1920s Dance

During the 1920s, dance underwent a drastic transformation, demonstrated by popular, yet scandalous, dances, like the Charleston and the Tango, and the emergence of what is considered modern dance.

Following WWI, social dance became an escape for America's youth. They began listening to Jazz and Blues music and soon created dances to correspond with it. Dance partners dared to let their bodies touch in the Tango, something society would never have accepted before. In addition, society was swept by a new craze: dance marathons. Famous dance teams, like married couple Vernon and Irene Castle, devoted themselves to such competitions, which could last days, and required that the participants never stop dancing, and that they not let go of their partners.

In addition, Broadway dance was changed during the 1920s. Performers such as June Havoc and Martha Graham, who is hailed as one of the original modern dancers, helped make Broadway dance what it is today.

Dance experienced a full transformation during the 1920s, in social, professional, and recreational aspects, leaning away from traditional dances of the late 1800s and early 1900s, and more towards what we know as modern dance.

Sources: www.imdb.com
www.pbs.org
www.1920-30.com
www.kyrene.org
www.historylink.org

Theatre and Film of the 1920s

Film of the 1920s marked an era of silent movies and new innovations that would allow viewers to not only see the actors, but hear them, too. Early movies featured in-theatre accompanyments to match the mood of the films, but the invention of the Movietone, in 1926, allowed sound to be recorded on film, and thus, a new generation of movies was born. The first of these movies was The Jazz Singer (1927), featured at the right, is considered a pivotal point in sound films, which were nicknamed "talkies."

Cinematic icons like Charlie Chaplin, who wrote and produced The Kid (1921), and Rudolph Valentino, who starred in The Sheik (1921), became wildly famous for their roles and were two of the first true "movie stars." In addition, cartoonist Walt Disney released The Karnival Kid (1929) and director D. W. Griffith gained a celebrity status with his movie Dream Street (1921) during this time period. The 1920s also saw the evolution of mega-film companies like Warner Bros. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Studios, who competed in sound-innovation progress and who could make the most profit.

The 1920s are noted as the time period when film really took off, becoming more available to the public and making great strides in quality and in sound synchronization.

If film was the bread of the 1920s, then theatre would be the butter. During this time, Broadway reached its peak in popularity. For the first time, black performers acted alongside white performers, and the emergence of Vaudeville, or Broadway performances mixed with jazz music, helped boost popularity of musical theatre.

Those who dominated the theatre scene included composer Cole Porter, actor Charles Gilpin, and producers Eva Le Gallienne and Oscar Hammerstein, who all contributed greatly to Broadway. Some of the most notable plays and musicals from this time period are The Emperor Jones (1920), What Price Glory?, and Desire Under the Elms.

Overall, the 1920s were the starting point for the huge successes that film and theatre would experience, and paved the way for future decades.

Sources: http://www.1920-30.com/movies/

http://www.filmsite.org/20sintro.html

http://www.1920-30.com/movies/timeline.html

http://phayemuss.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/jazz_singer.jpg

http://www.sji.ca/providers/AI/Images/2359_6260_2.jpg

http://www.helium.com/items/664489-theater-in-the-1920s
http://www.mapsites.net/gotham01/webpages/alisonhannah/broad1920s.html

Music of the 1920's "The Devil's Music"

"When my grandmother found out that I was playing jazz music in one of the sporting houses in the District, she told me that I had disgraced the family and forbade me to live at the house...She told me that devil music would surely bring about my downfall, but I just couldn't put it behind me." -Jelly Role Morton, jazz composer-

Jazz, a well known genre of music today, was born in the 1920's. Jazz is a whole different world in comparison to other forms of music. Jazz appealed to audiences in the '20's because it broke the rules of traditional music, and allowed musicians to improvise, and or make up whatever they wanted to on the spot. Ragtime, and Broadway musicals also became very popular. The catchy tunes, and upbeat rhythms caught listeners attention and dragged them into the sound.

Many artists derived from this time period. A lot of which are still listened to today. Some of these include Duke Ellington who defined the jazz era, and was known as the best composer of his time. He led his own orchestra, and his career lasted for over 50 years. His reputation got stronger after his death and is still a huge jazz influence today.

Another musician known as Louis Armstrong also got his start in the '20's. He is known for his amazing trumpet playing and his improvisation skills. He was also a great singer, and started the idea of solo players within jazz.

Jazz kept progressing into society, and many states such as Chicago, and New York became main areas of where jazz migrated to. Not only was jazz being brought into the world, but so was the idea of using the radio. The radio during these times was known to be expensive, however but the end of the 1920's, it was rather inexpensive. This decade also marked the beginning of independent record companies.

Visual Art

During the 1920s, modernism became the norm in the art world. Modern art is a representation of the world that is less than literal. Photography had been invented, so the need for realistic paintings was no longer there. Artists began coming up with new ways to show how they viewed the world. The painting on the right is Geopoliticus Child Watching the Birth of New Man by Salvador Dali.


Beneath the umbrella of modernism, surrealism tries to express "the true function of thought, defying all logic and lies outside any normal or moral interpretations of life." Surrealists had vivid imaginations and were extensively creative. Two examples of surreal artists are Salvador Dali and Max Ernst, who painted The Golden Eye as pictured on the left.

Sources: http://www.allbuyart.com/art-movement-surrealism.asp
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://wwwdelivery.superstock.com/WI/223/1100/PreviewComp/SuperStock_1100-300.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.superstock.com/stock-photos-images/1100-300&usg=__iq791uD2ARMqJwjHcnzchGRtVVQ=&h=350&w=278&sz=101&hl=en&start=2&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=1Lc9NzSnmSxFCM:&tbnh=120&tbnw=95&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmodern%2Bart%2B1920s%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26tbs%3Disch:1
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.artgallery.org.nz/news_photos/11220910463_48320000_large.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.artgallery.org.nz/index.php/ps_pagename/newsarchive/news/129&usg=__Uo54shSHmuicAc2ayEEeF0hOoHY=&h=413&w=455&sz=33&hl=en&start=2&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=gr-MzGy3O1BYlM:&tbnh=116&tbnw=128&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsurrealism%2Bart%2B1920s%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26tbs%3Disch:1

Introduction: Historical Context of 1920s Art

Post war prosperity greatly influenced the art of this time period. The United States' economy was booming, influencing the art of the time.
Surrealism came into existance, as well as art deco. African American art became popular during the Harlem Renaissance, which took place in the 1920s. The inkblot test which is used in psychology was also devolped during this time period.
Above is the art of the 1920s broken into different categories.

Sources: http://www.1920-30.com/art/
http://php.scripts.psu.edu/users/m/a/mas53/timln920.html