Cover Graphic

JAZZ DANCE

The Story of American Vernacular Dance
by Marshall and Jean Stearns
cover photo ©Hugh Bell

Introduction

The latest edition of this wonderful book is a paperback available from the author's online store. (1994: ISBN 0-306-80553-7) This book and Rusty Frank's Tap! The Greatest Tap Stars and Their Stories, are two books from DaCapo Press considered essential reading for any tap enthusiast.

In order to quickly describe the book, here is a passage from the introduction:

In addition to a selected bibliography, an index, and footnotes, two important appendices have been included: an exhaustive list of films in which vernacular dancing may be seen (the best documentation of the subject) compiled by Ernest R. Smith, and a valuable analysis and notation of basic Afro-American movements by Nadia Chilkovsky [in Labanotation.]

The subject of vernacular dance is so vast that, after six years of research, we gave up all idea of telling the whole story. Nevertheless, as we proceeded we found that certain dancers were consistently singled out for specific accomplishments, and certain major trends were mentioned repeatedly. So we limited ourselves to tracing major developments and describing the careers of dancers who created styles and established traditions.

The aim of the book, therefore, is to chart the main currents in the stream of American vernacular dance.

A Quick Review by Paul Corr

This book covers swing, jitterbug, popular dances (of the '60s) such as the pony and others, as well as their antecedents. Tap dance figures prominently and several tap dancers are profiled. While the history is rich, the reader is cautioned that the book treats tap as a dying art. This may have represented the state of tap in the mid-60s. Choreographed modern dance was in ascension.

This scholarly work is essential for understanding the history of dance in America as it describes the cultural influences and performing environment for jazz dancers. It focuses on influential dancers describing each career in turn. There is an enormous amount of material and performers and I found it taxing trying to follow the timeline as it finished one performer and revisited an earlier period with another. I read the book over a couple of days and even now if I pick it up and open to an individual I want to read about, I have to finish the chapter. This is great stuff!

The book's table of contents is listed below. Tap fans will be interested in Parts 6, 9 and 11 as well as Chapter 34, "The Flash Acts." There are performers featured here that are mentioned elsewhere as important influences. These include: The Whitman Sisters, King Rastus Brown, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, John Bubbles, Fred Astaire, Pet Nugent, Eddie Rector, Nicholas Brothers, Berry Brothers, Honi Coles and Cholly Atkins, Baby Laurence, Groundhog and many others.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Brenda Bufalino

Marshall Winslow Stearns: An Appreciation by James T. Maher

Introduction

1 Prologue - 1

PART 0NE Prehistory

2 Africa and the West Indies - 11
3 New Orleans and the South - 18
4 The Pattern of Diffusion - 25

PART TWO Beginnings

5 From Folk to Professional - 35
6 Early Minstrelsy - 43
7 Minstrel Dances and Dancers - 49
8 Late Minstrelsy - 55

PART THREE The Vernacular

9 Medicine Shows and Gillies - 63
10 Carnivals, Circuses, and Negro Minstrels - 69
11 Roadshows, T.O.B.A., and Picks - 75
12 The Whitman Sisters - 85

PART F0UR Tin Pan Alley and Song Lyrics

13 Ballroom Origins - 95
14 The Song Writer: Perry Bradford I - 103
15 The Song Writer: Perry Bradford II - 109

PART FIVE Broadway and the Reviewers

16 Williams and Walker and the Beginnings of Vernacular Dance on Broadway - 117
17 Early Harlem - 125
18 Shuffle Along - 132
19 Broadway: The Early Twenties - 140
20 Broadway: The Late Twenties - 149
21 Choreography: Buddy Bradley - 160

PART SIX Technique: Pioneers, Innovators,and Stylists

22 King Rastus Brown and the Time Step - 173
23 Bill Robinson: Up on the Toes - 180
24 Frank Condos: Wings and the Expanding Repertory - 189
25 James Barton: Versatility - 197
26 Harland Dixon and Character Dancing - 204
27 John W. Bubbles and Rhythm Tap - 212
28 Fred Astaire - 220

PART SEVEN Specialties

29 Eccentric Dancing - 231
30 Comedy Dancing - 239
31 Russian Dancing - 248

PART EIGHT Acrobatics

32 Straight Acrobatics - 261
33 The New Acrobatics - 267
34 The Flash Acts - 276

PART NINE The Class Acts

35 The Original Stylists - 285
36 The First Class-Act Team: Greenlee and Drayton - 291
37 Pete Nugent and the Class Acts - 298
38 Coles and Atkins: The Last of the Class Acts - 305

PART TEN The Jitterbug

39 Harlem Background - 315
40 The Savoy Ballroom - 321
41 From Coast to Coast - 328

PART ELEVEN Requiem

42 Baby Laurence and the Hoofers Club - 337
43 Groundhog - 342
44 The Dying Breed - 348
45 Epilogue - 354

Afterword by Brenda Bufalino - 363
Notes - 371
Selected Bibliography - 397
Appendices

Paul Corr ©2001
Feedback Form
My Homepage

Last Modified: 25-Mar-03