Dirty Dancing: A history of scandalous dance Lottie Adcock
Event details
Throughout history the way we move our bodies to music has always been a source of contention. While dancing historically was widely regarded as a way to demonstrate grace and elegance, it was still often decried as evil or immoral by certain parts of the community.
Join Lottie Adcock of Dance the Past as she discusses why some dances are labelled as controversial, as we take a trip through time to find those dances that broke boundaries and shocked polite society.
Dramatic changes in dance styles often reflected major changes in society and beliefs and so studying these dances gives a fascinating insight into the opinions of the past. By looking at the scandals these dances caused we are able to uncover the major concerns of polite society at the time.
Come along and hear about dances including:
- La Volta - Supposedly Queen Elizabeth I's favourite dance, this Renaissance dance included the man lifting the woman about him
- The Waltz - The beginning of couple dancing where potential suitors were allowed to be significantly more intimate than had been seen in the past
- The Charleston - Seen as wild and decadent, this style of dancing signified a major shift in societal expectations at the time
- The Jitterbug - An African-American style of dance that swept Europe when introduced by American GIs in World War Two.
Find out where these dances came from, what they signified and how they changed the world.
This event is presented by Dance the Past.
If you're interested in learning more, why not join ‘Dirty Dancing: A workshop of scandalous dance’ on Sunday 8 June?
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
About the performer
Lottie Adcock has been performing in historic dance groups for over 15 years. Historic dance was a hobby that turned into a passion and now a business. Lottie loves learning about social history and feels that historic dance is a great way to gain insight into the minds of our ancestors. When she’s not dancing Lottie works as a Living History Interpreter at Murton Park and in her spare time loves playing board games, D&D and travelling whenever possible.
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