Backwards in High Heels Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide

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GOLDEN The Golden Age began to draw to a close through a Supreme Court decision, United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. In short, the decision decreed that the studios had been engaging in monopoly behavior of the fi lm industry and determined they were no longer allowed to practice business in the same fashion. The studios had to change their operational practices, ending many of the procedures that had garnered them so much power (and allowed the Golden Age to fl ourish). Striking the fi nal blow to the Golden Age was the advent of television, which provided people with a way to watch stories in the privacy and comfort of their own home, rather than having to go to a movie theatre. Though some historians defi ne the Golden Age as continuing into the 1960s, by the middle of the 1950s, the true Golden Age was ending, though its impact will never be forgotten. -Based loosely on www.wikipedia.com, modifi ed by Jenny Bazzell Backwards in High Heels The invention of television brought the Golden Age to a close TIMELINE OF DANCE IN THE NINETEENTH AND EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURIES Fred Astaire and Ginger Roger’s elegant dance style did not exist in a vacuum. Their infl uences and the infl uences of the choreographers who created many of their famous routines were varied. Below is a timeline of the history of dance in the nineteenth and early twentieth century leading up to the emergence of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire’s explosion of popularity. Artist Renoir’s depiction of the Waltz from the 1880s 1834: The fi rst Waltz is reportedly danced in Boston. 1900: The Floradora Sextet performs the fi rst synchronized tap routine. 1907: The fi rst tapping chorus line appears as part of Ziegfi eld’s Follies. 1912: The Argentine Tango fi rst appears in Britain. 1914: The American Foxtrot makes its way across the Atlantic to England, where it is danced at a faster tempo and renamed “The Quickstep.” Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 16
TIMELINE 1926: The Savoy Ballroom opens in New York City. It will be a premiere dance venue throughout the next decades. 1927: “Shorty George” Snowden coins the term “Lindy Hop.” While watching a local dance contest at the Savoy, a reporter asks Snowden for the name of the dance being performed. He glances down at a newspaper headline about Charles Lindburgh which reads, “Lindy Hops the Atlantic,” and announces “The Lindy Hop!” The Savoy Ballroom 1930s: The Jitterbug, a six-beat variant of the Lindy Hop, emerges. In time, the terms “swing,” “lindy,” and “jitterbug” become interchangeable. 1935: Herbert White starts the dance group “Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers”, which grows to be wildly popular on the Savoy scene. 1938: Innovative swing choreographer Dean Collins arrives in Hollywood. His work on over forty movies paves the way for the Hollywood dance musical. 1940s: A “world dances” craze sweeps the ballroom realm. Dances that received new or revived attention include the Tango from Argentina, the Samba from Brazil, the Paso Doble from Spain, and the Waltz from Austria. The American Foxtrot regains popularity as well. Formal teaching of lindy, jitterbug, and swing begins.The Arthur Murray Dance Studio establishes the divide between “East Coast Swing” and “West Coast Swing”. Other swing variants that emerge include the Balboa, the Shag, and the Jive. The East-West Divide: In the 1940s, the Arthur Murray Dance Studio commissioned instructors around the country to study and teach the popular dances of their respective cities. This challenged dance teachers to “condense” the complex, individualized footwork of the regional swing dances into simplifi ed forms for the general public. As a result, they coined the categories of swing that are familiar today. “East-Coast Swing” is a simple, 6-beat cycle that evolved from the Lindy Hop and the Foxtrot. “West-Coast Swing” is a more quick-footed variant that can have up to 8 counts and is danced in a smaller radius than its Eastern equivalent. -Written by Juliet Wilhelmi Backwards in High Heels Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 17
Page 1 and 2: BACKWARDS IN HIGH HEELS Play Guide
Page 3 and 4: WHO WE ARE Arizona Theatre Company
Page 5 and 6: BIOGRAPHY on the Orpheum circuit,
Page 7 and 8: FILMOGRAPHY GINGER ROGERS’ FILMOG
Page 9 and 10: COMPOSERS ABOUT THE COMPOSERS Chris
Page 11 and 12: McGOVERN Dorothy Fields: Dorothy Fi
Page 13 and 14: McGOVERN CM: By far, it is one of t
Page 15: GOLDEN Throughout the Golden Age, m
Page 19 and 20: GLOSSARY GLOSSARY Abott and Costell
Page 21 and 22: GLOSSARY Marlene Dietrich: A German
Page 23 and 24: DISCUSSIONS evidence can you fi nd
Page 25 and 26: DISCUSSION 3. Ask your students to

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