African American Dancing Research Paper

Script
INTRODUCTION
Dancing is an art. It is a creative way for people to express their feelings through movements and rhythm. From the 19th century to the 21st, dancing has evolved from the traditional modern dancing featuring the waltz, to urban dancing including all pop, hip-hop, and freestyle dancing. During the twentieth century in America, dance became the main type of entertainment. Dance has been used to help keep many Americans gleeful during the country’s crises, economically and technologically. To express their reactions to these changes, Americans danced. As the society changed during the decades, so did the type of dance, creating new forms of entertainment that are now a part of our American history.

18th & 19th
The Lindy Hop was big within the dance and was starting to slowly spread across the United States from its origin at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem New York.
Rock and Roll - 1950s to 60s
Intro: After the Swing Era and World War II, American social dancing cooled down in the late 1940s. The shift from dance bands to concerts in nightclubs was due to several factors. Musician union fees made big bands unaffordable, the cool down of jazz, and a generation of post-war veterans with the new priority of settling down and raising a family. But the youngsters still wanted to dance. This was the shift.

Description: Throughout the US, the young generation took the lead in the, development of new dances in the 1950s. Rock dances were generally adapted from dance styles mentioned earlier; the lindy hop and the jitterbug served as a basis for many of the fast dances. While dancing was developing, technology was also changing. With the arrival of the Jukebox in 1951, which brought popular music to the bars and clubs that didn't have live bands, made rock and roll become popular, as one song would spread at a rapid pace throughout many
The mass communication via television also meant that these dance steps could spread themselves with more speed thanks to their advertising within programming. This also allowed people who opposed the dance such as churchmen, to preach their believes on their negative outcomes for its rebellious and provocative culture. One famous example we probably all know is The Twist, which inspired a raft of new dances amongst young people as well as dances known as the Funky Chicken and the Monkey.

DISCO - 1970s
The disco was an era that began in the mid-1970s, encouraging a whole generation to dance and party. It was a new dance style created in the West for entertainment and a wild new type of dance, that was considered exciting and fun. It became very popular in movies and nightclubs. John Travolta was the spotlight for starting this disco dance, from his role in the movie Saturday Night Fever.

The original disco subculture was a fusion of the gay urban party scene, partnered dancing which was kept alive by Latin’s, and African American music. Many other populations of Americans were also attracted to the Discos. This particular dance was focused on groovy soft rock and upbeat electronic