Influence of Fashion on Dance Movement This paper will be concerned with the ways that

This paper will be concerned with the ways that fashion influences dance movement. Emphasis will be placed on the influence of fashion on American ballroom dancing as it developed between the mid-nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries. There is little doubt that fashion has an impact on dance movement. In this regard, the historian Peter Buckman has claimed that "styles in dress and manners have as important an effect on dance as does music" (Buckman, 1978, p. 114). In contemporary ballroom dancing, freedom of movement is considered to be a very important factor. This is because most modern dances require the dancers to move their entire bodies (Allen, 1985, p. 28). However, this freedom of movement was not always as important in ballroom dancing as it is today. In the early part of the nineteenth century, dancers were far more restricted in their motions. This was primarily because the clothing styles of the time were more binding than they are today. Throughout the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, fashion styles underwent dramatic change. As a result of this development, clothing styles gradually permitted more fluidity of motion for dancers. In turn, dance styles in America also became more flexible until they reached the level of freedom which has existed since the late 1950's and which continues to exist today.

Prior to the middle of the nineteenth century, fashions for both women and men were very restrictive. Women generally wore

Related Essays

Effects of rock 'n' roll on Society .... of punk rock had a positive influence in that .... reaction against the "disco" style of dance music which .... nation were bonded together by a common musical fashion. .... (2127 9 )

American Indian Cultural Values .... the Indian experience in a unique fashion while other .... Thus, the continuing influence of the traditional life of the .... Church--grew from the Ghost Dance and the .... (6598 26 )

claimed that "its intoxicating rhythm, executed in enrapturing closeness of the dancing couples, was a gyration into oblivion, a joyful, almost ecstatic expression" (Sorell, 1967, p. 74). Because of its expressive movement, many people considered the waltz to be "indecent" when it first appeared on the dance floor (Allen, 1985, p. 28). Nevertheless, its popularity quickly spread throughout Europe and the United States. By the 1850's, the waltz was one of the most popular ballroom dances in America. It is obvious that this widespread popularity was due mainly to the changes in fashion which had taken place in the early nineteenth century. According to Richardson, the increased flexibility in clothing styles of that time made the intricate steps of the new dance "easier to execute" (Richardson, 1960, p. 67). During the late nineteenth century, clothing styles in America became more restrictive again. In an effort to attain the "hour glass figure" that was fashionable at that time, women returned to the use of corsets and bustles. However, this restrictive trend in fashion came to a dramatic end in the years immediately following the First World War. In fact, some of the most radical changes to ever take place in fashion h

Category: Arts - I