THE ORIGINS OF
MODERN JAZZ DANCE
N DISCUSSING the historical development
I of modem jazz dance, one is confronted
with many eomplexities with referenee to
definition. These complexities have devel-
oped historically with the insistence that
all artistic expression must fit into a spécifie
classification. There are many problems
that will arise when someone outside of a
given culture gives definition to expression
of the people through an outsider's eyes.
Traditionally this is what has happened with
Modem Jazz Dance as well as jazz music.
Those persons who have studied the ex-
pressions, with few exceptions, become the
writers on the subject, the so-called ex-
perts. Yet problems arise with the realiza-
tion that they have only a superficial under-
standing of the expression, and at that only
the studied aspects, outside the culture and
out of context.
It all began in Africa. History tells us
that many Africans were taken from their
homeland, the West Coast and lower coast-
line of Africa, and by force were taken to
the West Indies, South and Central Amer-
ica as well as the United States. If, then,
we look at the cultiire of those forced from
theii- homeland, we discover the beginning.
The traditional African arts are essentially
utilitarian and social; therefore, the danee
in Africa is not a separate thing, but a
part of the total life of the people. There
are dances for birth, puberty, marriage,
death, etc. Each individual group has its
own character in style, formation, and ac-
companiment, as well as participation in
Page 8
such dances, but all the people have these
dances. As is indicated in the brochure
on the Ballet Africaines;
The least of our original artistic manifesta-
tions must correspond to an active participa-
tion in the life of our people. They separated
the culture of the people, the art of real life.
In everything, there is the form and the foun-
dation; that which matters above all in African
art is its deep thought which animates it and
makes it useful.i
The deep thought which is referred to may
be considered a basie functionalism in the
arts. There was no audience per se because
the entire community participated.
In addition to the dances that celebrate
the main stages of life, there are other
dances which fall into general categories:
• those dances which are performed to
produce rain, growing of crops, and the
increase of children, etc.;
• those dances which are performed to
improve the health of any given member
of the community;
• war and hunting dances;
• danees of mimcry;
• those dances which serve to tell of a
particular historic event, etc., and
• dances that are religious in nature
which do not fall into any of the above
categories.
1. Keita Fodeba, Les Ballet Africains, 1968 (bro-
chure, no publisher listed).
THE BIACK SCHOLAH JUNC, 1970

by DOLORES KIRTON CAYOU
XBADITIONALLY, then, each African com-
munity had its special artists, sculptors,
fabric makers, teachers, etc., but every-
one danced. Allowing for those differ-
ences within a given group, there are rather
specific characteristics that describe tradi-
tional African dance: 1) the use of bent
knees with the body close to the earth, ex-
cluding those times, of course, when the
dancer is jumping; 2 ) the tendency towards
using the foot as a whole, in that the
weight is shifted immediately from one
foot to the other; 3 ) isolation of body parts
in movement, such as the head, shoulders,
hip, rib cage, etc.; 4) rhythmically complex
and syncopated movement; 5) carrying as
many as two or three rhythms in the body
at once — polyrhythm; 6) music and dance
as a single expression, one feeding the
other; 7) individualism of style within the
group style; 8) functionalism — becoming
what you dance — the art of real life.
There are other characteristics that we
may point to; for example, the difference in
the dances of men and women and which
dances are done by whom; but for our
purposes here those characteristics are not
necessary to trace the dance expression and
its development here in the United States.
O, COURSE when the African slaves were
taken to the West Indies and neighboring
areas, they did not forget theii- cultural
THE BLACK SCHOLAR JUNC. 1970
DoLOHES KIRTON CAYOU, dancer, choreographer
and teacher, is professor of dance at San Francisco
State College. She has performed widely on the
East and West Coasts and studied under Alvin
Ailey, Tally Beatty, Ruth Beckford and Syvilla
Forte. Mrs. Cayou is founder and director of
Enjhaje I, a community-based dance ensemble
which performs the entire range of the black ex-
perience, from African dances to modern jazz, and
gospel dances. This essay is a chapter from her
forthcoming book. Modern Jazz Dance, to be pub-
lished this year by National Press Books, Palo Alto,
California.
expression. Slavery was not such that the
cultural and artistic expressions were en-
croached upon directly. As time went by
there were European influences which
merged with the African expression; es-
sentially, however, the dance and the music
remained African. In some areas, notably
Panama, Brazil, and Cuba, almost pure
examples of African dance and music arc
still found. Originally the Samba was ac-
companied by all percussion instruments.
Some of the African rhythms and move-
ments that developed in Cuba, Panama, and
Haiti, gave birth to such well-known
dances as Cha Cha, Mambo, Pachanga,
Merengue, and Samba. In addition to these
dances, which are social in nature, are the
expressions which are religious in nature.
In Haiti, for example, among the Vodun
worshippers we find the same African gods,
Dumballa, Shango, and the like. In these
ceremonies, each god has his own rhythms
and dance steps. In looking at these dances
we find again the dance characteristics
mentioned above. So what we discover in
South and Central America and the West
Indies — wherever slaves were taken — is
African dance somewhat out of context,
sometimes tied in with Christianity-Cath-
olicism and merged with some European
influences, but none the less still one step
from its roots, traditional African dance.
History again tells us that the slaveiy
endured here by our ancestors in the
United States was worse than any slavery
Page 9
in the history of mankind." The slave-
masters did not allow the cultural expres-
sion to remain in its purity; they tried to
eliminate all such expression in the slaves
by prohibiting until 1812 the playing of
drums and gatherings in large groups. The
slavemasters were unsuccessful in destroy-
ing the cultural expression completely as
they attempted to do. As the great anthro-
pologist Pearl Primus recalls:
On my trips south of the Mason and Dixon
line in 1944 I discovered in the Baptist
churches the voice of the drum — not in any
instrument, but in the throat of the preacher;
I found the dynamic sweep of movement
through space (so characteristic of Africa) in
the motions of minister and congregation alike.
I felt in the sermons the crashing thunder
dances of Africa and I was hypnotized by the
pounding rhythm of song. Did the dance
which the slaves brought to America and
which disappeared under pressure of their
masters break through disguised in the free-
dom of their church? . . . Dancing in the
churches in the South, though it is not called
dance, resembles what I know of Africa so
closely, I can say with conviction that the
people brought here centuries ago from the
Gold Coast and other parts of West Africa
preserved the dance in their religious expres-
sion.2
Once the drums were prohibited, slaves
found replacements: bone clappers, banjos,
rhythmic sounds with the hands and feet.
So in both kinds of places: Congo Square,
an area just outside of New Orleans where
slaves congregated to do circle dances; and
in the church through the religious services
where the movement was called anything
but dance, the traditions were revived and
carried on; and characteristics remained:
1) bent knees, with the body close to the
earth; 2 ) tendency toward use of the whole
foot, immediate transference of weight; 3)
isolation of body parts in movement;
4) rhythmically complex and syncopated
movement; 5) carrying as many as two or
three rhythms in the body at once — poly-
rhythm; 6 ) music and dance as a single ex-
pression; 7) individualism of style within
the group style; 8) functionalism — becom-
ing what you dance, the art of real life, and
Page 10
9 ) individualism in ways of doing the given
movement.
VJivEN all the influences of slavery and
the existence of being slaves in a foreign
land with basic differences in life values,
another characteristic evolved as a matter
of necessity, and that was to find another
way to reach the same end or goal. So, in
trying to erase all cultiural expression, the
slavemaster only encouraged that expres-
sion to happen in different ways, such as
the development of blues, spirituals, gospel,
so-called shuffles, hoe-downs, etc. I do not
mean to say that prior to this time there
was no creativity within the traditional
African dance culture; rather, that this as-
pect was highly emphasized given the situ-
ation of the slave. But, in the church has
remained the most traditional aspects of
African dance, free almost entirely from
other influences. This would hold true
especially in the churches of the South
where even life is more traditional.
X H E EUROPEAN influences on the dance
expression of the slaves were in the way of
reels, quadrilles, clogs, etc.; in other words,
the influences were primarily in the area of
movement, rather specific steps seemingly
associated music.
Given then the traditional characteristic
of rhythmic complexity and syncopation
and some of the movement of the Euro-
pean folk dances, the immediate develop-
ment was tap dance in the middle 1800's.
Tap dance is one of the early tanglibles
developed that we are aware of. I'm sure
there are many hundreds of other develop-
ments that occurred which were never
*Not only was slavery a horror, but in a land
where all values and points of view are dissim-
ilar, all aspects of African life were ridiculed or
destroyed. The two areas that were hard for the
slave-master to reach were those of music-dance
and religion as these could be internalized.
2. Anatole and Manchester Chujoy, P.W., Dance
Encyclopedia, New York: Simon & Schuster,
1967, pp. 387-389.
THE BLACK SCHOLAR JUNC. 1970
 popularized or seen by the whites and
therefore were not institutionalized in any
way.
The point about the institutionaliza-
tion of dance is an important one. The be-
ginnings of jazz dance for many people
only had to do with its appearance on the
concert stage or thereabouts. For many it
did not exist because it was not institution-
alized. When, however, the minstrel shows
got under way, more people in and out of
the country became familiar with the black
dance culture. Although the minstrel shows
were based on the life of black people,
most of the early minstrel companies, such
as the Virginia Minstrels and the Ethiopian
Minstrels, were white. In general blacks
were not permitted on stage. Before the
Civil War hundreds of white minstrels ap-
peared in burnt cork, imitating the black
man's speech, telling his jokes, and singing
his songs. They mimicked the dances of
the black field hands and the cakewalks
of the house servants. The plantation stick
dance became a standard comedy number.'
Even though blacks during its early stages
were not permitted to perform in minstrel
shows, they did perform in medicine shows,
carnivals, circuses, and the like. After the
Civil War the situation remained essen-
tially the same. It seemed, as history has
consistently indicated in this country, that
the only time black performers were al-
lowed to express themselves and their cul-
ture was when it was not economically
profitable for whites to do it. Those few
black minstrel shows that existed, given all
the competition of the white companies,
found that the only way in which talent
could be sold given the circtmistance, was
to give people what they wanted to see; a
stereotyped black who made fun of him-
self and his culture.
During the early 1900's we find more
and more blacks performing outside of the
narrow stereotype of the minstrel show.
Again the traveling shows spread the music
and dance culture of black people far and
wide. In addition to the spreading of cul-
ture, there was another important aspect
to the events taking place: it was the
THE BLACK SCHOIAR JUNE, 1970
beginning of the musical theatre. The black
musical revue offered comedians, singers
and dancers an opportunity to perfrom
without making fun of their race.* Out of
such performances, one became aware
of new dance developments: cakewalks,
grinds, comedy dance, etc. Another impor-
tant factor in this discussion on the his-
torical development of modem jazz dance
is always the constant dance involvement
and development in the everyday lives of
black people. Dance has always been a
part of the expression of black people in
church, at social gatherings, etc. Probably
the social or vernacular dance, as Steams
calls it, is more important than any one
particular form that evolved out of it. So as
the dance of the musical revue evolved, it
was directly associated with and tied to
the everyday dance of the people. Prior to
1900 there were such black shows as The
South Before the War, The Creole Show,
Oriental Ameriea, etc.
A HE NEXT THEATRE FORM tO develop
that of vaudeville. Again we found the in-
numerable black performers doing comedy,
song and dance. This was also the time
when slapstick comedy came to the fore.
A busy black circuit, the Theatre Owner's
Booking Association, provided black enter-
tainers with an opportimity to gain theatri-
cal experience without having to particu-
larly please white audiences and theatre
managers. Headliners for T.O.B. included
Butterbeans and Susie, who included a
Cakewalk and eccentric dance in their com-
edy act, and the tap dancing Whittman
sisters.' Meanwhile the white audiences
selected some of the performers as favor-
ites as a matter of selected interest. In this
case then the artists would travel the white
circuit as well as the black.
During this time, the early 1900's, the
dance that developed out of everyday life
of black people became extremely popular
with the white population as a whole.
3. Langston Hughes, Bhck Magic, p. 28.
4. Hughes, ibid., p. 46.
5. Marshall Steams, Jazz Dance, p. 23-67.
Page 11
Most of the dances were representational
in the traditional sense and again go back
to Africa: Turkey Trot, Grizzly Bear,
Monkey, Chicken Scratch, Btill Frog Hop,
Kangaroo Dip, Bunny Hug, etc. Looking
back historically it seems that more of the
country danced from this period through
the forties than at any other time in the
United States' history. This was also a thriv-
ing time for black dancers and dance. Such
greats as "Bojangles" Robinson, Bert Wil-
liams, the Nicolas Brothers, The Berry
Brothers and Buck and Bubbles were in
the "hey day" of performing. There were
nightclubs in Harlem which opened even
more possibilities for performers. There are
few black people over the age of 40 who
are not familiar with the associations of the
Cotton Club, Harlem, and the music as
well as the shows that appeared there. The
opening of a show called Shuffle Along be-
gan a long period of black shows on Broad-
way. Again this popularity exposed more
and more people to the black music, dance
and comedy. Many of these shows did not
stay in the United States alone, but trav-
eled throughout Europe and were highly
successful there. Some of those dancers
"known" during this time were Earl "Snake-
hips" Tucker, Avon Long, and Baby Alice
Whitman.
As it happened the dance called "the
Charleston" was the one that caught on and
spread throughout the world. The Charles-
ton was the spark that ignited dance par-
tieipation and interest as it had never been
in the United States and Europe. I'm sure
it surprised most black people during that
time as to why the Charleston became so
popular.
ET ME RETURN for a moment to the
1-JET
foundation of the arts in Africa. The arts
were part of the total complex of life;
there was no audience and everyone par-
ticipated in the dance and musical expres-
sion in some way. Even though black
Americans had lived through hundreds of
years of slavery, this major difference, the
role of the arts in life, carried over to a
Page 12
great degree; everyone participated at
home, church, parties, and gatherings. The
black musical revue set the stage for the
development of musical comedy theatre
and also afforded a manner through which
whites could become acquainted with the
dances which were common in black com-
munities. The dances, of cotirse, were han-
dled in a more spectacular way — extensive
production numbers within that musical re-
vue framework. The point as to the popu-
larity of certain of the black dances over
others, as well as how whites became aware
of them, is an important one. This basic
interest and popularity did and would, to
a great extent, determine what whites
would like and promote from what was
basically another cultural expression.
Given all the time and experience of
black life in this country, the characteristics
mentioned at the beginning of this brief
history are still the major characteristics
of black dance. The place where these char-
acteristics are holding less true at this
point is at its most recently developed
level, the stage. The dance in the church
remained essentially the same and was
done for the same reasons as always. This
was also true of the social dances of the
masses of black Americans. However, v^dth
the advent of the traveling shows and the
black musical revue (the only one of its
kind at that time), the dance was taken
out of context for the first time and put on
a stage to entertain. Within a few years
such dances as the Black Bottom, The
Shim Sham Shimmy and the Lindy Hop
radically changed the social dance patterns
of the entire white community. Before that
time the dances which were done were the
well-known Europeans one such as the
Waltz or derivations of court dances such
as Square Dance.
It was about this time one guesses that
the term jazz dance appeared, why not?
The twenties and thirties were known as
the jazz age. I am not interested in at-
tempting to trace the origin of the word;
I think that for my purposes here that is
insignificant. I am rather interested in put-
ting into perspective the development of
THE BLACK SCHOLAR JUNE, 1970
what is called Modem Jazz Danee whieh
for many reasons has not been done to any
appreciable extent. Its definition, then, by
those who thought it necessary to elassify,
perhaps included only the danees of the
twenties and thirties. I believe that sueh a
definition neeesarily included the entire
dance eulture whether or not the originator
was aware of it, whieh brings us back to
an earlier point.
/TLNOTHER African carryover is that of the
oral tradition. Even more so than occurs
today, blaek Amerieans did not write down
cultural expressions in general. This is to
say that again one did the thing as opposed
to talking about it or classifying it outside
of a generality. It has seemingly always
been an inclination on the part of white
Amerieans, generally, to elassify and set
up appropriate eompartments in order
to "see the order" of things. It tends toward
a "dissecting out" approach to all things.
It was also at this time that blaek musical
expression began to move away from the
danee at the third place in development in
this country, the stage. This is very inter-
esting beeause it signals the Americaniza-
tion of blaek expression in musie and dance
for whites because of their influenee, whieh
is mainly économie. All too often art be-
eame a matter of "selling the product."
With the development of the "third"
plaee of blaek music and dance, the stage,
these blaek eultural expressions broadened
the base of existence of blaek musie and
dance and encouraged, at this level, the
separation of the two. Before this time they
existed as a single expression. The popular-
ity of the blaek musical theatre lasted quite
a few years, its impaet revolutionizing eon-
eepts of music, danee, and theatre in Amer-
ica. The eoming of the Depression, expos-
ure and time as major forées brought to an
end the "high time" in blaek musical thea-
tre. The end of this theatre naturally began
the development of musieal theatre as a
whole whieh means from this time forward
the emphasis has been on white musieal
theatre. Although most of the daneing that
THE BIACK SCHOLAR JUNE, 1970
used to be ealled "ehoms" or theatrieal was
learned by white performers studying with
blaek teachers, after the twenties blaek
daneers were no longer used, exeept for
sueh highly specialized daneers as Bill
Robinson or Nieolas Brothers and usually
they appeared in a particularly limited
"spot" in the produetion.
In 1931, when the New Negro Art Thea-
tre presented a recital whieh included a
suite of interpretive danees based on South-
em spirituals, old limitations were defied
and a precedent was established.^ A pio-
neer blaek daneer in the interpretive field,
Hemsely Winfield, was the moving spirit
behind the program. The suite dealt with
an area of blaek life whieh had never be-
fore been presented through danee on the
stage. The subject matter and approach of
the danees went beyond the scope of the
blaek danee tradition and in doing so the
suite set a precedent for future interpretive
presentations of blaek musie and danee.
We should not see anything in a vaeuum.
Jazz danee, modem or otherwise, is re-
lated to the total expression of a group of
people and their experiences. The danee
does not exist without its musie, and to
consider the implications of musie whieh
places the greatest importance on the ex-
pressiveness of the person or group of per-
sons playing is to begin to realize the vivid
differenee between the tradition of jazz
danee and the tradition of European musie
and movement.
My hope is that this essay has pulled
bits and pieces of danee together to show
the great contribution that blaek danee has
made, especially to the development of
musieal theatre in the United States. In
this day of increased awareness on the
part of blaek people of our eontributions,
other Amerieans are being informed of the
tremendous wealth of eulture that is a
part of the blaek man. That eulture, inelud-
ing danee, is a continuing variation on a
theme basie to all human beings — feelings
and the expression of them.
6. Hughes, op. cit., p. 264.
Page 13
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