Breakdancing History

From the 1930’s to the 1950’s musical films and stage shows served to distract people from the effect of the Great Depression and the second World War and give light hearted, feel good movies which succeeded tap dance soared and hit great popularity. This light heartedness is demonstrated with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers duo showing nothing but fun ( ourmarvellousworld, 2011 . Big studios featured tap dancers such as Twentieth Century- Fox having the Nicholas Brothers, Betty Grable and Dan Dailey; MGM having Gene Kelly and Vera-Ellen and Warner Brothers having Gene Nelson and

realities of the world as people put their heart and soul in playing, listening, and dancing

Modern dance was created as a rebellion against the prevalent dance forms of the time, ballet and Vaudeville. It is a form of theatrical dance, known for its continual fusion of non-western style and ideas, which allows for a fresh source of movement inspiration. Choreographers rejected what they classified as the inflexible and imperialistic nature of ballet, and in order to be taken seriously as artists rather than simple entertainers they created a new art form. Artists Loie Fuller, Isadora Duncan, and Ruth St. Denis are considered to be the pioneers of modern dance in America. Dance is a social institution, recognized as being an important function in civilized life. The following essay will focus on the theory and work of artist Isadora Duncan, while incorporating lecture notes and articles of both authors Sally Bane and Ann Daly to explain the historical situations that culminated in the development of early modern dance. Arising from the 20th century modern dance was a form of cultural collaboration and exploration, as well as a resistance to colonial repression. Modern dance allowed for the experimentation of the new as well as a freer form of dance movement. Choreographers drew on exotic sources, and example of this illustrated in the work of Isadora Duncan with her use of Greek culture as a movement inspiration. Artists act as both the choreographer and performer creating their own conventions, or dance language.

On Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 8pm, I took a trip to the Public Playhouse located in Cheverly, Maryland to witness the “World Dance Showcase”. The “World Dance Showcase” was comprised of six different dances. However, I decided to focus solely on the dance titled “Night in an English Village Pub” that was performed by Charm City Rapper Sword Dancers. This dance was performed by Sindee Ernst, Miriam Hack, Jack Hemler, Rhonda Keilholtz, Kappy Laning, Megan Philippi, Laura Robertson, Joe Shelby, Alexandra Sjaardo, and Jerry Stein and accompanied by traditional tunes that were played by Cyd Shelby. The movements stemmed from traditional figures by Laura Robertson and clogging steps by Anna Marley. The Charm City Rapper Sword Dancers are stationed in Baltimore, MD but are based on a ritual English dance company. The swords that they employ in their dance were derived from a coal-mining instrument. In total, there were ten performers all of which who were White Americans, mainly woman, and above the age of 40.

Modern dance has converted into the contemporary movements that teenagers and adults use to dance when they are in a certain event. But who were some of the pioneers that created this gestures? Throughout this essay I am going to talk about two of them, Martha Graham and Jose Limon who are the 20th century’s innovative artists in our dance culture. Her name is Martha Graham and is considered as “the mother of the modern dance”.

Unlike most types of music and dance, breakdancing has a relatively short history. In fact, the generation consisting of today’s youth is the first generation to not know a world without hip-hop or breakdancing. Breakdancing is thought to have been heavily influenced by a Russian folk-dance in Brazil known as the Frevo, which was a combination of martial arts and marching. It is believed that this dance was invented 500 years ago by African slaves working in Brazil. What made this dance so attractive to the African slaves was that it allowed the participants to get away with fighting. The Frevo, which later became known as the Capoeira, would in essence, be a battle between dancers, however when a guard came near the performance it would

Whether it be Singin’ in the Rain or Dirty Dancing, American Bandstand to Club MTV or even Walk this Way to Thriller the change of dance is heavily noticed. From dancing in longer skirts to miniskirts, the media and art of dancing has changed. Dance clearly shows the change in media history, as through every new form of media introduced some way to show dance is made clearly visible. Dance and the media are two things that will never leave culture, especially

Dancing is a form of visual expression through creative body and space movements as old as the ancient Romans. While it may seem easy to dance, it takes real effort to learn to perform a dance, and its success depends on the use of the five elements of dance. In viewing two dances from the TV series “So you Think you Can Dance”, I got a perspective of how judges would critique dances based on how their use of elements correlated with the type of dance style. I discovered that although I enjoy the open style of jazz dances, Sabra and Neil’s dance to “Sweet Dreams” left me some negative impressions on jazz dances. Instead, Neil and Kent’s dance to “How it Ends” impressed me with how the elements were used to change the face of contemporary art

The evolution of dance in the 1980’s ranged from various forms of dancing styles. This included Breaking Dancing, Moon Walking and Hip Hop just to name a few. During this period, Michael Jackson, also know as the king of pop made significant contributions to music and dance. This helped to make him a global figure in pop culture. His style of dancing was also a major social influence during this period, especially through the launch of music videos. The information discussed in this essay will review the significant social impact of dancing styles during the 1980’s.

Through the years tap dancing styles evolved, some of theses new styles were Buck dancing, Soft-Shoe dancing and Buck-and-Wing dancing. Buck dancing is a type of dance that is similar but older than clog dancing, Soft-Shoe dancing is a relaxed, graceful dance done in soft-soled shoes which was popular in many vaudeville acts. Buck-and-Wing dancing is a fast and flashy dance, which is combined with Irish clogging styles, high kicks and complex African rhythms. In one of these vaudeville shows a famous pair came to rise, they were called “Buck and Bubbles”. John “Bubbles” Sublett was a tap dancer while Ford “Buck” Washington was the pianist. They both appeared in the Ziegfeld Follies and were the first black artists to appear at the Radio City Music Hall. John “Bubbles” Sublett is known as the father of rhythm tap. This type of style focuses on musicality and has a jazz tradition in its movement.

Thirty years ago, a boy named Albert Boyce caught the attention of his peers while performing some of his original dance moves during halftime of their neighborhood basketball games (Gregory 1). “He would dance, and twist his shoulders” around, said Kia Gregory, creating a dance style many had not seen before. Albert’s friends said that his moves reminded them of a “drunken shake,” with flailing arm movements and a wide range of motion in the legs (Dougan, Fitzgerald 1). People were intrigued by his dance style because it felt more spontaneous and wild compared to anything they had seen before. Years later, a group called the “Crazy Boyz” took some of Al. B.’s moves and made them more appealing to the general public (Gregory 1). They created multiple YouTube clips, which generated popularity of these dance moves. They would help artists choreograph music videos, borrowing some of Al. B.’s spastic arm and leg movements. Mass media helped these music videos race to the top popularity charts, introducing everyone to a new and more freestyle dance.

Allan Ulrich states, “These dancers leap, roll and congeal in unison in a way that recalls Paul Taylor (nothing to be ashamed of there) and several of the dancers have studied ballet. The center of the performers’ gravity keeps shifting and the effect keeps you alert.” (2015) Modern dance is performed once Abraham and the other dancer come together at the start of the piece. They preform synchronized jumps to the slow blues music and then the change in movement leads to one dancer arresting the other. This change in music also brings on a change in movement, two dancers walk forward together while lifting their right hands up, followed by a hip hop inspired “pop” movement, from their chests. They then lift both arms to the air in a “hands up” motion before showing their hands empty when by their pockets which I took away that they were proving their innocence once again which they perform in unity. Time after time modern movements show the dancers swaying joyfully together with spins, jumps and big, flowing, whole-bodied movements while the hip hop inspired movements are usually quiet small but convey negative

African music and dance invited me to take a thrilling journey this past semester. A journey from surprise to skepticism, then from acceptance to appreciation. From the beginning of the semester up till now, the way I have looked at African music and dance has changed and changed, with characteristics varying and twisting about, occasional nuances becoming essential features, and music and dance eventually becoming inseparable. This new understanding that I have of such a deep-rooted yet underestimated subject in American history and culture has truly prompted me to look at all types of music and dance from a new angle. But despite all that I’ve learned about African music and dance throughout this course, we have mainly looked at the the

In 2008, the movie “Slum dog Millionaire” inspired a new dance craze, quickly spreading across the globe. Due to the movies, popular hit song, “Jai Ho” and the famous choreographed dance shown in a memorable performance during the closing credits of the film, known as Bollywood dance, has exploded into dance studios, workout facilities, and films worldwide. For decades, the infusion of song and dance has been a vital element of the Indian and Hindu film industry. Bollywood dance is not an easy topic to discuss because it does not have exact history, definition, or style associated with it. However, it still is a recognizable dance form,

So for eight months I’ve been learning the skills of hip hop and breakdancing by going to at a hip hop club at every week where I learned the basic skills of breaking like how to top-rock and six-step. B-boying is a form of hip hop dancing which is popularly known as breaking. It consists of top or up rock, footwork, spinning moves (power moves), and freeze. B-boying came from Bronx, NY. The term "B-boy" or "B-boying" was created