Test 2 Flashcards
Acrobatic dance
Pre 1900, when blacks were hired for circuses, a blend of dance and tumbling evolved
In 1930’s, dancer turned to acrobatics for new ideas- knee pops, splits, slides, double around the world
Adele Astaire
Fred’s older sister
He began with her
They worked together in vaudeville and on Broadway
Fred only went out on his own after Adele retired to marry
Anything Goes
Most famous show of Cole Porter (music and lyrics)
Aubrey Lyles
Organized and conceived Shuffle Along with Flournoy Miller
Babes in Arms (1937)
- Music by Rodgers and Hart
- Story: children of vaudeville performers in a summer camp
- “Johnny One Note”, “My Funny Valentine”, “The Lady is a Tramp”
Ballin’ the Jack
• Railroad expression
o Jack = locomotive (indestructible donkey or jackass)
• Ballin’ – from high ballin’
o Trainman’s signal to start rolling
• Dance about “traveling fast and having a good time”
Bill Robinson
• Contribution to dance
o Brought tap up on the toes
o Clarity of taps
o Upright and swinging style
o Known for his stair dance
o Did not invent new stuff, but perfected the old
o Didn’t use the upper body and arms- influence lasted a long time
o Could sing and tell stories while dancing
o Helped critics begin to understand tap dance
• Started career as a pick
• Moved to vaudeville
• 1932- went to Hollywood
• 1935- costarred with Shirley Temple in The Little Colonel
• Made 14 films in his career
o only 2 did not play into black stereotypes
• Featured in several Cotton Club shows
• Was accepted into “high” places with the whites because of the respect for him as an artist
• Showed a side of himself to his black friends that whites didn’t see
o Somewhat manipulative and egotistical
• Nickname was Bojangles
Buck and Bubbles
• John “Bubbler” Sublet = John Bubbles o Was 10 when he teamed with 6 yr old Ford Lee “Buck Washington” o Team became “Buck and Bubbles • Buck on piano, Bubbles singing and dancing o Landed on Broadway in 1922 o Same act for 20 years What was unique about Bubbles’ style? • Great ad-libber • Into taps, not flash • Cut the tempo in half • Style became known as rhythm tap
Buddy Bradley
• Black choreographer
• Did not get much credit for his work
• Came up as a dancer in Harlem
• 1928- met Billy Pierce
o Hired Bradley to teach white stars
• Brought in to re-choreograph Greenwich Village Follies of 1928, but credit still given to Busby Berkley
• After this he prospered greatly
• Taught many stars
o Fred Astaire, Ruby Keillor
• Keys to his success
o New blend
o Revolutionary simplification
o Dances were “simpler in sound, more interesting visually”
o Jazz music was his inspiration
o Choreographed to accents, not the melody
• Created many dances for Broadway musicals in the 20s and 30s
o Dance directors known for groupings
o Many stars had coaches that didn’t get credit
• Never choreographed a white show in the US, but “patched many up”
• Had great success in London and other areas of Europe
• Worked with Massine, Balanchine, Ashton and did TV and film abroad
Charleston
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Copasetics Club
When Bill Robinson died in 1949, his friends created the Copasetics Club in his memory
Often said “it’s copasetic”
Darktown Follies
• Started in DC in 1911
• Moved to Lafayette Thatre in Harlem in 1913
o One of the first integrated theatres, considered higher class
• Started whites trek to Harlem for entertainment
• Due in great deal to John Leubrie Hill
o Wrote part of the book, designed costumes, made scenery, gathered cast
• 1st show to show love scenes between blacks, at the time it was taboo
• brought out a lot of dancing performers
o 2 tap dance pioneers
• Eddie Rector- forerunner of class acts in the 1930s
• Toots Davis- flash dancer, made over the tops and trenches popular
o “Texas Tommy”
• a famous dance in Darktown Follies
• Similar to Lindy Hop, but with added improve
• Tommy meant prostitute, but the dance wasn’t bad, just aerobic
• The Circle Dance gained most attention with entire cast to the song “At the Ball, That’s All”
o Some termed the song “Ballin’ the Jack”
o Made an endless chain on and off stage around curtain
• Finale included Cake Walk
• Dancers never paid well, but didn’t care because they got to perform and were inspired by Hill’s leadership and vision
• Florenz Ziegfeld purchases “At the Ball”, but didn’t hire any Darktown Follies dancers
Decline of he black shows on Broadway
• Even though these shows gave dance new life on Broadway…
o No black gained stardom
o Critics had difficulty understanding and appreciating the subtleties of their art
• Black shows declined as they lost what made them new
o White producers urged them to imitate white shows
• By the mid 20s, black shows were on the way our
o Business slump
o Hollywood- rumors of bankruptcy as “talkies” were on their way
o Vaudeville was dying out
• This was the training ground for Broadway
Development of the Lindy Hop
named after Charles Lindberg
Eccentric dancing
developed during the 1930’s
consisted of dancers with non-standard movements and individual styles
Contortionists, shake dance, snake hips
Eddie Rector
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Eubie Blake
Wrote music and lyrics for Shuffle Along with Noble Sissle
Flash dancing
• Tap dance acts that would ad lib acrobatics into their routines
Berry Brothers
Nicolas Brothers
Florence Mills
Performed in Shuffle Along
• Did pantomime
• Singing/dancing comedienne
Flournoy Miller
Organized and conceived Shuffle Along with Aubrey Lyles
Frank Condos
• Developed the 5 tap wing in the 30s
• Later teamed with his brother to make The Condos Brothers
• Toured Europe
• 1937- worked as a dance director
• 1952- became a shipyard welder
o not many performers were able to have long careers
