Dancing Time

Otago Witness, Issue 3829, 2 August 1927, Page 10

Dancing Time

THE BLACK BOTTOM IN LONDON.

A TRICKY RHYTHM.

By Maxwell Stewart, World’s Champion Ballroom Dancer, 1924-25-26.

(Copyright.—For the Otago Witness.)

XIX. ] Recently J wrote in this column about the Black" Bottom dance in Paris. It has now definitely made its appearance not only before gatherings of teachers, but has also been seen in one- or two important London hotel ballrooms. Already a good many professionals have definitely decided to accept it ; others remain sceptical as to whether there is anything of permanent iMue in it. At the time of writing we are promised more Black Bottom tunes by a well-known publishing house, but they have not actually appeared, and we are left either with the one and only original tune, or alternately are forced to use a slowed down Charleston number. It is impossible to feel the rhythm to the full unless the tune is written in the correct time.

There are two reasons why the Black Bottom is likely to catch on and become the successor to the Charleston. The dance is a rhythmic one pure and simple, without any novelties in the way of steps, and it is in slower time. Thus the Black Bottom follows the two main tendencies of dance ideas which have been coming to the front since the beginning of the present season. But it must be said that the new rhythm is extremely tricky, and difficult to master. It is true that this was said also of the Charleston ; yet most people were able to acquire a sense of it as soon as the Charleston craze became well and truly launched. The Black Bottom rhythm is, however, more complicated, and I doubt if anyone who has not a fairly well-developed general sense of the rhythm will ever do it with any satisfaction to themselves. It is, as I said, a

rnrely rhythmic dance. At present the few people who are trying it arc mixing it up with the Charleston, and it is difficult, to say what final form will be generally approved. There is a number of well-defined steps such as the Walk, the Turn, the Side Step, and the Bones, but as the dance is in an infant state, and is developing every week, I shall be content to describe the basic movements contained in the Walk and the Turn. In the Charleston both knees are bent together, whereas in the Black Bottom if one knee is bent the other is always straight, while whenever the leg is straight the hip on tlie same side is thrown right out. This, then, is how the Walk is done. Hold the weight back on the left foot with the left hip thrown out, and place the rfight foot forward with the knee bent. Each step takes four beats of the music. On “ one ” is the forward step, on “ two ” and “three” a tap with the toe of the forward foot and on “four” the completion of the movement by changing the tveight to the right foot, at the same time throwing out the right hip. You are then ready to step forward with the left foot, but remember that as the leg straightens the hip always moves out. The Turn is something like the Rock Step in the Tango. Here you take only two beats of the music to a step by cutting out the foot tapping. The hip movement is of course the same, the weight being thrown from one foot to the other. The girl dances the counterpart to these steps, but her part proves more difficult, at least on the forward walk, a s her weight is on her front foot and not, as with the man, on the back foot.