Lesson 14: Charleston Step
Jazz Steps I: The Essentials
I present you 6 basic versions of footwork: groove walk, kicks, swinging kicks, 20’s twist, 20’s glide and african version. This dance step is really the King! You can see and use it in salsa, rumba, house, hip hop, cutting shapes, shuffle and many more styles. It has evolved as a part of black dance styles. It all depends on which bounce and feel you put into it. Take the Charleston, for example. We think it came up from South Carolina with its name intact and was introduced in a Broadway show, Running’ Wild. That’s what I was always told But see, this thing is real complex because of all the interweaving and overlapping that happened. There was so much cross fertilisation from one venue to another - from the street , to the theatre, to the dance hall, to the nightclub. …/ All of those dances came right out of the authentic jazz and were choreographed for stage” - "Class Act: The Jazz Life of Choreographer Cholly Atkins" By Cholly Atkins, Jacqui Malone (page 200)
I present you 6 basic versions of footwork: groove walk, kicks, swinging kicks, 20’s twist, 20’s glide and african version. This dance step is really the King! You can see and use it in salsa, rumba, house, hip hop, cutting shapes, shuffle and many more styles. It has evolved as a part of black dance styles. It all depends on which bounce and feel you put into it. Take the Charleston, for example. We think it came up from South Carolina with its name intact and was introduced in a Broadway show, Running’ Wild. That’s what I was always told But see, this thing is real complex because of all the interweaving and overlapping that happened. There was so much cross fertilisation from one venue to another - from the street , to the theatre, to the dance hall, to the nightclub. …/ All of those dances came right out of the authentic jazz and were choreographed for stage” - "Class Act: The Jazz Life of Choreographer Cholly Atkins" By Cholly Atkins, Jacqui Malone (page 200)