Apache dance

An apache dance (sometimes called Danse Apache) is a dance form popularized in France in the early 1900s. The name derived from "Les Apaches," used by the French press to describe Parisian street gangs (and itself a pejorative allusion to native peoples). The actual dance, called a "dance of the underworld" as early as 1912,Caffin, Caroline. Dancers and Dancing of Today. 1912. p. 271. was performed primarily in cabarets and clubs as a narrative dance, between male and female dancers dressed to simulate street toughs. The dance involved slaps, kicks, aggressively close tango-style movements, and one of the partners being tossed around physically.
The dance migrated to other countries but the French style garb and underworld touches were retained. While the original dance typically emphasized the male as the most aggressive and tossing the female to conclude the act, later shifting attitudes towards male on female violence would have the female partner turn the tables by the end.Cullen, Frank et. al. Vaudeville, Old & New
An Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America. 2007. p. 947. This also resulted in a comedy trope where an outraged female audience member intervened to pummel the male (1938's Mother Riley in Paris, 1953's Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation, and others). By the 1950s, the dance was in decline and most often showed up in contexts of either recreating the early 1900s (1960s' Can-Can) or comedy (I Love Lucy, a 1962 Looney Tunes short featuring Pepe Le Pew).
==References==
*Rowlf the Dog, while planning his European vacation in the May 13, 1965 broadcast of The Jimmy Dean Show, tells Jimmy Dean he will perform an apache dance for him. Rowlf uses a Raggedy Ann as his dance partner, flinging her into the air at the end (but hollers back reassuringly, "I'll call you Friday.")
*Rita Moreno and a full-bodied Muppet partner perform the dance in The Muppet Show episode 105. Moreno is the dominant dancer and flings her companion around like, well, a rag doll.
*In The Muppet Movie, an apache dance couple appear among the many stereotyped underworld and tough guy types at the El Sleezo. Rather than an on-stage act, they appear in the background multiple times during the scene.
==Sources==
==External links==
*British Pathé Official YouTube channel - 1934 Pathe film short of dance team Alexis and Dorrano
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Category:Stage References