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Example research essay topic: Dance Floor West Coast - 1,153 words

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The history of Swing dates back to the 1920 s, where the black community, while dancing to contemporary Jazz music, discovered the Charleston and the Lindy Hop. On March 26, 1926, the Savoy Ballroom opened its doors in New York. The Savoy was an immediate success with its block-long dance floor and a raised double bandstand. Nightly dancing brought in most of the best dancers in the New York area. Really being moved by the presence of great dancers and the best black bands, music at the Savoy was largely Swinging Jazz. One evening in 1926, right after Lindberghs flight to Paris, a local dance enthusiast named Shorty George Snowden was watching some of the dancing couples and muttered Look at them kids hoppin over there.

I guess theyre doin the Lindy Hop. In the mid 1930 s, a bouncy six beat variant was named the Jitterbug by the band leader Cab Calloway when he introduced a tune in 1934 entitled Jitterbug. With the discovery of the Lindy Hop and the Jitterbug, the communities began dancing to the contemporary Jazz and Swing music as it was evolving at the time, with Benny Goodman leading the action. Dancers soon incorporated tap and jazz steps into their dancing. In the mid 1930 s, Herbert White, head bouncer in the New York City Savoy Ballroom, formed a Lindy Hop dance troupe called Whiteys Lindy Hoppers.

The Hoppers were showcased in the a couple of movies: A Day at the Races, Hellzapoppin, Sugar Hill Masquerade, and Killer Diller. In 1938, the Harvest Moon Ball included Lindy Hop and Jitterbug competition for the first time. It was captured on film and presented for everyone to see in the Paramount, Page, and Universal movie newsreels between 1938 and 1951. In early 1938, Dean Collins arrived in Hollywood. He learned to dance the Lindy Hop, Jitterbug, Lindy and Swing in New York City and spent a lot of time in Harlem and the Savoy Ballroom. Between 1941 and 1960, Collins danced in, or helped choreograph over 100 movies which provided at least a 30 second clip of some of the best California white dancers performing Lindy Hop, Jitterbug, Lindy and Swing.

In the late 1930 s and through the 1940 s, the words Lindy Hop, Jitterbug, Lindy, and Swing were used interchangeably by the news media to describe the same style of dancing taking place on the streets, in the night clubs, in contests, and in the movies. By the end of 1936, the Lindy was sweeping the United States. As might be expected, the first reaction of most dancing teachers to the Lindy was a chilly negative. In 1936 Philip Not, president of the American Society of Teachers of Dancing, expressed the opinion that swing would not last beyond the winter. In 1938 Donald Grant, president of the Dance Teachers Business Association, said that swing music is a degenerated form of jazz, whose devotees are the unfortunate victims of economic instability. In 1942 members of the New York Society of Teachers of Dancing were told that the jitterbug (almost just like the Lindy Hop), could no longer be ignored.

Its cavorting's could be refined to suit a crowded dance floor. The dance schools such as The New York Society of Teachers and Arthur Murray, did not formally begin documenting or teaching the Lindy Hop, Jitterbug, Lindy, and Swing until the early 1940 s. The ballroom dance community was more interested in teaching the foreign dances such as the Argentine Tango, Spanish Paso Do, Brazilian Samba, Puerto Rican Merengue, Cuban Mambo and Cha Cha, English Quickstep, Austrian Waltz, with an occasional American Fox-trot and Peabody In the early 1940 s the Arthur Murray studios looked at what was being done on the dance floors in each city and directed their teachers to teach what was being danced in their respective cities. As a result, the Arthur Murray Studios taught different styles of undocumented Swing in each city. In the early 1940 s, Laure Haile, as a swing dancer and competitor, documented what she saw being danced by the white community. At that time, Dean Collins was leading the action with Lenny Smith and Lou Southern in the night clubs and competitions in Southern California.

Laure Haile gave it the name of Western Swing. She began teaching for Arthur Murray in 1945. Dean Collins taught Arthur Murray teachers in Hollywood and San Francisco in the late 1940 s and early 1950 s. After the late 1940 s, the soldiers and sailors returned from overseas and continued to dance in and around their military bases. Jitterbug was danced to Country-Western music in Country-Western bars, and popularized in the 1980 s. As the music changed between the 1920 s and 1990 s, (Jazz, Swing, Bop, Rock n Roll, Rhythm &# 038; Blues, Disco, Country), the Lindy Hop, Jitterbug, Lindy, and Swing evolved across the U.

S. with many regional styles. The late 1940 s brought forth many dances that evolved from Rhythm &# 038; Blues music: the Houston Push and Dallas whip (Texas), the Imperial Swing (St. Louis), the D. C. Hand Dancing (Washington), and the Carolina Shag (Carolinas and Norfolk) were just a few.

In 1951 Laure Haile first published her dance notes as a syllabus, which included Western Swing for the Santa Monica Arthur Murray Dance Studio. In the 50 s she presented her syllabus in workshops across the U. S. for the Arthur Murray Studios.

The original Laure Haile Arthur Murray Western Swing Syllabus has been taught by Arthur Murray studios with only minor revisions for the past 44 years. From the mid 1940 s to today, the Lindy Hop, Jitterbug, Lindy, and Swing, were stripped down and distilled by the ballroom dance studio teachers in order to adapt what they were teaching to the less nimble-footed general public who paid for dance lessons. As a result, the ballroom dance studios bred and developed a ballroom East Coast Swing and ballroom West Coast Swing. In the late 1950 s, television brought American Bandstand, The Buddy Dean Show and other programs to the teenage audiences. The teenagers were rocking with Elvis Presley, Little Richard, and Chuck Berry leading the fray. In 1959, some of the California dance organizations, with Skippy Blair setting the pace, changed the name of Western Swing to West Coast Swing so it would not be confused with country and western dancing.

In the 1990 s, dancers over 60 years of age still moving their Lindy Hoppin, Jitterbuggin, Swingin, and Shaggin feet. Swing dancing has made an amazing comeback especially in the last year. The Gap started using Swing to promote and sell their Khakis. With new bands like the Cherry Poppin Daddies, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, and the Brian Setzer Orchestra, swing has sparked a new interest in many of the youth today.

Swing has once again become a popular and favorable style of music and dancing.


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Research essay sample on Dance Floor West Coast

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