Jazz and Dance in the 1920s

By: Kiara, Hannah, and Jessica

Jazz emerged in New Orleans in the late 1800s.

Louis Armstrong, known as “Satchmo” and

“Pops”, was a famous jazz musician in New

Orleans in the 1920s. He was well known for

the song “What a Wonderful World.”

The simple act of dropping his

music sheet served as

introduction to the musical

language of scatting.

“If you have to ask what jazz is you’ll never know”-Louis Armstrong

Duke Ellington was an american pianist, composer, and bandleader for jazz orchestras. He was most known for “It Don’t Mean A Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing,” “Sophisticated Lady,” “Solitude,” and “Satin Doll.”

"I merely took the energy it takes to pout & wrote some blues." -Duke Ellington

In 1919, the Shimmy Dance was introduced and in 1921, the Varsity Dance became popular.

One of the most popular dances of the 1920s was the Charleston, introduced in 1923 by the broadway musical “Running

Wild”.

Gilda Gray was most known for making the shimmey a popular dance in the 1920s. They called her the shimmey queen. She starred in many hollywood movies between 1919 and 1936.

The dance marathon craze started in 1923, sparked by 32 year old Alma Cummings as she danced non-stop for 27 hours, wore out 6 partners and beat the previous record.

Dance became such an important factor in the lives of people in the 20s that schools would teach dance to young students and churches would use dance as a way to attract young people.

Racism became more of an issue in jazz as the years went on and the style of music became more popular. Bigger establishments would not welcome African American performers, which meant they were forced to go to smaller venues with a poor reputation.

“Jazz does not belong to one race or culture, but is a gift that America has given the world.”-Ahmad Alaadeen

People discovered that the New York Brownstone basement was suitable for speakeasies. Later, the cellars of New York city would provide opportunities for Jazz musicians who were turned away from major establishments to perform.

The Charleston dance required women to wear shorter, looser dresses they could dance in. Along with this, women began smoking in public and drinking alcohol. These behaviors were very different from how they were expected to behave before.

The excitement and happy spirits of the jazz age came to an unfortunate end when the stock market crash in September 1929.

Work Cited • Louis Armstrong. (2015). The Biography.com website. Retrieved

011:25, Feb 16, 2015, from http://www.biography.com/people/louis-armstrong-9188912.

• Unknown, A. (n.d.). 1920s Dances. Retrieved February 16, 2015, from http://www.1920-30.com/dance/

• Becker, P. (2003, August 25). Dance Marathons of the 1920s and 1930s. Retrieved February 16, 2015, from http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=553