The Washington times., 1936-02-24

OF course ~ -
they won't be Edwin Q. Hill
danced to exclusion of the African
and Latin steps which have been
dominating the country'S dance
floors for the past two decades.
They'll have their place, however,
with the good old waltz and with
the latest craze, "truckin'," which
has arrived via Houston and Har-
lem.
Truckin' is the Negro term for
leaving, departing" and it
began not as a dance but as the
exit strut of a Negro comedian
after he had finished his vaude-
vile act. The performer was one
Sam "Slick" Russell. From watch
ing Negroes carrying cotton, he
developed his comic exit. in
which he would Swerve suddenly,
bend over and shuttle off stage
with his feet well in front Of
his body.
He trouped for years in the
South and never failed to bring
down the house as he diSap-
peared into the wings. On his
death three years ago, his two
partners in the act brought the
stunt to Harlem, where it got the
name "the truck"
For the ballroom, truckin' is
danced as a combination of the
catwalk, strut and Charleston.
The couples dance together and
singly, at intervals.
1t isn't done fast, being a shut
fle, slow, with a sway and a
bending Of the shoulders and
head.
"TRUCKIN
It's a novelty and the rage
now. But, most likely, it will
be Short-lived because it requires
a lot of room and has too much
of the exhibition flavor for all
but the younger set.
In fact, truckin' may be the
last of the "wiggly' dancers we
shall see for some time.
The general opinion among
the teachers is that the stamp
ing, jumping and body twists,
borrowed from the war dances
Of the aborigineS, are paSse."
They look for a smooth dance
with twist of the foot instead
of hops. It has ever been the
truth that these intricate and
strenuous innovations have been
more talked about than danced.
When jazz went out of the pic
ture a few years back, the African
trend in dancing went with it.
In its place came the rhumba
from Cuba, the carioca from Brazil
and versions of the tango Of the
Argentine.
Dancing this year has been at
a pretty fast clip, and some would
attribute this to the lively and
fancy stepping of a gentleman
named AStaire who has been hav-
ing quite a vogue in the films.
The fox trot remains the "a
vorite dance of America. It has
been around for % years now and
has never lost favor.
It came in with the Vernon
Castles, and one cannot talk
about dancing without getting
back to the Castles.
Dancing was at its lowest when
the young, willowy Vernon Blythe
and his young American wife ap-
peared on the scene in 1911.
They found a dancing mania
and a society that did not know
how to dance" a society which
wreStled around a waxed floor,
grizzly bearing and Texas tommy
ing to the strains Of weird mean
tationS known as ragtime.
THE CASTLES
The Castles sold refinement"
to the 400 of society and to the
10000 others who wanted to
dance.
They refined the tango, the
hesitation, the fox-trot and they
introduced, among a score of
other steps, the Castle Walk.
Their fame was unprecedented.
No dancers have since equaled
it.
They held sway for five years
until the day that Vernon Castle
was killed in an air tragedy dur
ing World War days.
It seems that the Castle influ-
ence died during the jazz era
which followed close upon the
war.
Today the pendulum is swing
ing back, with the good old waltz
enjoying high popularity, even
though they have quickened it
up.
Another thing noticeable is that
it is smart to be graceful. AS one
instructor says:
There is no bending at the