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