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be known as Buck Dancers. These terms would eventually become
dance steps.
The legendary dancer "Master
Juba " did a Buck and Wing in the 1840s. It is said that
the Buck and Wing 'routine' was first performed on the
New York stage in 1880 by James McIntyre as well as inventing
the 'Syncopated Buck and Wing.' king
Rastus Brown is considered one of the best Buck and Wing
dancers in history. During the dance craze of the 1920s, buck
and wing dancers would be considered square and corny when compared
to the newer style of tap dancing that was slowly replacing the
buck and wing style of previous years.
The Buck
and Wing was adapted to the Minstrel stage from the recreational
clogs and shuffles of the African-American. The Buck and Wing
is said to be a bastard dance, made up of Clogs
, Jigs
, Reels, Sand dance etc. which later gave birth to the Time
Step and Soft Shoe. The Buck and Wing can and was used in Reels,
Clog dance , Can-Can
(Pigeon Wing,) Jigs
and Tap
. The modern Buck and a Wing is characterized by wing-like
steps done in the air (known as "wings") done mostly
on the balls of the foot and which is considered the forerunner
of rhythm tap. The Hornpipe
of England was a elaborate Pantomime
of English sailors, mimicking their duties while patting
the feet to a tune.
Buck: (Buck dance)
Originally just a stamping of the feet to interpret
the music which later became more refined when mixed with the
Jig and Clog. In Tap Dance it is known as the earliest version
of the "Shuffle and Tap Steps." The Basic Chug or Buck
step is done by pushing the ball of the foot across the floor,
at the same time dropping the heel, with or without weight. Buck
dancing was the first known American Tap form performed to syncopated
rhythms. These rhythms were performed on the "Offbeat or
Downbeat" which came from Tribal rhythms in Africa. Buck
dance was a type of countrified Clog or Tap dance. Usually associated
with Barn
Dancing or Country Dance. The Indians (Mainly Ute), also
had a Buck dance, participants would dress in Deer Skins (Buck)
and do a ceremonial dance called Buck Dancing.
Originally
the music used was 2/4 time and was of the Syncopated March type.
The Mobile Buck was an ancestor of
the common Buck Dance that later evolved into the Time Step.
Pigeon Wing:
Originally (1830's) just the shaking of one
leg in the air. Was also known as the "Ailes De Pigeon"
in Ballet
. Was commonly called to as "Pistolets " by the
French and just plain ole "Pigeon Wing" by the Folk
dancers, later taken over by minstrel dancers. In the Can-Can
the "Pigeon Wing" was bringing the bust
into play by leaping forward, kicking high and throwing the shoulders
back while "carrying on the arm" (or holding one
leg up against the cheek, while hopping lightly on the other leg).
Basically it's just the lifting of the leg (demi-Plie')
and move the leg too beat the back calf of the other foot. Can
be done in front of other leg or as in the variation of Michael
Jackson's modern version of his front lifting leg swing. When
Minstrel dancing came en vogue, many variations came about, namely
a small hop on one leg while shooting out the other leg to form
a "Wing."
Wings:
The more modern Wings started to become a basic
stable to tap dancing around 1900. "Wings" are basically
derived from the much older minstrel variations of the Pigeon
Wing but no real air step. Eventually becoming "air steps"
that have the dancer springing up from one leg off the floor,
and using the correct timing to do a certain amount of taps with
the same foot before landing back down while the other "winging
leg" usually remains motionless. There are variations such
as the pump (winging leg goes up and down), double back, pendulum,
Three-tap wing (one tap on the way up and two on the way down),
Five-tap wings, etc.
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