Figure 1.--This 1900 Keystone colorized stereoview card was entitled, 'Their first sancing lesspn.' Images like this were staged. Most American children fid not lear to dance with piano and violin accompanyment. But many were taught at home or were signed up for lessons. Notice the mirror, giving us a back view of the boy's Fauntleroy suit. '

Dance is am age old art and popular activity. Native Americans practived a variety of dances millenial before the arrival of Europeans. It was an impirtant part of their cilture and tghus learned mistly by observation over time. In yhe realy colonia; period, there was a significant difference between North amd South. The Pilgrims in Massachusettes did not approve of dancing and many celebrations including Christmas. Settlers in Virginia were more respresentitive of English life including dance. There were great social differences. Court life included elsborate dances which had to be learned whjich involved dancing lessons by dance masters. Well to do people also engaged in dance. We are not entirely sure about common people. Obviously they could not afford dance masters. We are not entirely sure to what extent parties and other celebrations involved dance. There were barn dances where country dance was popular. Country dance seems to be the amalgum of various European dance styles of common people. Now country dance may seem today as a small part of popular dance, it mist be understood that until the 1929s, most Americans lived in rural areas. To the extent that most children had dancing lessons it would have been at home where parents or other relatives coaching the children and thriugh observation and trial and error. Ballroom dancing seems to have been more of an urban form practiced by the upper and middle classes. And here as Americanm industrialized and became wealthier, more and more families began to think about dancing lessons. Many childre were taught as home, but dancing lessons at least for middle-class families became a ritual. Most families could not afford to engage a dancing master, but msny could afford some sessions at a dancing school to get down the basic two-step. Many boys went to school. Mostly girls went for more sophisticated lessons (balet, ethnic, modern, and tap). One source tells us, "By the end of the 19th century dancing in America was, in the eyes of some, in a sorry state. The intricate, European dances of mid-century–the polka, the mazurka and the waltz–were being slowly edged out by the simple twostep, a dance some referred to as the 'idiot waltz', On the early-20th century, new mnore involved dances like the turkey trot and Chsrleston became popular. Public schools began adding dabce to the gym program, but mostly teaching country dance and the basic two-step.

Created: 5:02 PM 2/2/2020
Last updated: 5:02 PM 2/2/2020