History of Broadway Dance

Read this entire section before beginning the assignment. You will need this information for your final presentation.

The Broadway audience plays an important role in the life—or death!—of a musical. The reasons for choosing to see one musical over another may be quite diverse from person to person. The reasons may be emotional or intellectual or a combination of the two. These reasons may also reflect the common interests of a group or community. [In other words, the current social, political and economic issues of a certain period greatly influence the type of musical the general audience wishes to see.]

Imagine I have given you imaginary money, and the amount is just right for purchasing one ticket to 3 individual Broadway shows. Throughout the semester, you will decide which shows you want to see based on a dance from the show.

Assignment Directions

·

Choose your favorite video from the 3 choices to analyze for your “Broadway Dance Video Analysis.”

Part 1 – View your video and take notes

A. Watch the dance you chose.

CHOSEN VIDEO:

B. Write down notes of your first impressions. (These are just your notes and do not need to be included in your assignment submission.)

C. Use your growing list of dance influences as a resource. Watch the dance a second (3rd? 4th?) time to determine which people, dance genres, dance styles and steps influenced the dance in your video.

[Note: all of the above leads to notes for the written analysis, which begins below…]

Part 2 – Write your analysis of the dance, including the following:

A. Show Information*

1.

Name of show (year it opened on
Broadway)
– Show names are always in
italics

2.
“Name of song(s)/dance number(s)” – Song/dance title(s) in quotation marks. IMPORTANT NOTE: If there is more than one dance number in the video, you must name and analyze both!

3.
APA citation for video. See Writing & Citing Guidelines – APA in your Course Home. To get video info, click on the video, then click the YouTube icon on the bottom right to “View on YouTube.”

4.
Choreographer(s)

5.
Dancers – If there is a large company of dancers, list the lead(s) followed by “and Company”, e.g. Dancers: Chita Rivera and Company.

*You may need to do some detective work to find all of the above show info. Here is a GREAT resource: ibdb.com

B. Comments about what makes this dance special – Write a paragraph about why you like the dance you chose. Include details. [“Energetic and upbeat” is great, but not specific enough. “The way the dancers kicked their legs, with such energy, like they were punting footballs…” is much better, more descriptive. Please avoid using “a lot”, which is slang for “many”, “quite a few”, “a large amount”, etc.] Be sure to write about the dancing and what you found interesting, compelling, innovative, etc. A good strategy is trying to “sell” this dance to a friend, with specific ideas to get your friend excited to see the dance.

C. Dance Influences – This is the major part of your assessment…

1. Write a list of at least 4 influences from our content that you see STRONGLY represented in your dance. All
significant influences from our course content should be included.

Influences can include: (You do not have to write about one influence per topic below, choose the best 4 or more.)

People: Are there choreographers, performers, etc. that we have studied who danced or choreographed dance step phrases or styles that you see in the dance?

Shows: Does your dance strongly remind you of any of the shows we have discussed so far in the course? Why?

Dance steps/styles: What style(s) or genres of dance do you see in your video? How do you know?

Concepts: Be careful with this one. Sometimes, a dance can really remind you of an influence in a conceptual way. For example, Master Juba is both an influence as a person and Juba could also be used as a conceptual/structural influence for a dance. [Check your notes!] Precision dance is also considered a concept.

Your dance may or may not have influences from all of these areas. List only those influences that are STRONGLY evidenced in your dance. A reader–including me–should be able to see, from your description and your example, a direct connection from the dance influence to your dance.

2. For each influence:

a. Describe characteristic elements of that influence.

b. Connect elements from each dance influence directly to an example of where you notice them in the dance video. Describe the example and include a timestamp from the video.

Part 3 – Check your work

A. Grammar and spelling count for this assignment. Get in the habit of proofreading, or have a friend proofread your work.

B. Check the rubric! Full points are given only for exceptional work. Remember that the depth of your understanding of all course content can be clearly seen in the depth/quality of your work. Go to the Broadway Dance Video Analysis rubric in your ASSIGNMENT DUE DATES & RUBRICS Module.

Part 4 – Submit your work:

a. Attach a Word doc.

b. Please include your full name as the first part of the file name.

Example:
LASTNAME FIRSTNAME DVA1 x

TO RECEIVE POINTS FOR THIS ASSIGNMENT, PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR WORK CORRECTLY.

Reminders about Academic Integrity

You may not collaborate with another student on papers or assignments. You should review the definition of plagiarism at the link below for the Office of Student Conduct.

PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT ALL INVESTIGATIONS INTO ACADEMIC INTEGRITY VIOLATIONS WILL BE RUN VIA THE OFFICE OF STUDENT CONDUCT.

PLAGIARISM INCLUDES:

· Copying text from a peer–even if it is paraphrased.

· Copying text from a source without adding quotation marks and citing the source.

· Using your own work from another course for this one.

· Lending your work to a peer who uses it as his/her own.

· Using a majority of copy/pasted/paraphrased ideas and knowledge from sources that are not you.

Students found responsible for Plagiarism will be penalized in the course as follows. (The Office of Student Integrity may impose additional penalties):

Dance Video Analysis: Both students (the one that lent the work and the one that copied) receive a grade of -20 points (20 points below zero) for the assignment.

Please consider the following when completing this week’s assignment.

·
The Franchonetti Sisters’ dance and the Quadrille were just tools for us to connect ideas about society perspective in watching dances.

·
Do not use them as an influence.

· Make sure you are reading all content. If the assignment is in Week 4, you can be sure that many of the significant influences that are connected to the dance videos are from Week 4. Same goes for Week 5. You should be taking notes and adding to your list of influences each week. As the weeks accumulate, your list of influences should as well.

· Videos from the course content are there to reinforce the readings. Just because you see a dance step in one video, does not mean that the dance in the video is an influence for one of the videos you are analyzing if you see the same step. Remember, you are connecting significant dance influencers, styles, shows, etc. If you see a similar dance step or style, who is the choreographer of the first dance? That is the influence!

· Do not use videos from assignments as influences unless we studied them in the course content.

·
A good rule is, if you read about it in the course, it is probably important. However, you need to find the influences that most connect to the dance. For example: Ballet is not usually a significant influence in a tap dance, especially when we have studied and will continue to study the most important tap dance influencers in history.

·

1910s: Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr.

Copyright © 2010

Helpful Hint:

This week, begin keeping a list of Dance Influences that you will add to each week. In the content, we discuss many dancers, choreographers, dance styles and shows that profoundly impacted the Broadway dances that followed. So, when you view a dance, you will likely see hints or blatant examples of past dances. Here is our list so far:

· Vaudeville

· Minstrelsy influences: Cakewalk, George Walker,
In Dahomey, Darktown Follies

· William Henry Lane/”Master Juba”

· John Durang

· African American dancing

· Ballet

World War I

“On June 28, 1914, the shots fired in Sarajevo woke up Europe, but smug isolationist America continued to snooze” (Jones, 2003, p. 36). Until 1917, when America joined what would later be known as World War I, Americans took little notice of the events in Europe. Officially, the U.S. was neutral. But “neutral” implies knowledge of both sides of an issue and an active decision to remain impartial in action. In reality, the war did not much affect the day to day lives—or thoughts—of most Americans. When the war continued to escalate, America was forced to respond. On April 6, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson signed a declaration of war.

Broadway was quick to react. “Within twenty-four hours, George M. Cohan had written ‘Over There,’ the war years’ most popular song” (Jones, 2003, p. 7).

Musicals of the 1910s reflected the shift from apathy to empathy. Broadway continued to incorporate and capitalize on social issues and political events. Anti-German sentiment caused by the sinking of the Lusitania turned audiences against European style operettas. [The Lusitania was a passenger oceanliner. When a German U-boat sank it in May, 1915, over two thirds of the 1,959 passengers drowned.] “By winter 1917, Broadway entirely banished European operetta from its musical stages until nearly a year after the Armistice” (Jones, 1987, p. 48). Diversionary musicals and revues became the preferred forms of Broadway entertainment.

One producer, in particular, had an amazing ability to produce entertainment that moved to the beat of America’s heart.

Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. and the Ziegfeld
Follies

“Everyone who writes about Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., feels compelled to portray the man with superlatives. Broadway’s greatest showman. Impresario extraordinaire. Perfectionist. Eccentric. Glorifier of the American girl. Heartless womanizer. Talent scout supreme. Compulsive gambler. These descriptions, each accurate in its context, have been repeated countless times, but taken individually or even in aggregate, the list misses the crucial point. Above all else, Ziegfeld was an artist” (Ziegfeld and Ziegfeld, 1983, p. 12).

Ziegfeld could arguably be called the most famous contributor to the world of musical theatre. Since Ziegfeld’s reign on Broadway–he produced shows on Broadway from 1896 to 1932!–many musicals on stage and screen have emulated the extravagant, sparkling, spectacles that Ziegfeld produced year after year. Musicals such as
Will Rogers Follies and
Follies paid direct tribute to the artistry of the Ziegfeld
Follies. Ziegfeld bestowed glitter and glamour to the Broadway stage, elevating dancing girls from their unified role as background scenery to moving works of art. Ziegfeld also spotlighted and nurtured some of the biggest song and dance stars of his time. He had a keen, innovative commercial instinct. In addition to showcasing bold, new artistic and production elements, Ziegfeld’s shows were a moving newspaper, incorporating each year’s events and inventions.

Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. was born in Chicago in March of 1867. His ability to creatively publicize entertainment was apparent at an early age. “He went a bit too far when he sold kids tickets to see a school of ‘invisible fish’ that turned out to be nothing more than a glass bowl filled with water. The resulting fuss taught him a valuable lesson. In his adult career, he always tried to build his publicity around the best talent he could find” (Kenrick, 2002-4, “Florenz Ziegfeld: A Biography”).

Video: Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr.

Play media comment.

(Dupre, et al., 2004)

The
Follies

Ziegfeld produced several Broadway musicals in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In the 1900s, during a slow time in his career, Ziegfeld was hired at $200 per week to produce vaudeville acts at the New York Theatre Roof’s Jardin de Paris. Anna Held, Ziegfeld’s star dancer, suggested he produce a revue. Inspired by revues he saw at the Folies Bergere club in Paris, and seeing nothing like them on Broadway, Ziegfeld opened the
Follies of 1907 on July 8th of that year.

Said Ziegfeld, Jr: “The stage of the New York Roof being so shallow and so placed that you could not see the side of the stage upon which you were sitting, no elaborate scenery could possibly be used…Because of this cramped condition in the early shows, we spilled our attraction a good deal over the theater. This was something of an innovation then and was much commented upon” (Ziegfeld & Ziegfeld, 1983, p. 41). The first
Follies starred Anna Held and the Anna Held Girls, a chorus of girls who danced behind her. Ziegfeld took credit for bringing the musical revue to Broadway, but this was not the case. His instinct for picking and showcasing talent just got his revues more attention than most. He had no qualms about getting rid of acts and replacing them with others when he found new talent. And he knew how to create a public buzz.

During the run of one of Ziegfeld’s early musicals, “…the newspapers reported that on October 9, 1896, a milkman named Wallace filed suit against Held for not paying a $64 tab on forty gallons of milk. Ziegfeld, the story said, refused to pay because the milk was sour. Reporters jumped on the item when they heard Held’s reasons for wanting the milk: ‘Ett eez for to take zee beauty bath.’ Before long, beauty-conscious women across the country were bathing in milk. Only later did the press learn that Ziegfeld had taken it for a ride” (Ziegfeld & Ziegfeld, 1983, p. 30).

The
Follies ran from 1907 to 1936.

The
Midnight Frolic (1915 – 1921)

When the dance craze hit America in the early 1900s, Ziegfeld was quick to capitalize on the trend. He opened a nightclub on top of the Amsterdam Theatre called the Danse de Follies. There audiences could go to dance and drink after seeing the Follies in the theater downstairs. The club was a success. Ziegfeld created the
Midnight Frolic to entertain patrons. A bandleader played ballroom music for dancing before and after the show. The roof was small with no stage. Entertainers performed on the dance floor in the middle of the tables. Later, innovative stage pieces were added, including a narrow platform fitted against one wall with a flat arch over it and steps to walk down to the main floor. Ned Wayburn–the dance director for eleven editions of the
Frolics, including the first–commissioned a telescopic stage that could be pulled out onto the dance floor, raising up the all-female chorus and featured entertainers so that the audience could see them.

Ziegfeld’s American Chronicle

Behind the extravagance of Ziegfeld’s vision lay a keen perception of popular culture. A look through the progression of Ziegfeld’s shows reveals a theatrical chronicle of current inventions and events.

Year

Event

Ziegfeld Show

1899

Automobile becomes publicly popular

Papa’s Wife – Anna Held exits the stage in an 1899 model motorcar

1908

Taxis crowd New York streets

Follies “contained a taxicab number, with twelve showgirls dressed as cabs, sporting lighted signs, meters, and headlights” (Jones, 2003, p. 14).

1909

Airplanes gain publicity
Theodore Roosevelt goes on safari.
The sixteen battleships of America’s Great White Fleet return from their goodwill cruise around the world.

Follies – Lillian Lorraine sang “Up, Up in My Aeroplane” from a small plane that circled above the heads of the audience.

Follies – Girls dressed as animals, dance around Harry Kelly performing as Roosevelt in a hunting number.

Follies – “ ‘The Greatest Navy in the World’ … pageant featured a harbor backdrop…, in front of which paraded the Ziegfeld showgirls, dressed to represent the various states. Each wore on her head a miniature replica of one of the battleships in the U.S. fleet…The ladies threw switches concealed in their costumes, thereby lighting up the portholes and ‘searching spotlights’ in their nautical headgear” (Jones, 2003, p. 17).

1913

Opening of the Panama Canal
Women fight for voting rights

Follies – Ziegfeld girls dance through the “locks” of the Panama Canal

Follies – Suffragettes are mocked in a number called “The Ragtime Suffragette.”

1915

Germans sink the Lusitania

Follies – A red, white and blue production number called “America” featured dancers representing each branch of the armed forces.

1916

World tension continues

Follies – Reenactment of a naval battle, with a war ship, submarine, and aircraft.

The Century Girl – Patriotic production numbers: “Uncle Sam’s Children” and “When Uncle Sam is Ruler of the Sea”

1917

America declares war

Follies – Included “I’ll Be Somewhere in France” and “Can’t You Hear Our Country Calling?”

Finale: Part 1 – A trip through history to meet important American figures, such as Paul Revere (an actor riding a live horse on a treadmill) and several presidents. “Woodrow Wilson” reviewed his “troops” for war readiness. Showgirls dressed in Continental Army uniforms of red, white and blue performed precision drills. Dancers also roamed the stage dressed as other important American figures. Ziegfeld “dared show one of his statuesque showgirls with a breast exposed. The patriotic tableau gave him an excellent opportunity to do this, for who would dare criticize it on any grounds?” (Churchill, cited in Jones, 2003, p. 40).

1918

World War I continued

Follies – Patriotism a major theme.

1919

Prohibition of alcohol

Follies – Revue sketch included the issue.

1920

WWI ended, age of luxury and women’s independence

Sally – Rags to riches musical about a dishwasher that make it big and becomes a star of the Ziegfeld Follies.

1920s

The Harlem Renaissance – Influx of blacks from the South and the West Indes brings black art and culture to the forefront of the New York scene.

Show Boat – Musical about blacks, whites and miscegenation (mixed race relationships).

1927-8

Broadway hits peak of popularity

1929 – Showgirl – Backstage musical about a strong woman who becomes a Ziegfeld star.

1929

The Great Depression

Follies – Bankrupt, Ziegfeld produces his final follies.

1934/1936

Billie Burke puts up two more editions of the Ziegfeld
Follies, hoping to pay off some of Ziegfeld’s debts.

What Makes A “Ziegfeld Girl”

by Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr.

The article below was published under Ziegfeld’s byline in 1925 by
The Morning Telegraph, a now-defunct New York City newspaper. While there is no way of knowing if he actually wrote the piece, it is not unreasonable to assume that he at least approved the text.

Beauty, of course, is the most important requirement and the paramount asset of the applicant. When I say that, I mean beauty of face, form, charm and manner, personal magnetism, individuality, grace and poise. These are details that must always be settled before the applicant has demonstrated her ability either to sing or dance. It is not easy to pass the test that qualifies a girl for membership in a Ziegfeld production, but I am frank to say that once she has done so, much of the element of doubt is removed so far as the future success of her career before the footlights is concerned.

There is a prevalent impression that once a girl is enlisted under the Ziegfeld standard, her troubles are over and her hard work is ended. What a mistake! Let us hope that for many it does mean the end of trouble so far as earning a livelihood is concerned, that it means happy and comfortable home living honestly earned. But there are other troubles ahead for her, and plenty of hard work.

A Ziegfeld production is no place for a drone or an idler. Often are the times when you who read these words are just opening your eyes in the morning or are enjoying your breakfast and the early news of the day, that the girls of a Ziegfeld production are busy as bees on the stage of an empty theatre, if indeed they have not already put in an hour or more in striving to come nearer to perfection in that which is expected of them before the footlights. Yes, there is plenty of hard work for them in addition to that which they do when they appear, smiling and happy, when the curtain goes up. Giving a performance is the least of their worries.

How little the public realizes what a girl must go through before she finally appears before the spotlight that is thrown upon the stage. How few there are who succeed from the many who seek this method of earning a livelihood. And, I may add, from what totally unexpected sources come many of those who from the comparatively modest beginning in the chorus rise to the heights of really great achievement in the theatrical profession. I venture the assertion that there is not one honest, wholesome walk of life from which they have not come to some one of the numerous Ziegfeld productions. The society girl, tired of that life, the school teacher wearied with the duties of her daily grind, the one whose life has heretofore been devoid of purpose, the stenographer, cashier or even the waitress. Maybe she is a chambermaid, but if she has the necessary talent and qualities a place awaits her in the Ziegfeld ranks.

Let us grant that a girl qualifies for one of my productions. It is interesting to note what follows. First, it is clearly outlined to her what she is expected to do. She may be impressed at the outset that the impossible is required, but honest application and heroic perseverance on her part plus skillful and encouraging direction by experts very seldom fail to achieve the desired results. But it is only through constant, faithful endeavor by the girl herself that the goal eventually is reached.

It is not the work of a fortnight, a month or several months to train these girls for the work expected of them. It is the task of several months and it is a fact that a girl, either while rehearsing or actually playing, may be training for some character or feature in some future production not yet definitely fixed even in my own mind. Of course, she is also doing this without knowledge herself of the fact. To illustrate what I mean, an apt dancer may be in thorough unison with the others in that particular group, and at the same time reveal a difference in dancing temperament, rhythm or technique; she may phrase, accentuate or actually interpret differently. Not only may she unconsciously register a favorable impression with my associates and me, but she may also suggest something by her work that will lead to some new and novel feature in a forthcoming production. (Kenrick, 2002-4, “Ziegfeld Defines the Ziegfeld Girl”)

Ziegfeld’s Women

Ziegfeld loved women. As seen above, he had a well-defined vision of the “perfect” girl. He also had an eye for strong, provocative dancer-performers. At least three times, he was so struck by a woman that he worked tirelessly to fulfill two great desires – he made her into a star and he made her fall in love with him. Though they were famous in their time, the complex association of these stars with Ziegfeld binds their names with his in every documentation of their careers.

Anna Held

Born in Warsaw, Held insisted that she was a native of Paris. She was performing at the London’s Palace Music Hall in 1896 when Ziegfeld first saw her. He was so enamored of her beauty and talent, that he immediately invited her to come to New York. He bought her out of her contract at the theatre. Ziegfeld produced eight musicals to showcase Held, and it was she who eventually gave him the idea for the Follies. Ziegfeld and Held never married officially, though they were considered married by common law.

Held was known for her seductive sweetness when singing a song. The combination of her flirtatious lyrics, beautiful face and curved figure made her a star attraction in New York and on tour.

Ziegfeld’s relationship with Held suffered difficulties when she discovered that he was having an affair with Lillian Lorraine—another dancer—and had set Lorraine up in an apartment in Held and Ziegfeld’s building. Held gave Ziegfeld an ultimatum, and he used the opportunity to leave her.

Lorraine was quickly replaced. At the end of a fight at a party, she marched out of the room just in time for Ziegfeld to notice Billie Burke—an actress and singer—coming down a staircase.

Billie Burke Ziegfeld

Both Burke and Ziegfeld felt a spark, and they were married in 1914. Burke and Ziegfeld had one daughter, Patricia. Burke stayed with Ziegfeld through the rest of his life, consulting on the movie The Great Ziegfeld as a tribute to Ziegfeld after he died in 1932. She also co-produced two posthumous editions of the Ziegfeld Follies on the stage (1934, 1936), in the hopes that she could pay off some of Ziegfeld’s debts.

Billie Burke is best known for her role as Glinda in the film The Wizard of Oz (1939).

Marilyn Miller

Billie Burke discovered Miller when she was performing at the Winter Garden Theater. Out of the group of women with whom Ziegfeld had love affairs, Marilyn Miller was the greatest star dancer. Her personality delighted audiences and she could do all styles. Miller danced in both the
Midnight Frolic and the
Follies of 1918. She starred in three Ziegfeld musicals:
Sally (1920), which ran for three years,
Rosalie (1928) and
Smiles (1930).

The
Follies continue…

Florenz Ziegfeld dominated the Broadway scene for two decades. With his knack for finding, nurturing and displaying the very best talent of the times, Ziegfeld dazzled audiences with his
Follies and titillated them with his
Midnight Frolics. Ziegfeld’s antics–both on and off the stage–were the talk of the town. Ziegfeld forced his cast and his audience to address social and political issues such as war and racial division. One could argue, however, that commercial hunger, rather than racial expansiveness, influenced his decisions about hiring controversial minority performers.

Multicultural Broadway

In 1910, Ziegfeld hired Fanny Brice and Bert Williams for his
Follies of 1910. Both created controversy–Williams because he was black, and Brice because she was Jewish and did not fit the usual Ziegfeld beauty criteria.

Brice’s looks and background were soon overlooked by the cast. Her comic timing, facial expressions and strong voice stopped the show. The
Follies cast was not as understanding about Williams.

Video: Bert Williams “Nothin’ to Nobody”

Play media comment.

(Dupre, et al., 2004)

In the
Follies of 1911, Bert Williams broke through a substantial racial boundary when he appeared onstage with white male performers.

Ziegfeld also hired Eddie (Israel Iskowitz) Cantor for the
Midnight Frolic in 1916. Cantor was a blackface song and dance man. In 1917, Cantor joined the
Follies, performing with Bert Williams, also in blackface.

Miscegenation

In addition to
Frolics and
Follies, Ziegfeld produced many musicals. In 1927,
Show Boat opened. With its compelling story, moving music and lavish scenery,
Show Boat is widely recognized as the show that changed American musical history. The storyline was the master of the musical numbers and script, making the show the innovator of the integrated musical. Ziegfeld, known to force his cast and his audience to address social and political issues such as war and racial division, pushed the boundaries of American society when he presented this show about miscegenation [interracial relationship that includes “mating”]. A married couple—a white man and a woman who is discovered to be part black—struggle to overcome their society’s prejudice. Even with this laudable theme to his credit, Ziegfeld’s motives have been questioned.

In a musical of otherwise scrupulously authentic mixed-race casting, the original Queenie–the main female African-American character–was played not by a black woman but by white Tess Gardella, a popular blackface entertainer who performed so consistently as “Aunt Jemima” that Ziegfeld’s programs credited Aunt Jemima, not Gardella, as playing Queenie. Ziegfeld was obviously going for some measure of star power rather than racial authenticity. (Jones, 2003, p. 77)

Dance Directors

Ziegfeld used dance directors to stage his shows. “Generally, producers hired the dance director to audition and train the chorus dancers, devise novel and exciting dance backgrounds to enhance the stars, and dream up the elaborate costumes, sets, and special effects that distinguished the dance routine from others like it. No art here” (Kislan, 1987, p. 42).

This opinion, stated by 1940s choreographer Jack Cole in a
Dance Magazine article from April 1949, was very common. But nothing was further from the truth. It may be true that Broadway dance was largely “eye candy” during this era, and dance numbers were very loosely tied to the plot of musical. However, dance directors were tasked with the responsibility of creating dynamic, innovative visual spectacles that would stop the show and send audience members home buzzing with excitement. The dance directors of the 1910s and 1920s significantly impacted Broadway dance for decades, and their legacies also influenced dance in Hollywood musicals

The term “dance director” was used for many years on Broadway. “Choreographer” was reserved for the world of concert dance. Opinion is divided on the identity of the first named Broadway “choreographer.”

Star performers danced daring and athletic numbers for many years, but groups of girls [common usage term]—male chorus dancers were extremely rare—had been used largely for live scenery. Chorus girls formed lovely artistic tableaux or paraded around the stage in elaborate costumes. In the 1900s, chorus girls began to move! Precision dancing in geometric formations became a star attraction. In addition to physical beauty, dancers were now required to have technical prowess and a wide variety of dance skills. These new criteria sent many girls running to dance schools. To ensure a supply of dancers that reflected the qualities deemed essential for their shows, dance directors often opened their own training schools and brought their own lines of chorus girls from show to show.

Julian Mitchell

Julian Mitchell was a dancer before he became the first dance director of Ziegfeld’s
Follies. He is credited as being the first important dance director on Broadway. Mitchell choreographed energetic dances and demanded professional behavior from his dancers.

Ned Wayburn

At the age of 25, Ned Wayburn was hired as dance director for a tour of
The Governor’s Son starring the Four Cohans.

“Wayburn counted his work on
The Governor’s Son among the earliest of the 150 featured acts, musical comedies, reviews, and prologs [sic] that he would stage between 1899 and 1932 as a dance director and choreographer who developed the tap dance routine structure for solo, team, and chorus performance” (Hill, 2010, p. 32).

With a background in math, music and vaudeville, Wayburn was particularly interested in incorporating syncopation into his dances. Around 1910, Wayburn put metal taps onto the soles of dance shoes for the first time. Until the mid-1910s, Wayburn used his hybrid of tapping, stepping, and clog dancing only for solo or duo specialty acts because it was difficult to get a clear tap sound from many simultaneously tapping feet. His development of techniques for chorus tap dancing began…

…to take form during the “soldier” numbers that appeared in reviews during World War I (1914-1918). He recognized the advantage of integrating tap and stepping sounds into the actual marching of the dancers, instead of just adding it conventionally through the percussion section of the band or orchestra…He set about to devise a technique in which the footwork in tap dance would be further articulated, eventually spelling out six different ways the shoe made contact with the floor. Wayburn also incorporated “tap” steps into other dance idioms, such as modern Americanized ballet, character dance, eccentric dance, ballroom dance, and legomania, thus codifying tap dance. (Hill, 2010, p. 33)

Wayburn ran his own dance studio and employment agency. “At one time he had the names, addresses, and measurements of 8,300 chorus girls” (Ziegfeld & Ziegfeld, 1993, p. 316). According to Richard Kislan,

He divided his girls according to height and function and gave each category a name. For “showgirls” he chose tall, willowy girls of exceptional facial beauty. Although he expected them to know how to dance, he preferred in them an ability to sing and to wear the fabulous costumes he designed for them only. The shortest girls were known to everyone in the business as “ponies.” “Ponies” danced, often and well. Sandwiched between the extremes were categories of dancers he called “chickens” and “peaches.” Whatever the category, Wayburn insisted that his dancers possess an inherent sense of rhythm abetted by professional training—preferably his. (1987, p. 53)

Wayburn “staged” eleven editions of Ziegfeld’s
Frolics and seven of the
Follies beginning in 1915. He also staged editions of
The Passing Show, another revue series that ran for several years.

The act I finale, “Capital Steps,” in
Passing Show of 1913…as staged by Wayburn, featured specialty and chorus dancers performing ballet and tap steps up, down, and across flights of stairs…The finale, “Inauguration Day,” involved the scene’s entire cast of seven soloists and forty-eight female dancers tapping in rows, down the staircase, in lines and V-formations, stretching from the stage floor to the level of the balustrades and covering the entire staircase. (Hill, 2010, pp. 51-2)

John Tiller

John Tiller and his “Tiller Girls” were famous before they arrived in New York. In England, Tiller was known for his military-style precision dances. His school produced girls that were hired out in groups for London revues and musicals. Tiller is widely recognized as the “artistic godfather” of the chorus line. He imported several lines of girls to the United States, beginning in 1910. “The Tiller Girls were the original model for the Rockette-type chorus line in which each girl’s movement is exactly matched with each other’s in geometrical precision” (Grant, 2004, p. 217). Tiller was also known for the high expectations of professional behavior that he held for his dancers.

Chorus Girls: From Scenery to Stars

The Black Crook and
The White Fawn—with dances choreographed by ballet director David Costa—were credited with introducing the iconic dance chorus to musicals. However, the high kicks and precision drill team dancing often associated with chorus lines came later, and both were imported from Europe. The Folies Bergere, which opened in Paris in 1870, tantalized audiences with its now famous chorus of barely-clad dancers energetically frolicking and displaying their synchronized high kicks. The geometric beauty of “precision dancing” traveled to America from England in the 1910.

John Tiller contributed precision dance lines of chorus girls. Ziegfeld standardized beauty and sensuality in the chorus. And Ned Wayburn put taps on the bottoms of shoes and categorized girls by height and function.

After seeing The Tiller Girls, Russell Markert claimed, “If I ever got a chance to get a group of American girls who would be taller and have longer legs and could do really complicated tap routines and eye-high kicks… they’d knock your socks off!” (Radio City Rockettes, n.d.). Markert later founded the “Missouri Rockets.”

All of these men expanded the characteristics of the ideal chorus girl.

Rockettes

History was made–and the evolution of the chorus line culminated in a commercial treasure–when Samuel Roxy Rothafel brought the Missouri Rockets to New York City. He showcased the chorus line as the main attraction in each of his shows, rather than as a side or back-up act.

The Rockettes were installed at Radio City Music Hall on 6th Avenue between 50th and 51st street in New York City—a block and a half east of Broadway. The Rockettes are included in this discussion of Broadway dance due both to the type of dancing that they perform and the historical significance they hold in the evolution of Broadway dance and the life of the Broadway dancer. To this day, audiences fill the 3,000 seat theater to see the Rockettes.

History of Broadway Dance: Course Introduction

Copyright © 2010

In this course, we will explore the evolution of dance in musical theatre and on Broadway, viewing significant events and issues in American history from the vantage point of the Broadway stage. “Nothing in the American musical theater has been more inaccessible to its public than the record of its dance tradition” (Kislan, p. vii). Books documenting the history of musical theater often neglect to mention dance or to give dance its rightful credit for contributing to the success of the musical. Together, we will explore the ephemeral world of Broadway dance.

Rod McKuen, Mark Arvin, Elizabeth Parkinson and Scott Fowler in Movin’ Out

Photo: Joan Marcus (n.d.)

Dance is prominent in almost every musical currently on the Broadway stage. Its role varies. In some musicals, it provides a way of, literally, moving a plot along. In others, such as
In the Heights and the revival of
West Side Story, dance is used as a visual heartbeat, an outward expression of internal angst, joy and grief.

In the past fifteen years, many musicals have been produced that feature dance as the central star of the show. The prominence of dance marks a high point in the evolution of the role of dance on Broadway, reflecting the values of the audience. America’s fitness obsession is reflected in the lithe, athletic dancers who inhabit the stage. Broadway dance today certainly reflects America’s push towards greater appreciation of cultural diversity.

Throughout history, dance has enabled the creative artists of the Broadway community to push the boundaries of social mores. On stage, performers are able to embody extremes–extreme sexuality, extreme emotional expression and extreme comments on the social order–all while being extremely entertaining! Audiences to not attend musicals to see that which is common or average. They expect to be moved in some way by the time the final curtain has closed. Dance fulfills this expectation through the universal language of movement. The success or failure of this endeavor can be immediately assessed by ticket sales.

Behind the pulse of the music and the shimmer of the costume is the Broadway dancer, a living being like no other. Dancing on Broadway requires prowess, athleticism, sweat, tears, and often physical and mental therapy.

In an interview, Tommy Tune–a Broadway dancer who later went on to direct and choreograph musicals–talked about the life of the Broadway dancer:

Broadway dancers are different from any other kind of dancer in that they have to amalgamate character, vocal prowess, and dance and they have to do it eight times a week. Broadway is blue-collar work from the star to the least working chorus member, who dances in the back. We sweat for a living. That’s just the truth of it. We put on our uniforms, we get out on that stage, and we work as a team to win every night. To get the ball in the basket every night, because it’s no good that we got one in last night–we have to do it tonight. That’s tough, because in any sport, if you pull a muscle or something then you sit that game out. That doesn’t work on Broadway. You have to show up; it’s a life commitment. It’s something that either you have inside of you or maybe you should go sell hamburgers instead, because it’s not for sissies–contrary to popular belief. It’s hard, hard work, but you do it because you have to do it otherwise you’ll implode. (Kantor, 2004, p. 370)

As we move through the course, we will study many dance videos, searching for clues to tie the dance to its current society and answer questions such as…

Why was this dance called “revolutionary”?

The Dream Ballet! -James Mitchell, Shirley Jones, Bambi Lynn

(2011)

How is this dance connected to U.S. history?

Whiteys Lindy Hoppers .. Hellzapoppin.

(2010)

And what the heck were these two doing?

Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon in Damn Yankees – Who’s Got the Pain

(2009)

How did cultural, political and economic issues influence Broadway dance? How did Broadway dance impact society?

We will begin our studies with a short synopsis of the theatrical elements that contributed to the beginning of Broadway musical theatre. Each week, we will investigate a decade in American history. Readings, lectures, media and assignments will follow a path from significant historical events and issues to their impact on Broadway musicals and Broadway dance. We will also examine the changes in dance styles and steps and the role that dance played in musicals for each decade.

Contributions of notable Broadway dancers and choreographers will be explored, and each week, we will take a close look at the work of the Broadway dancer through history.

Course Limits

The world of American musical theater is a complex combination of art, finance, music, history, storytelling and dance. This course, in an effort to provide deep and complex connections within that world, will focus on the pathways and the contributions of Broadway dance also called “theatrical jazz” or “musical theatre dance.”) There is much to be said about music, lyrics, directors, producers and physical stage elements, and there are many resources available for those with an interest. However, the focus of our course will necessitate the omission of much history and touch upon these areas only in their service to our learning about Broadway dance, Broadway choreographers and Broadway dancers. Also, you may have noticed that the dance clips above are all from movies! Oy! Don’t get me started! Broadway shows are filmed for archival purposes only. They are stored (lucky for us) at the Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts. You may go view them there (under heavy restrictions), but no one can take them out or share them. So, we make do with film versions (as long as the original choreographer restaged the Broadway dances for the movie) and Tony Award performances–an awards show that celebrates Broadway. Each year the biggest shows perform numbers, and musicals almost always feature their big song-and-dance numbers to hopefully bring in audiences for their show.

Course Format

Weeks are organized in Topics for easy reference throughout the semester. Students should follow each week, reading all numbered tabs, in order, from top to bottom. Each assignment should be completed as it appears chronologically in the content, before moving on to additional weekly content. LECTURE CONTENT WILL NOT SUMMARIZE THE READINGS. SKIPPING OR SKIMMING ANY PART OF THE COURSE MAY CAUSE CONFUSION AND LOSS OF COMPREHENSION!

You should take careful notes each week, to document significant course knowledge.

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Early Musical Theatre History, Black Heritage and Contributions

Copyright © 2010

Much thanks, admiration and credit to Patricia Cohen who introduced me to the fascinating study of jazz dance history and its African American origins.

Pre-1900s

Early Performances

One black man and one white, in two different cities, performed their dances:

In Louisville, Kentucky, Man A entered the stage, his right shoulder “drawn high up, the left leg stiff and crooked at the knee, giving him…a limp” (Connor, cited in Stearns & Stearns, 1994, p. 40). He shuffled around the stage in a circle. “In windmill fashion, he rolled his body lazily from one side to the other, throwing his weight alternately on the heel of one foot and on the toes of the other” (Nathan, cited in Stearns & Stearns, 1994, p. 41). The man combined flat-footed shuffle steps with the quicker, rhythmic footwork and knee bends of the Jig, and he sang:

“Wheel about, turn about

Do jis so,

An, ebery time I wheel about,

I jump Jim Crow!”

As he sang the last phrase, “I jump Jim Crow,” the man jumped forward towards the audience with a syncopated hop.

In London, Man B performed for the Royal Family. Dressed in a finely-tailored suit with tails, he paraded around the stage for the Prince of Wales’ birthday. His head was held high, his shoulders back, and he presented his chest proudly. He displayed a gentlemanly air as he alternated a debonair strut with his right foot with a high flick kick on the left. His hands were carefully placed: one in a fist at his waist and the other with fingertips poised at the brim of his top hat. Between his strut-and-kick step, he improvised jaunty shuffles.

Man A finished his dance to uproarious applause. At the insistence of the audience, he returned to the stage several times to bow. Then he retired to the dressing room, where he took a piece of cloth and slowly wiped the burnt cork from his blackened face, revealing the whiteness of the skin beneath the makeup.

Man B returned home to New York City after his royal performance and an international tour. He was careful to avoid direct eye contact with white men walking on the street. When he arrived at his hotel, he followed hotel policy, taking the freight elevator up to his room. His black skin was a constant reminder of the racial boundaries he dared not cross.

Thomas Dartmouth Rice

(1808-1860)

George Walker

(1873-1911)

Thomas “Jim Crow” Rice (Man A) and George Walker (Man B) performed in different decades. However, their diverse experiences as performers clearly reflect some of the racial issues that played out in American musical theatre history. The black stereotyping forwarded by “Jim Crow” and the pride with which George Walker performed illuminate the societies in which they danced. Each man will be studied in this unit.

In order to understand American musical theatre and Broadway dance borne on the American musical theatre stage, it is important to understand the early history of American musical theatre and the contributions of both black and white artists. Throughout musical theatre history, the life of non-white performers on and off stage demonstrated a complex and emotionally charged relationship with whites. Black and white relations in the world of musical theatre reflected common societal prejudices. At the same time, many black artists were able to use careers in musical theater to further personal opportunities and push against the social and civil boundaries that restricted blacks for decades after slavery was abolished.

Musical theatre very much reflected American society’s values and moral codes.

There is a huge gap between America’s ideas of equality and the continued chronicle of “race-based injustice involving slavery, lynching, land seizures, wholesale internment, and, more generally, often scurrilous treatment of immigrant populations” (Knapp, 2005, p. 181).

Pride in European heritage and a belief in European superiority was carried to America first by Columbus and later by the first colonists. From the beginning, non-Europeans were established as inferior “others” and were treated accordingly.

Given the history of poor treatment and feeling towards blacks, it is particularly interesting that African-American music and dance has always held such fascination for whites. African-American music became “American” music through gospel, blues, ragtime and jazz, and it eventually evolved into rock ‘n roll. And African-American dance contributed to jazz dance and Broadway dance, but there was no simultaneous elevation of the population that contributed so greatly to these American art forms.

Separate Worlds

Although African American dance forms are recognized by dance historians as significant in their contribution to American musical theatre, resources document black and white history in musical theatre separately, with black musical history usually mentioned second. This separation demonstrates yet another example of the not-so-invisible chasm of racial divide in America that continued well into the 20th century.

Forms of Variety Theatre

Following are excerpts from the Library of Congress (1966) listing the types of shows found in America in the 1800s and 1900s. Many of these musical show formats will be examined further in the course.

For larger view of a picture, right click and choose “View Image”

Minstrel Show:

The minstrel show was the most popular form of public amusement in the United States from the 1840s through the 1870s. It virtually ended, in its original form, by 1896… Much humor in later comedy forms originated in minstrelsy and adapted itself to new topics and circumstances.

Variety/Vaudeville:

What eventually became known as vaudeville had its origins in minstrel shows, concert-saloons, and beer gardens. Unlike the minstrel show, which appealed to broad audiences of both sexes, early variety or vaudeville was designed for men only. [The content and costumes were often sexually provocative.]

“Vaudeville” is an American term that dates from the 1840s…used, like “variety,” to describe brief, varied acts without a narrative plot, scenario, book, or connecting theme.

A typical vaudeville show offered the audience a little bit of everything in eight to fourteen acts or “turns.” The average show had about ten turns and included magic segments, musical numbers (especially solo and duet vocals), dance numbers, combination song-and-dance acts, acrobatics, juggling, comic routines, …animal acts, celebrity cameos, and appearances by criminals, pugilists, and others in the news.

The knowledge that each short act was just one offering in a smorgasbord of material explains much of vaudeville’s appeal. Because a bad act might be followed by a stunningly good one, [the audience’s] sense of anticipation tended to remain high

Burlesque:

The popular burlesque show of the 1870s through the 1920s referred to a raucous, somewhat bawdy style of variety theater. It was inspired by Lydia Thompson and her troupe, the British Blondes, who first appeared in the United States in the 1860s, and also by early “leg” shows such as “The Black Crook” (1866). Its form, humor, and aesthetic traditions were largely derived from the minstrel show.

Extravaganzas and Spectacles:

Especially popular before the turn of the century, typical extravaganzas were light entertainment in dramatic form and often featured improbable plots and spectacular presentations. Music was generally included.

Spectacular extravaganzas and spectacles can, essentially, be considered early musicals; they represented forms that had not yet fully developed.

Musical revue:

Initially, the musical revue was little more than glorified burlesque, but, when fully realized, it was a unique, dazzling, and popular form. It combined skits, songs, dance numbers, comic routines, and an ensemble of scantily-clad young women…[Costuming] tended to be coordinated with sumptuous, carefully executed set design.

…Thematic coherence and acts created specifically for a particular show made the revue different from other musical entertainments. Usually, variety theater strung together turns (or acts) of material that could be used independently of one another. Different players performed in each of these variety skits. A musical revue, in contrast, used a single cast to perform interconnected skits which incorporated dialogue, sketches (including blackouts), songs, and dance numbers. All these elements were written especially for the revue

Musical comedy:

This type of popular entertainment is composed of a play or narrative story with interpolated songs and dances. The integration of book or libretto with music and dance anticipates later American “musicals.” Like the revue, musical comedy employs the same cast throughout the show. Actors usually play the same, specific characters.

The American musical comedy was influenced by the light opera and European operetta popular in the 1890s and 1900s. Like opera and operetta, it tends towards sentimentality and is built around stock characters.

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Early American Stage Dance

Copyright © 2010

Dance on the American stage dates back to colonial times. “The Archers (1796), considered by some scholars to be the earliest example of American musical comedy, featured not only songs but dance numbers described in contemporaneous accounts as hornpipe, an Anglo-Irish step-dance ancestor of tap dancing” (Grant, 2004, p. 215). The hornpipe was a dance with quick and rhythmic footwork. Wearing hard-soled shoes, the hornpipe dancer clicked and shuffled his heels and toes across the floor, maintaining an erect body posture and a consistent bounce on the balls of the feet. Today’s Irish step-dancers still perform this dance.

Unfortunately, there are few detailed accountings of early stage dance. The lack of details about dance in reviews and other documentation of early musical offerings tells us about the role dance played in stage shows. [In other words, the dance was not important enough to discuss beyond a small mention.]

Early American stage dancing could best be described as diversionary entertainment. Variety revues (later called vaudeville) were the most common musical offering. Individual acts of all kinds were shuffled together without a story or themed through-line. Tours traveled around the country from town to town. The content of the stage dance depended on the available performers’ talents.

Circus-type acts, such as rope dancing and tumbling, and social dances (e.g. the hornpipe and “the drunken peasant”) were also incorporated between the scenes of operas and shows and commonly had no relationship to the story of the show. According to Richard Kislan, a dance historian, the fact that dances were seen regularly in shows attests to the audience’s enjoyment of them (1987). In other words, if the audience didn’t like the dances, managers would have eliminated them. Both black and white performers employed versions of these dances, but performed them in separate shows.

Dance Steps and Styles

Although there were many circus-type variety performances, such as tight rope walking and acrobatics, most formalized group dances on stage were still borrowed from the stages and royal courts of Europe. In addition to ballet dances, highland flings, allemandes, waltzes, minuets and reels—the preferred social dances of the time–were the group dances viewed by audiences. [Picture dances in which pairs of dancers walked and swirled in various patterns of circles and squares.]

The operetta [a comic opera in which some dialogue is used] and its accompanying traditions in ballet and pantomime represented the European ancestry of the American musical. European life served as a touchstone for Americans (Knapp, 2005). Characteristics of Paris, Vienna and London served as models to be imitated or parodied.

English musicals, such as H.M.S. Pinafore and The Pirates of Penzance contributed a basic format for musical comedy in America. From them, the American musical learned its use of political satire and the use of plot to encourage songs.

English musicals also helped Americans see the newly developed differences between the two countries. American music was being born in minstrelsy and spirituals, American political issues were different from those of Europe and Americans were less stiffly traditional. The challenges of American life forced its people to take a fresh look at traditional practices and develop new ways to live. This assessment was reflected in American musical parodies of stiff English life and class distinctions (Knapp, 2005).

Ballet

Ballet dance sequences in operas pre-date American history. Dance historians generally agree that
The Black Crook (1866) was the first American musical (i.e. not opera) to feature a dance chorus [a group of performers who provide background dancing in a show.]

[For larger view, right click and select View Image]

The Black Crook (1866)

A timely fire at New York’s Academy of Music forced the cancellation of a French ballet company’s show. The show’s American producers scrambled to save their investment, pitching an idea to producer William Wheatley, who was about to premiere his own musical. History was made when approximately one hundred ballet dancers in pink tights and chiffon costumes performed in dances inserted into the show. The dances and songs were not related to the original musical, but audiences very much appreciated the work of the scantily-clad chorus line.

“
The Black Crook was the first smash hit musical: it made its producers and writers rich, and it played off and on for the rest of the nineteenth century. Its elaborate ballet numbers with fairyland motifs crossed with risqué suggestion were devised by the French troop’s Italian ballet master, David Costa, who could fairly be called America’s first notable stage-musical choreographer” (Grant, 2004, page 216).

The dancing chorus—comprised of teenage ballerinas–created much controversy. Reaction was mixed. The Tribune reported, “Children cry for it. Countrymen coming to town clamor for it, and will not be comforted unless they see it” (cited in Twain & Meltzer, 1960, p. 85). An 1867 letter by Mark Twain to the San Francisco Alta California newspaper illuminates the societal impact of
The Black Crook:

Reading: Mark Twain review of

The Black Crook

Links to an external site.

[You can stop reading when you get to “The Bewitching New Fashions.”]

Despite Twain’s moral outrage—and he was certainly not the only offended party—audiences of men and women flocked to see the musical. In fact, the continuous public protests against the musical—which always gave details about the barely dressed women of the chorus—ensured the success of the show! The controversial attire of the dancers did little to prevent women from attending. Wheatley’s attention to lavish scene design and lighting gave female audience members a place to avert their eyes during the dances. According to Marlis Schweitzer, an author and Assistant Professor of Theatre Studies, female attendance at
The Black Crook—whether to view scenery or peek at the dancers—gave tacit approval to future producers for the continued exploitation of females as objects (2009).

Throughout history, dance would consistently push the boundaries of sexuality and American identity. With its French ballet and German operetta,
The Black Crook’s European roots lent sophistication to the production, allowing audiences to forgive the blatant display of the feminine body as art.

Raymond Knapp, author of The American Musical and the Formation of National Identity, gives additional insight into the lasting legacy of
The Black Crook:

First and foremost–considering the importance of commerce to the future history of the American musical—its signal achievement was what we would now call its “bottom line”: its unquestioned and lasting commercial success.
The Black Crook went on to enjoy a then-phenomenon 474 performances, and thus became a shining emblem of the potential for commercial success in American musical theater, widely imitated and often revived in the following decades. (2005, p. 23)

Knapp goes on to say that it is unlikely that
The Black Crook was the first American musical. It’s more likely that
The Black Crook was the first musical to blend story, music, dance and scenery in a manner that garnered commercial success. It was this distinct combination of elements that made The Black Crook the first model for future American musicals (2005).

We’re talking a great deal about this musical because it really demonstrates the relationship of dance entertainment to audience response, societal issues and commercialism. The presence of barely-clad dancers in
The Black Crook drew audiences despite the conservative moral code of the time. Ticket purchases showed the discrepancy between this public moral standard and the individual desires of audience members.

Role of Dance

The role of dance was very much evidenced in the performance of the stars of the time. Variety and innovation were keys to the success of performers on the vaudeville stage who almost always created their own acts. Without the technology and special effects that audiences enjoy today, the ability of an act to “stop the show”—a phrase that connotes an audience’s literally jumping to its feet and applauding, making it impossible for the show to go on until the crowd quiets—relied on the invention and “pizzazz” of the performer creating it. The word “variety” did not apply only to the mixture of acts in a show; it also spoke of the wide spectrum of skills displayed by individual performers vying to keep their acts in the spotlight. Dancers in vaudeville used skill, tricks, personality and sexuality to provide provocative entertainment for their usually all-male audience.

In order to provide context for the impact of stage dancing on audiences of the 19th century, this week, you will do a “Dance Video Analysis” of two videos. The first shows a reenactment of a Quadrille, one of the most popular social dances of the 1890s.

The second film is an original 1903 Mutoscope film of an 1897 performance by the Franchonetti sisters, a vaudeville dance act.

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Minstrelsy Discussion Post

Student’s name

Instructor

Course

1

Date

Minstrelsy Discussion

I feel that the statement “Minstrelsy provided many blacks with opportunities” best reflects the impact of minstrelsy on black American performers because minstrelsy, as one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, created job opportunities for black performers who were otherwise limited in their ability to work in the entertainment industry (Green, 2007).

Bert Williams and George Walker were two of the most prominent black American performers within the minstrelsy tradition. Despite the challenges and limitations they faced as black performers in a racially segregated society, their exceptional talent and hard work allowed them to achieve great success within the minstrelsy tradition. However, their successes did not erase the barriers and obstacles that they faced in a society that was deeply rooted in racism and segregation (Glass, 2007). These limitations and challenges are also a significant part of their legacy, serving as a reminder of the systemic barriers and injustices that black Americans faced in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (Lane, 2015).

It is impossible to say for sure whether integration would have happened sooner if minstrelsy had not existed. There were many factors that contributed to the Civil Rights Movement and the eventual integration of American society, and minstrelsy was just one of many cultural and societal elements that played a role in shaping public opinion and attitudes towards race (Glass, 2007). Additionally, the broader historical and political context of the time, including issues such as slavery, segregation, and the fight for equal rights, would have likely influenced the timeline of integration regardless of the presence of minstrelsy (Lane, 2015).

Reference

Glass, B. S. (2007). 
African American dance: An illustrated history. McFarland.

Green, J. (2007). Minstrelsy.
African American Studies Center.

https://doi.org/10.1093/acref/9780195301731.013.47538

Lane, S. F. (2015).
Black broadway: African Americans on the Great White Way. Square One Publ.