The Charleston is one of the most popular dances and songs of all time and especially of the 20th century. Inspired by the song of the same name, the dance was invented in 1923.“Charleston” is a multifaceted cultural phenomenon that emerged in the early 1920s. It's a dance, it's a melody and it's a set of lyrics (that most people have never heard). The three forms first caught public attention in late October 1923 in a Broadway magazine called Runnin' Wild, which ran for more than seven months at the New Colonial Theater in downtown Manhattan.
That African-American production included music by James P. Johnson (1894-195), lyrics by Cecil Mack (1873-194) and the talent of a large cast of black singers and dancers. The popular success of Runnin' Wild catapulted “Charleston” to national and international fame in less than two years. To this day, “Charleston” is closely associated with the 1920s, an era often referred to as the “Era” of Jazz”.
Despite the existence of federal laws prohibiting the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages, that decade is largely remembered as an era of exuberant parties, superficial glamour, energetic jazz and hedonistic excesses in general. Separately and together, the dance and song called “Charleston” personify the gay spirit of the “Roaring Twenties”. Charleston, a social jazz dance that was very popular in the 1920s and frequently revived. Characterized by his twisted steps with his toes turned inward and his heels turned out, he performed as a solo artist, with a partner or in a group.
Mentioned as early as 1903, it was originally a black folk dance known throughout the American South and especially associated with Charleston, S. C. The analysis of its movements shows that it has strong parallels with certain dances from Trinidad, Nigeria and Ghana. In the beginning, the dance was very abandoned and was performed with complex rhythms, accompanied by stamps and applause.
Around 1920 professional dancers adopted this dance and, after its appearance in the black musical Runnin' Wild (192), it became a national trend. As a trendy ballroom dance, it lost some of the exuberance of the previous version. Charleston is an African-American vernacular jazz dance. It was performed with ragtime and traditional jazz music, which incorporated fast, syncopated rhythms and improvised steps taken from various African dances.
Charleston was a very popular dance from the 1920s enjoyed by both young women (flappers) and young men of the generation of the Roaring Twenties. The Charleston involves quick leg swinging and large arm movements. A slightly different form of Charleston became popular in the 1930s and 1940s, and is associated with the Lindy Hop. Lately, a derivative of Charleston, known as “Chevin”, has been seen in European dance halls.
Although it achieved popularity when the song Charleston, sung by Elisabeth Welch, was added to the Runnin' Wild production, the dance itself was first introduced in Irving C.Altogether, Charleston, one partner stands in front of the other (usually the follower, although the layout may vary), and both take a step back on their left foot to begin with. At the time, it was very common for dance styles to bear the name of the city in which they first appeared, and Charleston was no different. It wasn't until the late 1930s that Charleston reappeared in the movies. To this day, “The Charleston” continues to be danced by swing dancers from all over the world, and the parties of the Roaring Twenties are still all the rage.
The dance craze known as “Charleston” achieved worldwide fame nearly a century ago and has endured as the epitome of the carefree exuberance of the “Roaring Twenties”. Charleston and similar dances, such as Black Bottom, which consisted of kicking the heels, were very popular in the late 1920s. The young Jenkins Orphanage Band was part of the local music scene, not only in Charleston, but also in other communities. The Charleston is one of the craziest dances in American history, if not the biggest of the world.
For readers familiar with the history of the Jenkins Orphanage Band, these words are instantly reminiscent of the band's annual migrations in the early 20th century, during which they played and danced on the corners of northern cities to raise money for their Charleston home. With the combination of these European artists and the many cultural and artistic traditions brought from enslaved Africans, Charleston was a place where different music and dance practices coexisted while slowly merging. Frankie Manning and other Savoy dancers saw themselves taking Charleston steps inside the Lindy instead of dancing Charleston itself. Traditionally, Charleston as a couple was danced by a man and a woman, but now both men and women can dance with the same gender.
