Dancing the Big Apple, 1937. African- Americans inspire a national craze
Description
It's 1937, and the nation is struggling to recover from the Great Depression, complicated by a new recession. Three white teenagers enter an African-American nightclub called the Big Apple in Columbia, South Carolina. They see a strange circle dance performed to popular swing music ... So begins an exciting encounter of cultural traditions the builds to a massive dance craze involving Americans from every walk of life - including the FDR family in the White House. Viewers take a journey back to Africa, through slavery, and into the fascinating account of the Ring Shout ceremony practiced by African-Americans - sometimes secretly, sometimes openly - for hundreds of years. With taproots deep in history, The Big Apple dance provided just the right medicine in trying times.
Runtime
39 min
Subjects
Geography
Date of Publication
c2009
Database
Alexander Street
Direct Link
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