“Dance” was first coined in 1920 by the British dancer and choreographer, David Lloyd, after a performance of a pole dance by the American dancer, Thelonious Monk.
In his book “Pole Dancing of the 1920s and 1930s” (1930), Richard A. Cockerham, states:
“As there were two nations in the world, the American and British, there were two kinds of pole dancing; American and British pole dance. It was common to find American performers practising on the British side, and even when performing for the British on the American side, they often acted and talked more distinctly, not being able to understand the British. As for dancing in the American side, we had a variety of dances, many were from the British and one was from the American side, the same with the dance of the two nations. There were also many dances and dances which existed at the same time, which were not at all the same.
“The first major dance of the 1920s and 1930s was called “Theater.” The dancer was shown, not in a standing position, but in an almost horizontal position. This may be due to lack of control over their bodies, or maybe it was fear of getting hurt. During this time, the most elaborate dancers had the same clothes, hair, head, and feet, whereas many of the newer dancers did not have any of these. As a rule, the dancing was also very loud, especially when there was loud music and music was played on the phonograph.”
Do you think some of that influence is the driving force behind some of the great pole dance performers ever known?
“Yes and in a way, I think that is partly true as well. There are many young and rising performers whom are very different from their elders, and there are some who are doing a lot less. But this does not show that they are different in any way; it shows that they just happen to be performing when it happens.”
I wanted to ask you about some of the most notable dances. There are always the “new wave” dances that start it all. What about the ones from the ’80s and early ’90s that were popular with young people. Was that influenced by the rise of rock, rap, and hip-hop?
“Yes and they were definitely influenced by many things, I am not suggesting that they have no influence, but what I am saying is that most of
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