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Jazz,
Jive and Jitterbug
is a
tribute to the swing era of the 1940’s. This was a turbulent time
in history with the rise of the Nazis party in Germany, the Second
World War, the holocaust, renowned leaders such as Roosevelt,
Churchill and Stalin, the destruction of historic Japan, the atom
bomb. This was a rich, fertile period in music and dance. The era
saw band leaders such as Glen Miller and Les Brown, and talented
solo artist musicians such as clarinetist Benny Goodman, trumpeter
Tommy Dorsey, and pianist Count Basie.
1.
LEAP FROG
The first dance you will see is
Leap Frog, written in 1941 by Leo Corday and Joe Garland and
performed by the Les Brown band.
Work/Study
Listen to a
recording of this music before you attend the performance and try
out your own dance moves. Start with a traditional leapfrog and
discover new ways to do this in a dance form.
www.tuxjunction.net/lesbrownhtm
Idaho
Humanities Standards in Dance
Standard 1:
Historical and Cultural Contents
Goal 1.1:
Discuss historical and cultural contexts of dance and perform
examples.
Objectives 1:
Identify and perform dances associated with particular places and
events.
Objective 2:
Identify Historical events that have influenced dance
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ELK’S PARADE
The next piece you will see, Elk’s Parade, was inspired
by the young men who signed up when America joined the war
effort. Young men from all states, many of whom had never been
further than their home state, found themselves in training and
traveling all over the world from Asia to Europe. Written in
1942 by Bobby Sherwood, Elk’s Parade is a tongue in cheek
look at the parade ground and the opportunity for guys to show
their fancy steps including the Flying Lindy with Double Kicks,
Double Hook and Catapult.
Work/Study
Draw or find
pictures of soldiers on parade in the 1940’s. Compare them with
pictures of soldiers on parade today.
Idaho
Humanities Standards in Dance
Standard 1:
Critical Thinking
Goal 2,1:
Conduct analysis in dance
Objective 3
Discuss the process and effort involved in developing an idea into a
dance work.
Objective 4;
Observe a dance performance and explain how the dance conveyed
feelings and ideas
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MY FUNNY VALENTINE
Musicals of the 1930’s and 40’s were lavish productions with
often flimsy plots, showcasing talented individual performers
such as the unforgettable dance partnership of Fred Astaire and
Ginger Rogers. The next dance is a tribute to the partnership of
Fred and Ginger who graced the film screen throughout out the
30’s and 40’s and inspired many a young couple to brave the
dance floor. Written in 1937 by Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart
and performed in this recording by Les Brown and his band, My
Funny Valentine is a beautiful ballad.
Work/Study
Rent a movie starring Fed Astaire
and Ginger Rogers, like Swing Time, or Royal Wedding
with Fred Astaire and Jane Powell and observe the style.
After you have watched the movie
or seen the performance at your assembly write down as many verbs as
you can think of that would indicate the actions you saw.
Write the words that describe how
you feel when you watch this performance.
Compare the style of the music in
the ballad My Funny Valentine and the previous dance Elks
Parade.
How did
this affect the way the dancers moved?
Idaho
Humanities Standards in Dance
Standard 2:
Critical Thinking
Objective 1:
Compare how various dance forms express different ideas
 4.
LINDY HOP
The next dance is a swing dance
using the Lindy Hop
No one has contributed more to the
Lindy Hop than Frankie Manning . Frankie Manning started dancing in
his early teens at the Alhambra Ballroom in Harlem, the Renaissance
Ballroom and finally, Frankie "graduated" to the Savoy Ballroom,
which was known for its great dancers and bands where he frequently
won the Saturday night dance contests. Today dance contests are held
on television such as Dancing With the Stars and So You
think You Can Dance.
Work/Study
Have a dance
contest at school. Decide on different categories and styles that
competitors can enter.
www.frankiemanning.com
Idaho
Humanities Standards in Dance
Standard 3:
Performance
Objective
3.create a dance incorporating characteristics of a particular dance
style.
5. NO NAME JIVE
No Name Jive references the dance clubs of the 40’s the dance
competitions and vying for your gal. This segment features the Shag
Dance, the national dance of the state of South Carolina. It is
danced in 6 counts against a 4/4 beat.
Work /Study
Choose a
piece of music that is written in 4/4 time signature and try to fit
six steps to the beat.
www.shagdance.com
Idaho
Humanities Standards in Dance
Standard 3:
Performance
Objective 3.
Move at various tempos
6. FLOATIN’
The Big Band Era of Jazz, Jive And Jitterbug was a remarkably
short period and by the 1950’s Bill Haley and Elvis Presley
introduced rock and roll, changing the popular music scene. It was
the time of the diner, juke boxes and drive-in’s. Catching the end
of the big band era, we will watch a fun piece where a guy can get a
milkshake roller skated to his table to Floatin’ Music by Bob
Higgins written in 1946 and played here by the Les Brown Band.
Work/study
Draw a
picture or find a picture of a drive-in restaurant with a waitress
on roller skates.
Idaho
Humanities Standards in Dance
Standard 3:
Performance
Objective 3.use
original ideas and/or concepts from other sources to create movement
7. FINALE: SING,
SING, SING
Benny Goodman
was born into a large, poverty
stricken family. Benny began playing the clarinet at an early age.
By the time he was twelve, Goodman appeared onstage imitating famous
bandleader/clarinetist Ted Lewis. Benny put together his first big
band, and it’s clear that without Goodman the Swing Era would have
been nowhere near as developed. The most well known recording of
Benny Goodman is Sing Sing Sing with Benny playing clarinet.
The dancers will swing their partners into the air in this final
exciting dance.
Work/ study
How many
musicians are there in Benny Goodman’s orchestra?
www.youtube.- gene
krupa- sing sing sing
Idaho
Humanities Standards in Dance
Standard 2:
Critical Thinking
Objective 5.
Voice personal preferences about dances within a classroom or other
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