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These "Walkers" as they were
called, would walk a straight line and balance buckets of
water on their heads. Over time the dance evolved into a exaggerated
parody of the white, upper class ballroom dancers who would
imitate the mannerisms (namely the promenades and
processionals) of the "Big House" (or masters
house) that they observed the White's doing. These Slave's
would have some fun with such a dignified walking, flirting,
prancing, strutting, bowing low, waving canes, doffing hats,
done in a high kicking grand promenade. The Master's and their
guest found it amusing, while a few plantation owners frowned
upon these shenanigans. For their 'Sunday' entertainment,
the plantation owners started having contests to prove to
the other who had the best slave walker.
The idea of the Cakewalk
was that of a couple promenading in a dignified manner, high
stepping and kicking, mimicking whitey's high society. Some
of the better plantation owners would bake a special cake
called a hoecake wrapped in cabbage leaf on Sundays and invite
the neighbors over and have a contest of the slaves, different
prizes were given but originally it was a Hoecake for the
males and molasses pulled candy for the ladies and whichever
slave(s) won, would get the cake / Candy ... thus the term
"That
Takes The Cake!" (Plus others such as 'It's
a Cakewalk' = very easy) and the name "Cakewalk"
was now set. The dance grew in popularity even after the Civil
War (1861-1865), but it would change and become more grand
in style and clothing as time marched on.
The Breakdown and Chalk
Line Walk would be mixed when the Minstrel Shows started using
the Chalk Line Walk in their acts, a Minstrel parody, mixed,
which later would be named the Cakewalk. The Minstrel shows
of the time would paint their faces black and at the end of
the show would do a "Grand Finale," which often
times was the Cakewalk. The dance used little breaks in the
prancing and strutting and only to allow the male to show
off some dance moves and acrobatic like somersaults (Stearns:
Jazz dance) while the woman would clap and admire his antics.
By the 1890's, the Cakewalk
was the hottest thing around and Charles
Johnson & Dora Dean are said to have introduced the
Cakewalk in 1893 in The Creole Show, but was already a featured
dance in same show back in 1889. However in 1877, it was actually
introduced in the Minstrel Show "Walking for dat Cake"
and in 1892 the first Cakewalk contest were held in a New
York ballroom hosted by Richard K. Fox (Stearn's says Madison
Square Garden, but it wouldn't be built for another 20 years
or so, so most likely it was a building at that location [maybe
Madison Sq. Roof Garden].) Coney Island also
had Cakewalk Dance Contests.
Williams and Walker
inspired a Cakewalk in the play "Clorindy" Origin
of the Cakewalk. The Cakewalk sheet music would also list
the March and Two-Step as dance options to the song so white
audiences would be interested in buying it even if they did
not know the Cakewalk. It was first introduced upon the Broadway
stage by Dave Genaro.
The competition dancers
were called "Walkers" and these dance contests grew
very big, such as the National Cakewalk Jubilee in
New York City as well as others, where the champions would
receive gold belts and diamond rings.
There were two categories
of contests:
1) the "Grand Straight Cakewalk" (regular
type) and
2) the "Fancy Cakewalk," (dressed up
type)
the doors would open at 7:00p.m., Contest at 11:00p.m., and
dancing would continue till 5:00am. These Cakewalk dance contests
eventually would be held in big cities as Tin-Pan Alley
would make a fortune off of the dance and the Rag-time
music they would produce. There would be literally 100's of
the contests given.
The Cakewalk was the first American dance
to cross over from black to white society as well as from
the stage (Minstrel shows) to ballroom. The Cakewalk
would be the window for other African-American dances to enter
white society in the future. Many of the upper class Summer
and Seaside hotels would feature a Cakewalk at the end of
the season. A man by the name of Dobbins (born in 1912) is
said to have first introduced Cakewalk dancers to high society
at Turners Hall in Brooklyn in 1866. The cakewalk lead the
way for future dances and dancers to evolve and the contests
proved invaluable to dancers personal inventions as eventually
the dancers could do whatever dance inventions they wanted
and at the end would Strut off with their partners.
The Cakewalk eventually died in the 1920's,
but there were still traces of the Cakewalk in the newer,
more modern forms of dance, even the Lindy
hop had the Apache
and the Cakewalk thrown in as can be seen in the "Shorty
George" video clip in "At The Jazz Band Ball"
video. The Cakewalk music eventually evolved into the birth
of Ragtime (around 1899).
The Cakewalks 'high stepping strut' (see
strut) would also be adopted by marching bands (originally
New Orleans) and later Drum Majors would incorporate
the Cakewalk into their routines thanks to John Phillips Sousa
who took his marches and cakewalks to London, Russia, France
and elsewhere, featuring a "strutting" drummer who
would "syncopate" his steps (DeBussey's "Golliwogs"
Cakewalk and Georgia Camp Meeting testify to his success abroad.)
A later offshoot of the Cakewalk was the Strut (dance), it
was used allot in the Cakewalk's description of later days.
The Champion
Strut (1954) was a mixture of the Lambeth
Walk, Cakewalk and Swing.
In Old Ireland, there
was a practice of offering a cake to the best
Jig dancer on the Sunday get together. These dancers would
do a Penny Jig, which the dancer would pay the fiddler a penny
after dancing, trying to win the cake. Quoting from Mrs. Lully's
Book: "Although the fare of Sunday seldom rises beyond
the accustomed potatoes and milk of the rest of the week,
some few halfpence are always spared to purchase the pleasures
which the Sunday cake bestows. This cake set upon a distaff
is the signal of pleasure and becomes the reward of talent;
it is sometimes carried off by the best dancer, sometimes
by the achiest wag of the company." |
Ballrooms