DANCING

As we already saw in DU 5, in the 20th century modern and expressionist dance emerged, and at the same time ballroom dancing also appeared. Let’s talk about the most important ones:

- Foxtrot: it was fashionable at the beginning of the century, the word means “fox step” and it was accompanied by the first jazz orchestras. It is danced with two slow steps and two quick. It was born in the USA but after First World War American soldiers made it popular in Europe.

- Charleston: it was born in Charleston, a city in Carolina in the South of the USA. It was a symbol of happiness after First World War. It is thought to come from an African dance called juba. It is a quick and energetic dance with a bar of 4 tiempos, alternating arms and legs with great movement in the feet. It can be danced accompanied or alone, and one of the main features of this dance is improvisation.

- Quick step: it was born in the USA as a mixture of foxtrot and Charleston.

- Lindy hop: dance made popular in New York by Afro-American dancers. It is similar to the previous ones but postures are modified making them more open: from a hug position the bodies separate holding just one hand, to hug back again.  

- Chachachá: created in Cuba by Enrique Jorrim, from danzones, dances from the 19th century. The name of the dance makes reference to the onomatopoeic sounds of the dance steps: 3 quick steps in 2 tiempos.

- Tango: it comes from Argentina but it soon spread around the world. It was a revolution in dancing because it was a sensual dance in pairs.

- Twist: it is derived from rock and roll at the beginning of the 60s, with faster movements and more marked, with shoulders swinging, hips, almost without raising the feet, and the pairs are always separated.

- Breakdance: in the 70s young people started to dance in the streets with movements with their backs on the floor, or making their bodies spin over their heads, acrobatic movements all of them very difficult. It was called breakdance.