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Lambeth Walk Dance History

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You Are here: Page Updated:  August 31, 2006
Streetswings Dance History Archives: Lambeth Walk
doing the Lambeth Walk
Lambeth Walk Title

   The Lambeth Walk is a favorite historic street location in England. This location was originally called "Three Coney Walk" and later Lambeth Wells. It was also hailed as England's dance to Challenge the Big Apple. In the early 18th Century entertainemnt started arriving in the forms of Music and Dancing as well as food and taverns. Later many businesses would spring up from Mills, lodging to finally becoming a Market place.

  The Lambeth Walk was originally said to be from the Limehouse district of London called Lambeth and a historic street known as Lambeth Walk (Lambeth Walk is across the Thames, diagonally southeast from the British House of Parliament) and tailored after the jaunty walk that was taken from the "Cockney - Barra Boys" (Barrow) of said street by way of walking with their thumbs tucked into the sleeves of their waistcoats which Lupino said he copied.

  Miss England is said to have created the dance in England in 1938 and others say it was London comedian Lupino Lane in Englands stage production of 'For Me and My Gal'. Supposedly the dance was changed and brought to America by Arthur Murray although Prince Serge Obolensky might argue (and did) with him about that. However the 1938 the Harvest Moon Ball program stated that Joseph Rines introduced the dance to the U.S.

The Lambeth Walk was basically a "Social-Mixer" type dance that is best done in a group as couples dance side by side forming a line but can be done solo a well. When done it is a walking dance done in a jaunty, swaggering, strutting, knee slapping style and occasionally you would here a dancer shout, raise their arms, snap a finger and cry out "Oy! " (Oy! being similar to the old Farandole.) This was supposedly Cafe-Society at its best and the second in group participation dances, the first being the Big Apple.

   The earliest date of the Lambeth Walk that I have found is 1938. Also, the Champion Strut was a mixture of the Lambeth Walk, Cakewalk and Swing. The Lambeth Walk was also a featured dance in 1938 Harlem mainly at the Plantation Club where it was renamed the Lambeth Shuffle. The Palais Glide was an offshoot of the Lambeth Walk in 1939.

Some pattern names are the Hitch Hike, The Slap and the Walk Around.

Birth Place

Creation Date

Creator

Dance Type

England 1938 Miss England or Lupino Lane Social - Mixer
 

Posters, Lobby Cards etc.

Sheet Music Covers

Music Titles

n/a Lambeth Walk Lambeth Stroll
            $ Lambeth Walk (1985)
            Lambeth Walk (Ellington)
            Lambeth Walk (Furber) 1978
            $ Holst; Grainer; Walton & Coates: Works for 2 Pianos CD
           
            $ Lambeth Walk-War Show
            $ Me And My Girl CD: Soundtrack
            $ Variations on "Lambeth Walk
            ... See Full List of Walk Titled Songs
 

Night Clubs

Theaters

Locations

Glass Hat (Murray) n/a Nearby: Spring Gardens (later Vauxhall Gardens)
Hotel Commodore (N.Y.)       Walnut Tree Walk
Platation Club (Harlem)        
St. Regis Roof (Carol Lawrence)        

Films / Movies

Television

Ballets / Stage

1940 - Lambeth Walk, The* n/a Doin' the Lambeth Walk: Me and My Girl (2003)
1940 - Swinging the Lambeth Walk       Hotel Commodore - 'Butlers Ball' (1939)
$ 1942 - Me and My Girl*       For Me and My Girl (1938 Lupino) (1985)
         
         
           

Publications

            9/2/1938 - Olean Times-Herald (Lambeth in Harlem)
            9/16/1938 - Olean Times-Herald (Many Claim Creation)
            9/19/1938 - Olean Times-Herald (Steps Described)
            9/21/1938 - Lowell Sun (London's Walk Vs. Big Apple)
            10/6/1938 - Appleton Post Crescent (Murray-Prince)
            10/21/1938 - Helena Daily Independent (Munn)
            11/7/1938 - Van Nuys News (The Leslies demo)
Order "Dances thru time Video"       12/21/1938 - Olean Times-Herald (Lupino Lane)
        3/27/1939 - Stevens Point Daily Journal (Palais Glide)
        4/10/1939 - Gettysburg Times (Nazi's do Lambeth)
        6/30/1939 - Chronicle-Telegram (African Church declares it a sin)

Other Related Dances of the time...

Arizona Hike

Doin' The Chamberlin

Pigeon Walk

Worlds Fair Walk

Boomps-a-Daisy

Fish Walk

Slow Drag

Yankee Prance

Bunny Hop

Flirtation Walk

Sugar Foot

Tennessee Wig Walk

Cakewalk

Floogie Walk

The Stroll

 
Camel Walk

Footloose Strut

Tickle-Toe

 

Canter, the

Gaby Glide

The Toddle

Castle Walk

Hokey-Pokey

Truckin'

Champion Strut

Little Foot

Walk Around

Clifford Walk

Lovers Walk

Walkin' The Dog

Collegiate Glide

Military Glide

Washington Post March

 

Conga Line (La Conga)

Palais Glide    

Dancers, Choreographers etc.

Political

9/1938 - Arthur Murray

10/1938 - Kenneth Morrison (Munn)

Prince Serge Obolensky.
10/1938 - Betty Baker (Cidney Munn dancers)

1937/1938 - Lupino Lane

Rev. D. G. Vander Merwe
8/1938 - Carol Lawrence 1937/1938 - Miss England  
10/1938 - Charles Llnderman (Munn) 10/1938 - Nancy Moore (Munn)  
11/1938 - Corrine and Ray Leslie (Van Nuys, Ca) 10/1938 - Raynor Roberts (Munn)  

1938 - Eleanor Brown and Walter Biggerstaff

10/1938 - Vivian Linderman (Munn)  
1938 - Joseph Rines    
1938 - Kate Carney (England)    

Books, Magazine Articles on the dance...

Title

Author

Date Published

Publisher

Harvest Moon Ball Program

Association, News Welfare

8/1938

Daily News

(Mata) Magazine Article 1942 Liberty Magazine

Down Memory Lane

Murray, Arthur

c.1954

n/a

This Fabulous Century-1930/40

Time - Life Book

1988

Time Life

       

Composers, Musicians etc.

Singers

Artists

Douglas Furber (1978)

n/a 'Lambeth Walk' painting by unknown - 1800

Duke Ellington

     

George Graves

     

Lupino Lane

       

Noel Gay

       
Skipper Kelly's orchestra        

Teddy St. Dennis

       

Misc. Research Words that may be related ... to help your searches

Cockney-Barrow Boys

Mixers!

Lambeth Wells

Lambeth Palace

Limehouse District

Oy!

Lambeth Road

   
Hoics        

Other...

To Paraphrase:
Lambeth Walk Sheet Music Instructions, described by Arthur Murray:
1) Partners march side by side, gentlemen on the left. Strut forward 8 steps (4 bars); swing the arms, walking jauntily in cockney fashion.
2) Link right arms, walk around in circle to right 4 steps. Quickly reverse, linking left arms, and walking 4 steps in circle to left.
3) Strut side by side again 8 steps (same as figure 1.) Partners separate, face each other, taking 4 very short steps backward. Close heels on 4th count.
4) Slap knees in time to music.
5) Ending with pointing thumb over shoulder, in hitchhike fashion; and yell loudly, "Hoy!" Repeat from beginning. It is necessary that the steps fit the music. The dancers should start on the very first beat of the chorus.

Alex Moore's book:
Couples start side by side, about arms length apart; man Left Foot, lady Right Foot.
8- walks forward, turn to face partner at the end of walks.
8- walks in a circle, L arms linked. At the end, unlink arms, turn side by side and link mans R and ladies L arms.
3- walks, rock backward and forward. (Count 1, 2, 3, & 4, similar to an understated samba walk??), repeat 3 walks and rocks on other foot.
2- walks away from partner, turn and slap knees with both hands (count 1,2,3,4)
2- walks towards partner, turn to original starting position and a single jerk of the thumb, shouting "Oi".

How It's Done (1938 Sun Newspaper):
Everyone gets in a big circle with each couple side by side, and arm in arm. To the tune of the Lambeth Walk they sort of strut around the floor.
At one part of the song each does a semi-circle and the arms which have hitherto been free are the ones that are linked.
This movement takes place three or four times in rapid succession. It is the difficult part of the whole dance. Doing it swiftly and gracefully (?) and yet keeping
time with the music is no small assignment, although the Big Apple addicts should find it simple, maybe even too tame.

If the song is played about as long as is the average number, there are about four times during the dance when the couple are bent over and forward, and directly facing each other. To the rhythm of the music they then clap their hand on their respective knees, and then all simultaneously throw their hands in the air and yell "Oi!" Then the strutting around the floor in circle form starts all over again.

snippet of Song "Lambeth Walk" from the play: Me and My Girl.
Lambeth you've never seen,
The skies ain't blue, the grass ain't green,
It hasn't got the may fair touch, But that don't matter very much, We play the Lambeth way,
Not like you but a bit more gay; And we have a bit of fun...OH Boy!
Anytime you're Lambeth way any evening or any day,
You'll find us all ...do- in the LAMBETH WALK.

Song continues...but copyrights ya know...go buy it...I Did!

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