Big Apple (dance)
Encyclopedia
The Big Apple is both a partner dance
and a circle dance
that originated in the Afro-American community of the United States
in the beginning of the 20th century.
The dance that eventually became known as the Big Apple is speculated to have been created in the early 1930s by African American youth dancing at the Big Apple Club, which was at the former House of Peace Synagogue
on Park Street in Columbia, South Carolina
. The synagogue was converted into a black juke joint
called the "Big Apple Night Club".
In 1936, three white students from the University of South Carolina – Billy Spivey, Donald Davis, and Harold "Goo-Goo" Wiles – heard the music coming from the juke joint as they were driving by. Even though it was very usual for whites to go into a black club, the three asked the club's owner, Frank "Fat Sam" Boyd, if they could enter. Skip Davis, the son of Donald Davis, said that "Fat Sam made two conditions. They had to pay twenty five cents each and they had to sit in the balcony." During the next few months, the white students brought more friends to the night club to watch the black dancers. The white students became so fascinated with the dance that, in order to prevent the music from stopping, they would toss coins down to the black dancers below them when the dancers ran out of money. "We had a lot of nickels with us because it took a nickel to play a song. If the music stopped and the people on the floor didn't have any money, we didn't get any more dancing. We had to feed the Nickelodeon", recalls Harold E. Ross, who often visited the club and was 18 years old at the time.
The white dancers eventually called the dance the black dancers did the "Big Apple", after the night club where they first saw it. Ross commented that "We always did the best we could to imitate the steps we saw. But we called it the Little Apple. We didn't feel like we should copy the Big Apple, so we called it that."
, the world's second-largest theater at that time. Eight couples were chosen for the show, including Wood, Spivey, and Davis, to perform the Big Apple during a three-week engagement that began on September 3, 1937. They performed six shows a day to sold-out audiences and greatly contributed to the dance's popularity. After the engagement at the Roxy, the group became known as "Billy Spivey's Big Apple Dancers" and toured the country for six months.
Arthur Murray
, a dance instructor and entrepreneur, had two dance studios in New York in 1936. After seeing the Big Apple dancers at the Roxy in September 1937, Murray incorporated the Big Apple into his swing dance syllabus. Due to the popularity of the Big Apple and other popular dances such as the Conga
, Murray started to offer franchises in 1937. By 1938, there were franchises in several major cities, including Detroit, Cleveland, Atlanta, and Minneapolis. The company continued to grow to over 200 Arthur Murray dance studios throughout the world by 2003.
In the fall of 1937, four couples from Whitey's Lindy Hoppers
, a Lindy Hop
performance group based at the Savoy Ballroom
in Harlem, New York, traveled to Hollywood, California, to perform a Lindy Hop
sequence for a Judy Garland
movie called Everybody Sings. Soon after arriving in California, Herbert "Whitey" White, the manager for the group, sent a telegram to Frankie Manning
, the lead dancer for the group, about the new dance craze in New York City called the Big Apple. Manning had never seen the dance before but based on the description of the dance in the telegram, he choreographed a Big Apple routine for the group. Since the dance was based on combining jazz steps that the Lindy hoppers were already familiar with, such as Truckin', the Suzie-Q, and Boogies, the group quickly learned the new steps. They performed their Big Apple routine for Everybody Sings, but the dance scene was eventually cut due to a dispute between the director and Whitey over the dance group's not receiving a break in the filming schedule.
When the group returned to Harlem, Manning taught his Big Apple version to other dancers in Whitey's Lindy Hoppers, before ever having seen the version done by the Big Apple dancers at the Roxy. Whitey's Lindy Hoppers would dance the Big Apple mixed with Lindy Hop at the Savoy Ballroom until interest in the dance died out. Later in 1939, the group performed a Big Apple sequence for the movie Keep Punching, which has been recreated by Lindy hop performance groups since the 1990s.
By the end of 1937, the Big Apple had become a national dance craze. On December 20, 1937, Life
featured the Big Apple in a four-page photo spread and the magazine predicted that 1937 would be remembered as the year of the Big Apple.
, saw their show and hired the group to perform for Hollywood Hotel Revue, a production that would tour New Zealand and Australia. The group was billed as "The 8 Big Apple Dancers" or similar variations, and consisted of four couples that included Frankie Manning. They were the only black performers in the production that lasted from August 1938 until spring 1939.
Some claim that New York City's nickname, the Big Apple, came from the dance. However, that theory has been discredited (see The Nickname of New York).
There are also accounts that a new variation developed called the "Little Apple." This form involved fewer dancers and people would take it in turns to grab a partner and move to the center of the circle and dance for a while in styles similar to Lindy Hop
, Shag, or other dances of the era.
was doing the dance." However, this may have been the dance's undoing. Wilkinson speculates that the dance decreased in popularity when "it was adopted by the old folks." Lindy Hop was also increasing in popularity, and by 1941 the Big Apple was a past fad that had been replaced by the Lindy Hop.
, Black Bottom
, Charleston
, and Lindy Hop
share both similar elements and a common underlying improvisational spirit.
. This is also used as a warm up before Lindy Hop classes. Note that the moves are very 8-count centered, like tap dance
. That is, they almost
all start on count 8.
Susie Q Right: Both feet are placed together facing the center of the circle. Left hand clasps the right (think "synergy"), both heels scoot to the right, then both toes 4 slow, 8 quick. Typically "reverse" is then called and you go back the other way. 8 counts each way.
Susie Q left: this is the 'susie q' that most lindy hoppers know. left foot starts over right hand should be 90 degrees (like a forklift), palms down, wrists may pull hands up arms swing left to right. twist left heel while right foot steps out and to the left, repeat. "reverse" goes the other way. same timing as susie q right (slow, slow, slow, slow, quick, quick, quick, quick, quick, quick, quick, quick).
Apple Jacks: With feet close together take tiny steps in place. When stepping with the right foot, let the right knee cross in front of the left knee, twisting hips to the left. With upper body bend down, with fingers pointed at the floor, twisting shoulders oppostite hips. On the next step reverse the direction of knees, hips, shoulders. Each step is one count.
Break a Leg:
Break Step:
London Bridge:
Shout: Open arms wide.
Swivels: Swivels while walking.
Spank the Baby: Step out with left foot, bring right foot together, meanwhile raising the left arm in the air and making a spaking motion toward one's own behind with the right hand. Spank the baby is done while walking in a circle (not around the circle).
Tick Tock: Put heels together with weight on the back of one foot and the front of the other, then shift toes together and the heels apart and alternate the weight on the feet and repeat the actions to create a sideways travelling motion while at the same time the forearms move in front of the torso then out to the sides in time with the shifting of the feet.
Truckin: Truckin is a shuffle step variation popularized after the vaudeville
era. The right hand is held up (as in a right turn signal) with the index finger extended and wagging. In Harlem Truckin the shoulder is set back. Feet are parllel at all times. With both feet together and facing slight left the right foot scoopes down and brushes the floor, the left foot is then gathered at the right ankle and the right heel twists (this should cause forward movement as the foot scoopes past the other foot). The action is repeated creating a "hearts in the snow" effect from the overlapping steps. At the same time the left hand is placed over the stomach (like a waiter holding a towel) and never really moves. The stomach twistes with the feet therefore, the "stomach rubs the hand". If truckin is being done around a circle the outside hand is always up.
Pose and Peck: Put hands on hips, and do pecking with head.
Scarecrow: First 4 counts are Charleston basic. Second 4 counts, put upper arms straight out to side, and let forearms dangle loosely, and tilt head to side. Often the feet are slightly apart, with the knees drooping together.
Shorty George: Named for George Snowden
. Walk a straight line using very small steps. Keep upper body upright while dramatically bending knees. With each step, let the opposite knee push toward the back of the knee of the leading foot, causing both knees to shift right when stepping with right foot and shift left when stepping with left foot. Shoulders alternate, pushing down toward the leading foot, so that when the knees are pushed to the right, the right shoulder sinks downward and the left shoulder becomes raised. Each step is one count.
Little Peach: Touch the side of your nose twice, once with your left hand and once with your right.
Hitch Hike:
Boogie Back: Lean forward and bend knees. Clap hands on the first count and hop backwards on the second count.
Boogie Forward: Straighten up and throw hands in the air. Each step starts from forward roll the hip, which then moves to the side and settles back as the step with the other foot begins. Each step is two counts.
Praise Allah: The traditional ending the big apple. Everyone runs to the middle of the circle and shouts "Hallelujah" while throwing hands in the air from a bent over posture. It may also be called just "Hallelujah".
Rusty Dusty: Hold pant legs up and shake the dust out of them.
Charleston: See solo Charleston moves. This move is actually called "Big apple swing".
Fall Off the Log: Kick right leg to the side, then step behind with your right foot, out with your left foot, and in place with your right foot. Repeat this on the left side.
Partner dance
Partner dances are dances whose basic choreography involves coordinated dancing of two partners, as opposed to individuals dancing alone or individually in a non-coordinated manner, and as opposed to groups of people dancing simultaneously in a coordinated manner.In the year 1023 the German poet...
and a circle dance
Circle dance
"Circle dance" is the most common name for a style of traditional dance usually done in a circle without partners to musical accompaniment.-Description:...
that originated in the Afro-American community of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the beginning of the 20th century.
Origin (1860-1936)
The exact origin of the Big Apple is unclear but one author suggests that the dance originated from the "ring shout", a group dance associated with religious observances that was founded before 1860 by African Americans on plantations in South Carolina and Georgia. The ring shout is described as a dance with "counterclockwise circling and high arm gestures" that resembled the Big Apple. It is still practiced today in small populations of the southern United States.The dance that eventually became known as the Big Apple is speculated to have been created in the early 1930s by African American youth dancing at the Big Apple Club, which was at the former House of Peace Synagogue
House of Peace Synagogue
The House of Peace Synagogue is a former synagogue of the Beth Shalom Congregation in Columbia, South Carolina. It was originally located at 1318 Park Street. After the congregation moved in the 1935, the building was used for the Big Apple Club, which was an African-American night club. It was...
on Park Street in Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
. The synagogue was converted into a black juke joint
Juke joint
Juke joint is the vernacular term for an informal establishment featuring music, dancing, gambling, and drinking, primarily operated by African American people in the southeastern United States. The term "juke" is believed to derive from the Gullah word joog, meaning rowdy or disorderly...
called the "Big Apple Night Club".
In 1936, three white students from the University of South Carolina – Billy Spivey, Donald Davis, and Harold "Goo-Goo" Wiles – heard the music coming from the juke joint as they were driving by. Even though it was very usual for whites to go into a black club, the three asked the club's owner, Frank "Fat Sam" Boyd, if they could enter. Skip Davis, the son of Donald Davis, said that "Fat Sam made two conditions. They had to pay twenty five cents each and they had to sit in the balcony." During the next few months, the white students brought more friends to the night club to watch the black dancers. The white students became so fascinated with the dance that, in order to prevent the music from stopping, they would toss coins down to the black dancers below them when the dancers ran out of money. "We had a lot of nickels with us because it took a nickel to play a song. If the music stopped and the people on the floor didn't have any money, we didn't get any more dancing. We had to feed the Nickelodeon", recalls Harold E. Ross, who often visited the club and was 18 years old at the time.
The white dancers eventually called the dance the black dancers did the "Big Apple", after the night club where they first saw it. Ross commented that "We always did the best we could to imitate the steps we saw. But we called it the Little Apple. We didn't feel like we should copy the Big Apple, so we called it that."
Rise in popularity (1937-1938)
During the summer of 1937, the students from the University of South Carolina started dancing the Big Apple at the Pavilion in Myrtle Beach. Betty Wood (née Henderson), a dancer who helped revive the Big Apple in the 1990s, first saw the dance there, and six months later she won a dance contest and become nicknamed "Big Apple Betty." The news of the new dance craze spread to New York, and a New York talent agent, Gay Foster, traveled to the Carolinas to audition dancers for a show at the Roxy TheaterRoxy Theater
The Roxy Theatre was a 5,920 seat movie theater located at 153 West 50th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues, just off Times Square in New York City. It opened on March 11, 1927 with the silent film The Love of Sunya, produced by and starring Gloria Swanson. The huge movie palace was a leading...
, the world's second-largest theater at that time. Eight couples were chosen for the show, including Wood, Spivey, and Davis, to perform the Big Apple during a three-week engagement that began on September 3, 1937. They performed six shows a day to sold-out audiences and greatly contributed to the dance's popularity. After the engagement at the Roxy, the group became known as "Billy Spivey's Big Apple Dancers" and toured the country for six months.
Arthur Murray
Arthur Murray
Arthur Murray was a dance instructor and businessman, whose name is most often associated with the dance studio chain that bears his name....
, a dance instructor and entrepreneur, had two dance studios in New York in 1936. After seeing the Big Apple dancers at the Roxy in September 1937, Murray incorporated the Big Apple into his swing dance syllabus. Due to the popularity of the Big Apple and other popular dances such as the Conga
Conga Line
The conga line is a Cuban carnival march that was first developed in Cuba and became popular in the United States in the 1930s and 1950s. The dancers form a long, processing line. It has three shuffle steps on the beat, followed by a kick that is slightly ahead of the fourth beat...
, Murray started to offer franchises in 1937. By 1938, there were franchises in several major cities, including Detroit, Cleveland, Atlanta, and Minneapolis. The company continued to grow to over 200 Arthur Murray dance studios throughout the world by 2003.
In the fall of 1937, four couples from Whitey's Lindy Hoppers
Whitey's Lindy Hoppers
Whitey's Lindy Hoppers was a professional performing group of Savoy Ballroom swing dancers, started in 1935 by Herbert "Whitey" White. The group took on many different forms, with up to 12 different groups performing under this name or one of a number of different names used for the group over the...
, a Lindy Hop
Lindy Hop
The Lindy Hop is an American social dance, from the swing dance family. It evolved in Harlem, New York City in the 1920s and '30s and originally evolved with the jazz music of that time. Lindy was a fusion of many dances that preceded it or were popular during its development but is mainly based...
performance group based at the Savoy Ballroom
Savoy Ballroom
The Savoy Ballroom, located in Harlem, New York City, was a medium sized ballroom for music and public dancing that was in operation from March 12, 1926 to July 10, 1958. It was located between 140th and 141st Streets on Lenox Avenue....
in Harlem, New York, traveled to Hollywood, California, to perform a Lindy Hop
Lindy Hop
The Lindy Hop is an American social dance, from the swing dance family. It evolved in Harlem, New York City in the 1920s and '30s and originally evolved with the jazz music of that time. Lindy was a fusion of many dances that preceded it or were popular during its development but is mainly based...
sequence for a Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
movie called Everybody Sings. Soon after arriving in California, Herbert "Whitey" White, the manager for the group, sent a telegram to Frankie Manning
Frankie Manning
Frankie Manning was an American dancer, instructor and choreographer. Manning is considered one of the founding fathers of the Lindy Hop.-Early years:...
, the lead dancer for the group, about the new dance craze in New York City called the Big Apple. Manning had never seen the dance before but based on the description of the dance in the telegram, he choreographed a Big Apple routine for the group. Since the dance was based on combining jazz steps that the Lindy hoppers were already familiar with, such as Truckin', the Suzie-Q, and Boogies, the group quickly learned the new steps. They performed their Big Apple routine for Everybody Sings, but the dance scene was eventually cut due to a dispute between the director and Whitey over the dance group's not receiving a break in the filming schedule.
When the group returned to Harlem, Manning taught his Big Apple version to other dancers in Whitey's Lindy Hoppers, before ever having seen the version done by the Big Apple dancers at the Roxy. Whitey's Lindy Hoppers would dance the Big Apple mixed with Lindy Hop at the Savoy Ballroom until interest in the dance died out. Later in 1939, the group performed a Big Apple sequence for the movie Keep Punching, which has been recreated by Lindy hop performance groups since the 1990s.
By the end of 1937, the Big Apple had become a national dance craze. On December 20, 1937, Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
featured the Big Apple in a four-page photo spread and the magazine predicted that 1937 would be remembered as the year of the Big Apple.
Popularity continues
In the spring of 1938, Whitey's Lindy Hoppers performed the Big Apple at the Roxy Theater during a three-week engagement. A theatrical producer, Harry HowardHarry Howard
Harry Howard is the name of:* Harry Howard , English footballer* Harry Howard , Australian landscape architect* Harry Howard , Australian bass guitarist-See also:...
, saw their show and hired the group to perform for Hollywood Hotel Revue, a production that would tour New Zealand and Australia. The group was billed as "The 8 Big Apple Dancers" or similar variations, and consisted of four couples that included Frankie Manning. They were the only black performers in the production that lasted from August 1938 until spring 1939.
Some claim that New York City's nickname, the Big Apple, came from the dance. However, that theory has been discredited (see The Nickname of New York).
There are also accounts that a new variation developed called the "Little Apple." This form involved fewer dancers and people would take it in turns to grab a partner and move to the center of the circle and dance for a while in styles similar to Lindy Hop
Lindy Hop
The Lindy Hop is an American social dance, from the swing dance family. It evolved in Harlem, New York City in the 1920s and '30s and originally evolved with the jazz music of that time. Lindy was a fusion of many dances that preceded it or were popular during its development but is mainly based...
, Shag, or other dances of the era.
Decline in popularity (1939-1941)
The dance reached international popularity by 1939. Jeff Wilkinson claims that "even British Prime Minister Winston ChurchillWinston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
was doing the dance." However, this may have been the dance's undoing. Wilkinson speculates that the dance decreased in popularity when "it was adopted by the old folks." Lindy Hop was also increasing in popularity, and by 1941 the Big Apple was a past fad that had been replaced by the Lindy Hop.
Revival (1980s-1990s)
In the 1980s, Lance Benishek and Betty Wood started to tour the US and Europe teaching the Big Apple. The 50th anniversary of the dance was celebrated in 1988 in Columbia, South Carolina, the location where it all started.Related dances
The Big Apple has many commonalities with Afro-American vernacular partner dances of the early part of the century through the 1930s and 40s. Dances such as the CakewalkCakewalk
The Cakewalk dance was developed from a "Prize Walk" done in the days of slavery, generally at get-togethers on plantations in the Southern United States. Alternative names for the original form of the dance were "chalkline-walk", and the "walk-around"...
, Black Bottom
Black Bottom (dance)
Black Bottom refers to a dance. which became popular in the 1920s, during the period known as the Flapper era.The dance originated in New Orleans in the 1900s. The theatrical show Dinah brought the Black Bottom dance to New York in 1924, and the George White's Scandals featured it at the Apollo...
, Charleston
Charleston (dance)
The Charleston is a dance named for the harbor city of Charleston, South Carolina. The rhythm was popularized in mainstream dance music in the United States by a 1923 tune called "The Charleston" by composer/pianist James P. Johnson which originated in the Broadway show Runnin' Wild and became one...
, and Lindy Hop
Lindy Hop
The Lindy Hop is an American social dance, from the swing dance family. It evolved in Harlem, New York City in the 1920s and '30s and originally evolved with the jazz music of that time. Lindy was a fusion of many dances that preceded it or were popular during its development but is mainly based...
share both similar elements and a common underlying improvisational spirit.
Moves
The moves are frequently used in Lindy HopLindy Hop
The Lindy Hop is an American social dance, from the swing dance family. It evolved in Harlem, New York City in the 1920s and '30s and originally evolved with the jazz music of that time. Lindy was a fusion of many dances that preceded it or were popular during its development but is mainly based...
. This is also used as a warm up before Lindy Hop classes. Note that the moves are very 8-count centered, like tap dance
Tap dance
Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sound of one's tap shoes hitting the floor as a percussive instrument. As such, it is also commonly considered to be a form of music. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses more on the...
. That is, they almost
all start on count 8.
Susie Q Right: Both feet are placed together facing the center of the circle. Left hand clasps the right (think "synergy"), both heels scoot to the right, then both toes 4 slow, 8 quick. Typically "reverse" is then called and you go back the other way. 8 counts each way.
Susie Q left: this is the 'susie q' that most lindy hoppers know. left foot starts over right hand should be 90 degrees (like a forklift), palms down, wrists may pull hands up arms swing left to right. twist left heel while right foot steps out and to the left, repeat. "reverse" goes the other way. same timing as susie q right (slow, slow, slow, slow, quick, quick, quick, quick, quick, quick, quick, quick).
Apple Jacks: With feet close together take tiny steps in place. When stepping with the right foot, let the right knee cross in front of the left knee, twisting hips to the left. With upper body bend down, with fingers pointed at the floor, twisting shoulders oppostite hips. On the next step reverse the direction of knees, hips, shoulders. Each step is one count.
Break a Leg:
Break Step:
London Bridge:
Shout: Open arms wide.
Swivels: Swivels while walking.
Spank the Baby: Step out with left foot, bring right foot together, meanwhile raising the left arm in the air and making a spaking motion toward one's own behind with the right hand. Spank the baby is done while walking in a circle (not around the circle).
Tick Tock: Put heels together with weight on the back of one foot and the front of the other, then shift toes together and the heels apart and alternate the weight on the feet and repeat the actions to create a sideways travelling motion while at the same time the forearms move in front of the torso then out to the sides in time with the shifting of the feet.
Truckin: Truckin is a shuffle step variation popularized after the vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
era. The right hand is held up (as in a right turn signal) with the index finger extended and wagging. In Harlem Truckin the shoulder is set back. Feet are parllel at all times. With both feet together and facing slight left the right foot scoopes down and brushes the floor, the left foot is then gathered at the right ankle and the right heel twists (this should cause forward movement as the foot scoopes past the other foot). The action is repeated creating a "hearts in the snow" effect from the overlapping steps. At the same time the left hand is placed over the stomach (like a waiter holding a towel) and never really moves. The stomach twistes with the feet therefore, the "stomach rubs the hand". If truckin is being done around a circle the outside hand is always up.
Pose and Peck: Put hands on hips, and do pecking with head.
Scarecrow: First 4 counts are Charleston basic. Second 4 counts, put upper arms straight out to side, and let forearms dangle loosely, and tilt head to side. Often the feet are slightly apart, with the knees drooping together.
Shorty George: Named for George Snowden
George Snowden
"Shorty" George Snowden was an African American dancer in Harlem during the 1920s and 1930s. He is popularly credited with coining the name "Lindy Hop" for a popular partner swing dance of the day...
. Walk a straight line using very small steps. Keep upper body upright while dramatically bending knees. With each step, let the opposite knee push toward the back of the knee of the leading foot, causing both knees to shift right when stepping with right foot and shift left when stepping with left foot. Shoulders alternate, pushing down toward the leading foot, so that when the knees are pushed to the right, the right shoulder sinks downward and the left shoulder becomes raised. Each step is one count.
Little Peach: Touch the side of your nose twice, once with your left hand and once with your right.
Hitch Hike:
Boogie Back: Lean forward and bend knees. Clap hands on the first count and hop backwards on the second count.
Boogie Forward: Straighten up and throw hands in the air. Each step starts from forward roll the hip, which then moves to the side and settles back as the step with the other foot begins. Each step is two counts.
Praise Allah: The traditional ending the big apple. Everyone runs to the middle of the circle and shouts "Hallelujah" while throwing hands in the air from a bent over posture. It may also be called just "Hallelujah".
Rusty Dusty: Hold pant legs up and shake the dust out of them.
Charleston: See solo Charleston moves. This move is actually called "Big apple swing".
Fall Off the Log: Kick right leg to the side, then step behind with your right foot, out with your left foot, and in place with your right foot. Repeat this on the left side.