Easing the tensions of segregation one dance step at a time.
Sing, sing, sing, sing everybody start to sing la dee da dee whoa ho ho now your singin" with a swing! That wonderful sound that filled from the hot air on summer nights at the legendary Savoy Ballroom, Harlem, New York can still be heard today in ballrooms through out the country.
When most people think of the legendary era of Swing that spanned the late 1920's all the way through the early 1940's they think of it as nothing more than a form of dance. But in actuality Swing was created to ease the tensions of segregation and hopefully put and end to it! Many people believe that swing had made segregation worse, but in actuality it helped the movement more than it hurt it.
During the roaring 20's, 30's and 40's not only were the Afro- Americans dealing with segregation but so were American woman as the woman's suffrage movement gained more and more backing. Teenagers were also looking for their place within the American sub culture and turned to swing as a happy medium in teenage acceptance. .
Having partner dancing where both members were on the same footing and echoed gender equality soothed the gender issue.
"Whether they were men or women, young or old, black or white every portion of society found some form of Swing favoritable for their dancing and listening. Which surely helped Swings mission of tolerance and mutual respect," stated professor Stowe.
1860 - First close couple dancing begins.
1912 - Vernon and Irene Castle make closed couple dancing acceptable.
1920- Arthur Murray, a student of the Castle's, markets dance lessons by mail. The first Fox Trot lessons cost only a dime.
1927 - Charles Lindberg makes his "hop" across the Atlantic.
Traditional closed couple dancing began in the US after 1860, when America's youth began moving from the rural environments to the cities looking for employment. (Swingin" at the Savoy, Norma Miller) Dances of that time were the Waltz and Polka, that aloud close-than-usual spacing between partners, which at this time was condemned because of behavior.
