HBDA PE 2016 - Foxtrot

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"Foxtrot" segment from The History of Black Dance in America 2015 Juneteenth Celebration show.  Many people are unaware of the African-American connection to one of the most beautiful of the Ballroom dances: Foxtrot.

Note from his Wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Reese_Europe): His "Society Orchestra" became nationally famous in 1912, accompanying theater headliner dancers Vernon and Irene Castle. The Castles introduced and popularized the foxtrot—"America learned to dance from the waist down."  Where do you think they got the concept of dancing from the waist down?  What group of folks do we know of in the modern era who are known for their ability to dance from the waist down -- and up?

Victor Silvester was a significant figure in the development of ballroom dance during the first half of the 20th century.  "Modern Ballroom Dancing" has been in print since 1927, and is considered by many as the bible of modern ballroom dancing.

Also note this quote from Chapter 5 of the book "Modern Ballroom Dancing" by Victor Silvester: "It was during the summer of 1914 that the Foxtrot made its first appearance in the States.  It was the result of the Negro influence referred to in the previous chapter and was, as a dance, the direct offspring of the One-Step and the Rag, and the tendency then very much in fashion on the other side of the Atlantic to introduce 'canters' and 'trots'.  Its immediate forerunners were the 'Horse Trot' and the 'Fish Walk' of the preceding year."

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