Social dancing in the 20th century United States
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American social dancing has been changing through the decades.
Background
The 20th century brought about a change in social dances. The "old fashioned and out of step" dances such as "the waltz and polka" needed to make way "for something different and new".[1] In the past, only upper class dances had been recorded because lower class dances were "not deemed worthy of record".[1] However, in the 20th century, "the Industrial Age was upon us, a new middle class was emerging and great social ... innovations were on the horizon".[1] The upper class even became more accepting of dance music that began in lower classes. An example of this is ragtime dance and music. Ragtime had a "lively, infectious new sound".[1] Some other forms of dancing that made a huge impact were jazz and swing dance. These dances are both energetic and had their own personality and culture. Jazz was danced to jazz music and swing was danced to big band music.
Importance in society
Social dance plays a significant role in our society because it brings people together in a way that nothing else does. Social dancing is just that - social. Its purpose is not for competition or for performance. It is fun and is part of culture and society. It serves "as the social center" and "the artistic release" in society.[1] It is assumed "that dance will survive as long as it satisfies a contemporary social need and" beauty.[1]
Connection to today
There are many dancing styles of the past that are hardly used anymore. Styles from the 18th and 19th century such as the waltz and polka have practically disappeared from dance culture. Although many dances are not used anymore, there are some people that continue to enjoy dancing dated dances such as swing. Styles from the 20th century such as swing dancing are still done, but are not necessarily well known or popular.
Start of the century
Ragtime and jazz dance were both iconic dances of the 20th century. Both of them contained syncopated rhythms and dance steps that were very different from the polite and proper dance steps from centuries before. The new technology that came with the century made way for new ways of thinking, which in turn brought new music and exciting new dances.
Ragtime dance
Ragtime music was at the height of its popularity from 1895 to 1918. Soon there were also dance moves created to go along with the music. Ragtime "appeared, fresh and new, [and] its syncopate sounds quickly became popular".[1] "Scott Joplin [had his first album,] Maple Leaf Rag was published in 1898 ... [and] for two decades, Ragtime was almost the only new music composed in America".[1] When ragtime music was created, the upper class originally was against it. They felt that it was "more suitable for the lower classes, but its lively, infectious new sound eventually won out and Ragtime music was in".[1] Ragtime "produced a sound very different from the 19th Century ballroom music" and therefore became a popular social dance of the upper, middle, and lower classes.[1] After 1917, ragtime became less popular as Jazz caught the public's attention.
Jazz dance
Jazz dance was iconic to the beginning of the 20th century and beyond. Its evolution began on plantations by "Africans held captive in the United States".[2] Jazz dance was "practiced among blacks in social settings like house parties, dives, honky tonks, and jook joints".[2] It was also included in night clubs such as "the Cotton Club ... as well as in staged musicals… [such as] Shuffle Along... and Runnin’ Wild".[2] Jazz attire included articles such as "hats, feather boas, pleated trousers, skirts, shorts, and dresses".[2] Jazz dancers hold their bodies a certain way when they are dancing. "The center of gravity is lowered ... the torso is inclined forward ... the entire body is engaged, resulting in movement that is initiated almost entirely through syncopated foot actions".[2] There are many instances in which vocalization are included in the dance, such as when dancers call out a dance move.[2] Dancing to jazz requires a "’jazz state of mind’ ... [which is] a way of moving that is simultaneously energized and laid back".[2]
Mid-20th century
Swing dance had its connections to ragtime and jazz dance, which came before it, as well as rock and roll, which came after it. People studying these dance forms have noticed the similarities in certain swing moves that resemble dance moves from rock and roll.
Swing dance
Swing dance became popular in the late 1920s and maintained its popularity into the 1940s and 1950s.[3] It faded away "with the birth of rock ‘n’ roll, [then] reemerged in the 1990s".[3] This was a form of self-expression. A swing ‘scene’ is a location in which social interactions, music and dancing happens.[3] Big band music went hand in hand with swing dancing.[4] The swing scene started out edgy and then eventually it merged with popular culture.[3] This resulted in more social dancing and less striving for a unique edge as had happened before.[3] Swing dance was unique from other dance forms in that it provided human touch. This aspect of the dance separated it from other dance forms in which touch is not involved.[3] Swing dancers purposefully tried to "revitalize partner dancing and [reclaim] a vital form of social interaction based on closeness".[3]
Rock and roll
Rock and roll eventually "replaced jazz as the teenager’s dance music of choice".[2] Rock and roll became more popular in the 1950s and 1960s.[2] There were many similarities between this and jazz dance regarding various movements for dances.[2] For example, there were "similarities in the foot actions of Sugar Foot from the 1920s and the Mashed Potato popular in the 1960s".[2]
Twist and disco
Beginning in the 1960s, rock and roll dances were replaced by dances that were danced individually rather than in pairs, such as the twist.
At the same time, country dances gradually gained popularity, which they maintained for the following decades.
In the 1970s, dances such as the twist were in turn replaced by disco dances, which allowed both individual and pair dancing. The hustle was one of the most popular dances of the disco era. This period was also marked by the rise in popularity of dances that inherited numerous figures from earlier swing and rock and roll dances, but were adapted to more relaxed swing and club music.
Swing revival
Swing dancing, which until the late 1980s existed only in small local dance communities, regained popularity in the late 1990s. At that time, the public was largely familiar with Latin American dances, which led to mutual influence: elements of Latin American dances were adapted into swing dancing, and vice versa. For example, Casino Rueda (a circle dance based on salsa) influenced the invention of Swing Rueda, a circle dance based on the Lindy Hop.
Latin American dance
Beginning in the mid-20th century, Latin American social dances became an increasingly visible part of American dance culture. Many of these forms originated in the Caribbean, where Spanish colonial ballroom traditions mixed with Indigenous Taíno dances and the music and movement of enslaved Africans to create hybrid genres.
The early 20th century saw a rise in the popularity of tango. However, the original Argentine tango was perceived by the American public as highly vulgar. The North American version of tango became one of the international standard versions of tango, alongside the Argentine tango.
Cuban and Puerto Rican migrants brought styles such as the mambo, cha-cha-chá, and later salsa to U.S. cities including New York, Miami, and Los Angeles, where they quickly became popular in both Latino and mainstream communities.[5][6]
The mambo craze of the 1950s, led by bandleaders such as Pérez Prado, was followed by the cha-cha-chá, introduced by Cuban violinist Enrique Jorrín. Both dances were widely featured in nightclubs, television, and touring shows, helping to integrate Latin rhythms into American popular culture.[7][8]
By the late 1960s and 1970s, these influences converged into salsa, a hybrid of Cuban, Puerto Rican, and North American elements. Salsa became central to urban Latino nightlife and later spread worldwide through festivals and salsa congresses.[9][10]
Other Latin American dances also gained strong followings in U.S. social settings. Merengue, originating in the Dominican Republic, became popular in both Caribbean communities and American dance studios due to its simple step pattern and upbeat rhythm. Cumbia, with roots in Colombia, spread widely through Mexican-American and Central American communities and is now a staple at Latino social gatherings across the country.[11]
Together, these dances enriched American social dance culture by introducing new rhythms and partner techniques. They also became important symbols of cultural identity, especially for Latino communities, while simultaneously influencing the broader social dance scene in the United States.