Now that the war was over and America was safe and sound again the adults wanted to keep it that way. This decade the adults tried to suffocate the teenagers, newly coined word at the time, with rules. Dancers were now banned, boys hair mustn't touch their ears, most girls weren't allowed to wear pants, and especially rock 'n' roll was banned. The adult generation was terrified of this rock 'n' roll music. It talked about sex and promoted integration. To the adults this music threatened the status quo! The adults made censorship laws to try and prevent the spread of this music. In the adults opinion rock 'n' rolls was the devil's music.
After the war there was nothing aimed at the teenagers anymore. They were craving their independence but were pushed around by rules. Then songs started coming out about their lives. Things like high school sweethearts, parties, and fast cars and these songs were sung by other teens. This helped them connect, and they were all for this new music. Music and dance was these teens escape from the rules. This music was the teen's music and it was what real hit home to them, it was what was real. With this new rock music the teens needed a new style of dance. They took the swing moves and made them their own. The steps and styles changed by region. The teens started looking to the African Americans for new moves and styles. Then Dance shows started airing on the television for kids when they got home from school. Teens started copying what they saw on TV rather than following the regional trends and the Philadelphia style became the national style. Many new dance styles came out or new twists on old styles, like the Stroll, the Bop, the Calypso, the Bunny Hop, and the Twist. The twist didn't really become a hit until the 1960s though.
In the thirties the tides turned again from jazz to swing. The moves started incorporating tap and jazz into the dances. New styles developed like the Lindy Hop and the Jitterbug. The Lindy Hop was named after Charles Lindbergh after he flew across the Atlantic and the jitterbug was a slang term used meaning the best dance partner. Swing, like jazz, was not accepted at first. It was compared to the economical stability of the country and not expected to stay popular.
The thirties were not the best time, however dancing remained popular. The economy was a mess from the crash in 1929. Almost everyone was in debt with banks and businesses were closing. Also During this period of time the Dust Bowl was going on. Huge dust storm would roll through destroying almost everything. The people would try to find ways to pass their time so they didn't have to focus on all the bad that was going on. People would go dancing, go to movies, sit and listen by the radio to Franklin D. Roosevelt's Fireside Chats. Roosevelt was elected in 1932 and a major factor in turning around the economy by his plan called the New Deal. The New Deal helped to bring about a safety net for Americans.
In the 1940's World War II began, but this time the war didn't stop the kids from dancing. Band by the Germans the youth would meet in secret to tune into the allied stations and dance the night away. jazz and swing lived on throughout the forties. Although some of the music did change though. Since all of the men were off at war songs came out about longing and missing loved ones.
The forties gave women more of a sense of independence. Since the men were gone were gone the women had to step up and fill their roles in society. Women were now leaving the kitchen to work and for a lesser pay. They worked in factories like the men and had to provide for their families. Also for entertainment value women even had to step up to play in women's league sports, like baseball. When the war ended though the women were expect to go back to the kitchen and resume their usual duties. However the women saw that they can work just as well and as hard as men, they learned that they didn't have to be in the kitchen anymore but could make something of themselves.
The Lindy Hop
A family suffering from the Dust Bowl and the economy crash.
This era was known as the Roaring Twenties. During this age the youth distrusted their elders because of the world war, which caused them to rebel against them. So the music got jazzier and the women became more independent. They cut their hair short, shortened their skirts, drove motorcars, went out with out a man to look after them, and stayed out and partied all night in protest against suffrage. The women won when in 1920 they were given the right to vote. This age gave women the sense of independence and they liked it! It was not only women rebelling during the twenties but the whole younger generation. Marathon dances came about where people would dance until they couldn't dance anymore. People would tie themselves to the wings of planes or see how long they could balance on a flagpole. During the twenties Prohibition was enforced but that did not stop the people from getting alcohol. This is the era when gangsters, like Al Capone, came about. They would provide alcohol to clubs and bars. Al Capone was the most notorious of them all. He controlled Chicago in the twenties and at the peak of his sales made $60 million dollars a year!
The dance craze took over during the twenties, but that's no surprise we had won the war! People were celebrating winning World War I weeks before Armistice. Winning caused for a new style of dance and sound. Anything before the war was old news. The Fox Trot was the only survivor since it came out only a few months before the beginning of the war. This style became a favorite along with the Charleston, the Texas Tommy, and the Brazilian Samba. The Fox Trot evolved into a smoother style compared to its ragtime debut, and also the Toddle branched of from the Fox Trot taking a bouncier style than the original dance. The Texas Tommy simplified the two-step into one easy step. The music of jazz took over this era. The new sound was appealing to all the youth but to the adults it was evil. They believe it caused drunkenness and deafness. But to the youth it was a fresh new sound especially with the introduction of the saxophone and its sultry sound. Sadly this age came to an end with theWall Street Crash in 1929.
The Ragtime dance craze began at the end of the 19th century and was the main style of dance in the first two decades of the 20th century. The music of this era developed from African slaves y combining their traditional chants with the traditional European music. It was then Americanized by American composers making the unique sound of ragtime. The new styles of dance originated in the southern and midwestern regions among the lower classes. Everyone was talking about this new style of dance, however, the upper class was mostly just talking about it because it had stemmed from the lower classes. It was Irene and Vernon Castle who spread ragtime not only across all levels of society but also across countries. This couple showed of their dance moves to this new music in a Parisian dinner club. This brought them fame throughout Paris and the rest of Europe. When they returned back to the states Ragtime was spread through all the classes. If this young, classy couple could dance to ragtime with elegance than so could everyone else. This couple helped to turn ragtime dancing into a dance mania! For the first time Europe imported the latest dance music and steps from America.
The moves of ragtime started out simple and grew to many different types and styles. In the beginning the traditional two-step was danced to this new music. As ragtime became more popular new styles of dance started to evolve like the one-step and "animal dances''. The animal dances consisted of the grizzly bear, the turkey trot, and the bunny hug. Also African American cake walk's became very popular among society. Irene and Vernon Castle danced a unique dance that became know as the Castle Walk. Many other styles evolved during this era including the Argentine Tango, the Hesitation Walk, the Maxixe, the Half-and half, and the Fox-Trot. The Argentine Tango became popular because it allowed a sensual flirtatiousness that was previously forbidden in public dancing. The Hesitation Walk was very graceful and look almost balletic. The Maxixe was a swaying two-step also known as the Brazilian Tango. The Half-and Half was a hesitation waltz in 5/4 time and some would make it more obscure by dancing to it in 7/4 time. The Fox-Trot style came about shortly before the Great War started. It was a dance that was slow with quick steps that was put together in a wide variety of patterns. The ragtime dance craze ended when World War I began. Although short lived the ragtime music and dance styles redefined social dancing and relationships in this new 20th century.
The Grizzly Bear- It got its name from from the hold. The dancers would be leaning on one another and take one big, heavy step one direction and would move the upper bodies from one side to the other. During the dance people would shout, "It's a bear!"
