Swing Dance Papers

Sally Banes is an American writer and dance historian and critic. She is also a professor of theater history and dance studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Banes has written multiple books and contributed to many documentaries and films. The book Moving History / Dancing Cultures, which Banes contributed to, includes the article “Choreographic Methods of the Judson Dance Theater”. This book was published in 2001.

One of the primary ways in which Tap, swing and jazz dance deviate completely from ballet are how the styles organically developed into social dances. Ballet started as a social court dance however at it’s inception was segregated from it’s roots as something purely performative. Jazz dance forms on the other hand such as tap dance kept many of the swing vernaculars which created them in their performance. That is to say that when watching a tap dancer perform on stage (with a traditional deportment) and then watching a swing dancer in a dance hall, one can see the similarities in movement qualities and even certain steps (such as the “shim sham” or “Attack Annies”). From this it can be argued that Tap dancers (as well as all vernacular jazz dancers of the day) question what dance is by keeping its social roots alive even after it had transitioned onto the stage. The fact that tap dance was a part of the vernacular dance of the day (and still had a casual culture about it) allowed that the Nicholas Brothers to learn to dance without ever taking a class (Frank 67). Where as a ballet dancer may spend long hours training at the bar and in class Fayard Nicholas learned to tap dance purely through watching

By the time President Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germany and its allies, the World War I had already been raging for four years (Doenecke, 2010, p. 1). Prior to this declaration of war, America had tried to remain neutral, while Germany, Autria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria waged war against Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Rumania, and Japan. Many of these belligerents joined the war at various times during this four year period, so the war continued to expand during this four year period. Wilson and a significant percentage (49%) of the American public had wanted to stay out of this conflict as possible when it first started (Doenecke, 2010, p. 20), but a series of events forced America's hand.

During the early 20s to late 30s “Swing” dancing and music quickly became popular across America. The swing era was about dancing, without dancing there would have been no swing era. According to the video “Swing Thing” people thought said Swing was labeled as dangerous music white adults thought that it made you have sex with people. Swing has thrown up some of the most iconic stars of the 20th century. With people like Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, and George Gershwin, this music style developed into one of the catchiest and most popular style of the mid 1900s. Even though that was more than 70 years ago, Swing continues to influence modern music today. The catchy beats, improvisation, and scat are all still a huge part of modern Jazz

One thing that contributed to the popularity of dancing in the 1920s is how universally simple they made the dances. If these dances would have been harder to learn, not as many people would have been doing them. Many people know that, during the “Jazz Age, almost everyone danced so they did a dance almost anyone could do”(Nelson). When Billie Putman was growing up, there were dances every weekend at the big auditorium in the middle of town. Everyone in her small town would show up to dance. She remembered going to the dances with her mom to help her serve refreshments downstairs, while most of the town was upstairs dancing. If dancing was so popular in such a small town in Idaho, it’s unimaginable how influential it must have been in big cities(Nelson).

Swing can be traced back to a style called Dixieland jazz which was created by African American musicians in the later 1920’s in New Orleans. It became the most popular and a successful kind of music during the 1930’s, being played by band leaders such as Duke Ellington, Jimmie Lunceford, Bennie Moten, Cab Calloway and Fletcher Henderson. The instruments found in a swing band are very similar to the instruments found in a jazz band. Both contain a brass section that have trumpet and trombone, a rhythm section with bass, piano and drums and a wind section with saxophone and clarinet. But the swing band very occasionally used the string section unlike jazz bands.

Swing is the jazz from 1935 to 1945 usually known as the swing era. Swing is the feeling created by rhythmic contrast within a rhythmic framework usually involving a walking bass and steady rhythm on the drummer’s ride cymbal. Swing music is the kind of jazz played by Big Bands and characterized by lively rhythms for dancing. This is music associated with Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller band played

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,

Pbs.com Ken Burns states that just like all music jazz went through it trial era of music. The swing era was very popular through the early 1930’s into the late 1940’s. The swing style type of music consist of large number of band member featuring at least three to four saxophones, two or three trumpets, two to three trombones, a piano guitar and a bass violin. Not including the lead vocalist of the groups. Swinging was a life style that lifted anyone

My personal aesthetic in the terms of dance extends far beyond mentioning what I like and what I dislike. It unfolds the layers of my personality, my style, and my past experiences. I tend to think of aesthetics in the form of a jigsaw puzzle. Within a puzzle there are hundreds of important pieces that fit together to make a grand image and each puzzle piece requires a process of development and self-discovery. My aesthetic puzzle pieces include confidence, vulnerability, dynamic, high energy, illusion, and emotional connection. Most of my aesthetic is initiated by personal preference or a significant event in my life, but I will start with the foundation of my dance training first. I was raised in the dance studio where I regularly practiced ballet, jazz, tap, musical theatre, and contemporary. I was blessed to have the opportunity to explore multiple genres of dance at a young age and as a result of this, I began my aesthetic development with a very versatile palette of movements and interpretations.

In my personal opinion, "swing dance" was activity that "swing kids" just out to have a good time at the first time, but after it changed as resistance movement. The Swing Kids could prefer to speak to each other in English rather than German as English was felt to be more "cool. In this context, they could do the swing movements. However, for Nazis, Swing Youth seemed to be an illegal association of youths opposed to the Party and state. Also, the fact that Swing Youth continued the movement in spite of regulation can be interpreted as that it might be the way of resistance. Some people think that just mannerisms, clothing styles, and non-German style did not mean resistance to Nazi regime and was just for their good time. I think, though,

Although somewhat ironic, the Swing Era all started with something depressing and negative. The entertainment and the political worlds are correlated to one another. While financial was dropping rapidly for many Americans, they look for something to fill that stress and burden, and that something was music; some might even say this era was a new beginning, especially to the minorities (Schuller 5). Swing music is a branched of Jazz music that became popular after the World War II; however, there isn’t a definite definition for swing music itself. Benny Goodman, an American jazz clarinetist and known as the “King of Swing”,” quoted swing as “something difficult to explain like the Mona’s Lisa smile…

Jazz dance originated from the African American vernacular dance from the late 1800’s when slaves needed an emotional and physical outlet (Guarnino and Oliver). The slave trade had begun and the slaves were allowed dance on the boats, as it was to keep the slaves fit for their journey to North America. The slave owners took interest in this type of dance (Guarnino and Oliver). They then integrated their European jigs with the music and movement of the African culture (Guarnino and Oliver). Africans primarily focused on the rhythms and the movement of the torso and the Europeans focused on the harmony and the folk dance (Guarnino and Oliver). Jazz dance is blended with tap and musical theatre. It has exciting body movements, percussion techniques, tap steps, and ballet. New forms of jazz dance evolved as different types of music were coming out such as the Charleston, swing, Caribbean reggae, and hip-hop (Guarnino and Oliver).

Swing was the dominant idiom of the 1930s and much of the 1940s. Basically, it was a form of dance music played by a large band, and was the medium through which most white Americans first heard Jazz (Schuller,1989). Although the decade 1935-45 was called the Swing Era, swing arrangements had been played by large bands beginning in the 1920s. Bandleader-arrangers Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, and, later, Count Basie, worked out arrangements for their 10 to 12 piece bands, which, unlike traditional jazz bands, were divided into instrumental sections.

The varieties of jazz dance reflect the diversity of American culture. Jazz dance mirrors the social history of the American people, reflecting ethnic influences, historic events, and cultural changes. Jazz dance has been greatly influenced by social dance and popular music. But, like so much that is “from America”, the history of jazz dance begins somewhere else.