Jill “World Expo” Las Vegas, NV 1998. Won a 1st place in West Coast Swing and a 2nd place in Progressive

The history of choreography is also very important Any choreography that seems new, fresh and different is usually a variation of something that has been done before. As long as men and women have lived upon this earth, they have danced. The art of movement is among the oldest of the arts.

Tap dancing involves the moving of the feet that include shoes that have metal taps at the bottom. According to Ambrosio, tap dancing originated from a blend of the English clog with the Negro Shuffle (132). During slavery, the slaveholders were often worried that the slaves were communicating during their rhythms through drum beating. Slaves often communicated through music and songs. Slaves eventually began to communicate through the rhythm of their feet instead (Holmes 1). People were not aware of tap dancing until