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The Maxixe (Max-ish, Mah-SHEESH,
Mah-SHEESH-A, and many other pronunciations) was also known
as the Brazilian Tango or Mattchiche (similar and/or same dance)
and came from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil in the late 1860's or early
1870's. The dance was considered very lowly in stature among the
public perceptions and was named after the prickly part of a cactus.
In attempts to raise it's staure, many composer's would title it
"Brazilian Tango" as the Tango was gaining popularity
at the same time.
The Maxixe has it's roots in
the Polca, Lundu and Habanera.
The original Maxixe was a mixture of the Two
Step and certain Tango
steps and patterns of the day (enchainements or sequences).
Mmes. Derminy & Paule Morley danced the Maxixe in 1905. DelRio
and Luis danced a Maxixe named after them entitled "Rio
Brazilian Maxixe" (see photo) in the U.S. in 1910 and
was introduced to Paris in 1912. Maurice
Mouvet introduced the Brazilian Maxixe to New York in the spring
of 1913. The Castles did what they called
a Brazilian Maxixe that was similar to the Samba,
(some say the precursor to the Samba) while some of the dancers
danced the Maxixe more like a tango.
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In doing the Maxixe, the head and arms must be
smooth and be paid strict attention too so as not to bounce!. At
the time, instead of the Tango's touch-and-turn-in of the foot,
it employed a characteristic of resting the heel on the floor, the
foot pointed upward (ala... flying two step), while the body
assumed a bent-over posture, reportedly, not particularly attractive
at the time. The Maxixe was mainly an exhibition dance that later
somewhat became popular for a brief time among Cafe' Society in
the early 1910's, due to the exhibitionists introduction of it during
the time, such as the Castle's introductions to certain dances replacing
the animal dances of the day, as well as Mouvet, Sawyer, Duque,
etc. in the U.S.
Maurice
Mouvet Writes;
"The "kick" in the Maxixe has been
disliked by some spectators. The kick is very hard to do. The girl
must lift herself from the floor to a certain extent. It is rather
dangerous to depend on the frequently awkward drawing-room partner.
But the kick is not actually necessary to the Maxixe. While it is
the kick that makes the Maxixe it is a variation from the motif
of this dance. It is the peculiarly Brazilian characteristic, yet
the Maxixe has numerous figures and the kick can be left out. As
I have stipulated ever since I first gave a lesson in this dance
there is the Maxixe with the kick and without it. In my demonstration
I give it. That is because I wish to show the dance in its entirety.
In my lessons I teach it. That is because I engage to teach the
Maxixe. But that kick is a great deal like cream and sugar in tea
-- you may dispense with it, or dispense it, just as you desire."
He also states that the Maxixe should not be confused with the Matichichi
which is a different dance. ("Maurice's art of dancing: an
autobiographical sketch...," circa 1915.)
The Maxixe that was to become
popular in it's brief life span in the U.S. and the UK was heavily
modified over time and the music slowed from it's beginning roots,
by the exhibitionist desire or race to sell a new dance to the dancing
public. Like the Twist of a later decade, they finally hit on a
version that was only to become a fad of the day, having been quickly
replaced by another.
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Birth Place |
Creation Date |
Creator |
Dance Type |
Rio de Janeiro |
1860's/1870's |
n/a |
Latin / Ballroom |
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Posters, Lobby Cards etc. |
Sheet Music Covers |
Music Titles |
| n/a |
1905
- La Mattchiche (Félis Mayol) |
le vrai tango brésilien |
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1905
- Sorella |
1905 - La Mattchiche
(Félis Mayol) |
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1906
- La Sorella (La Mattchiche) |
1905
- Sorella |
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1910
- Rio Maxixe (see top) |
1906
- La Sorella (La Mattchiche) |
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1913
- Maurice Mattchichi |
1908 - Tango-Chula
(Os Geraldos) |
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1914 - Amapa (cover
pic of Duque & Dorgère) |
1910 - Rio Maxixe |
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1914 - Brazilian
Maxixe (Tango) |
1914
- Amapa - (Juca Storoni aka João
José da Costa Júnior) |
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1914 - Castle
Maxixe |
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1914 - Joan Sawyer
Maxixe |
1914 - Brasilian
Maxixe |
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1914 - The Midnight Trot |
1914 - Castle Maxixe |
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1916 - The Mazie King Midnight
Trot |
1914 - Joan Sawyer
Maxixe |
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Bregeiro Maxixe (Rio Brazilian) |
1915 - Bayo Baya
(Maxixe) |
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Cielito Mio |
1915 - Creole Girl
(Maxixe) |
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Dengozo
- Maxixe Tango (Ernesto Nazareth) |
1916 - The Mazie
King Midnight Trot |
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Florence Maxixe |
Down in Zanzibar
(Kathryn Widmer) |
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Milonga Sentimental |
Florence Maxixe |
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O Jocoto (Roque
V. Viera) |
le tango brésilien |
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Para Ser Copero |
Maxixe Bresiliene |
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Pembere (E. Souto) |
Parisian Maxixe |
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Silbidos de un
Vago |
Washington Post
March |
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Night Clubs |
Theaters |
Locations |
Cafe ... (many
Cafe's of the day) |
Alcazar |
Brazil |
| Café de Paris |
Alhambra Theatre |
New York |
| Castle
House |
Champs Elysées |
Paris, France |
Sans Souci |
Chantecler |
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| Tango Duque Cabaret (1914, France) |
d’Été |
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Olympia Theatre |
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Théâtre des Capucins |
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Film |
Television |
Ballets / Stage |
1914
- Whirl of Life (Castles) |
n/a |
n/a |
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Publications
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6/1960
- Esquire Mag (Barrie Chase) |
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Dancers, Choreographers etc. |
Political |
1905 - Mmes. Derminy
& Paule Morley |
1914 - Vernon
& Irene Castle |
n/a |
| 1909 - L. Duque (Antônio
Lopes de Amorim Diniz) |
1916 - Mazie King &
Ted Doner |
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1910 - Delrio
& Luis |
1935 - Virginia Goletz |
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1913 - Arlette Dorgère
(w/ Duque) |
Mr. & Mrs. John
Murray Anderson |
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1913 - Mouvet
& Walton |
1960's - Barrie
Chase |
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Fred W. Sutor |
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Books, Magazine Articles on the dance... |
Title |
Author |
Date Published |
Publisher |
Modern Dancing |
Castles,
Vernon |
1914 |
Harper Brothers |
Social Dancing of Today |
Kinney, Troy |
1914 |
Frederick A.S tokes & Co. |
The Tango & New Ballroom Dances |
Mouvet,
Maurice |
1914 |
Laird & Lee |
| Colliers Magazine |
F. Scott Fitzgerald |
5/27/1922 |
(Note: Curious Case of Benjamin
Buttons article) |
| Saturday Evening Post |
F. Scott Fitzgerald |
12/29/1928 |
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Let's Dance |
Thomas, Bob |
1954 |
Grosett & Dunlap |
Dancing Till Dawn |
Malnig, Julie |
1992 |
N.Y. University Press |
Musicians,. Composers Etc. |
Singers |
Poets / Writers |
| Ernesto Nazaré |
n/a |
F. Scott Fitzgerald |
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Misc. Research Words that may be related
... to help your searches |
Links |
Cafe Society |
Modern Dancing (1900's) |
n/a |
Arte
Manhas |
| Castles |
Gherkin (Maxixe) |
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Other...
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| Basic
Steps:
(Leader left foot, follower right foot, leader faces follower,
leader starts forward).
basically a double quick march or two step with a polka like skip
in each step, done as rapidly as possible,
while moving forward, backward and turning. It's character step
is the heel-and-toe figure.
Below is an excerpt from Maurice Mouvet's 1914 Book:
"For the first figure, the gentleman places his right hand
around his partner's waist just as
far as he possibly can, she facing him. His left hand and her right
are outstretched--in the
manner in which many dancers improperly outstretch them for the
tango. The gentleman's
left foot is far advanced, resting on the heel with the tip of the
foot raised. The left knee is
bent. His body is bent forward in a veritable crouch. The position
of the gentleman.
This diagram shows the gentleman's footsteps in the opening figure
of the Moseys (?). The
left foot in the original position rests on the heel, the left knee
being bent and the gentleman's
body bent forward from the waist line in a crouching position. His
partner faces him. The
steps are the ordinary Two Steps , only somewhat longer. For this
step might be described
as a lunge. It is important to remember that his right arm should
encircle his. The gentleman's
footsteps in the second figure of the Maxixe. Each step is characterized
by a slight hop and
the couple sway from side to side from the hip as they execute this
figure. The first step brings
the right foot up to the left and the second advances the left foot
again. The figure consists of
eight two-steps, the gentleman advancing all the time.
The second figure comprises another eight two-steps, only the steps
are somewhat longer
than those used in the ordinary two-step, and with each step the
gentleman sways his body
from the waistline alternately right and left. The figure is danced
in a circle. The lady also sways
her body, but not quite as much as her partner. This swaying of
the body is one of the
characteristic features of the Maxixe." end.
Excerpted from Troy Kinney's Social Dancing of Today (1914):
1. Execute the first measure with the body somewhat supple, and
a good deal of rise and sink in the steps. The effect may be varied
by inclining the body rather sinuously from side to side.
2. A Flying Two-Step: a two-step in which the advanced
foot points upward, touching the heel to the floor in alternate
steps, the intervening steps pointing the toe downward--except on
turns; eight are not too many.
3. Man's steps: Starting in first position, advance right foot to fourth position
(1); glide left foot to second position
(2); glide right foot to posterior third position
(3); carry left foot to posterior fourth position, pause en attitude, and, plant it, transferring weight to it and raising right (advanced) foot, point down
Woman's steps: Advance left foot to posterior fourth position
(1); glide right foot to second position
(2); glide left foot to posterior third position
(3); plant right foot in anterior fourth position and raise the left foot from the floor
(4). During the pause on "4," the woman leans slightly forward. Until the third beat, her steps are the converse of the man's. Then, it will be noted, her position becomes the same as the man's: each, through a half-beat, is supported on the right foot, the left extended back en attitude. The count of "4" again finds the couple in converse positions, the man's right foot being pointed forward while the woman's is extended back.
An Arch a La Pirouette. Holding his partner's right hand in his left hand, the man executes four Polka Steps forward; while the woman, by means of four Polka Steps, makes a complete turn toward her left. The engaged hands are raised to allow her to pass under the arms. end
The "Brazilian Maxixe" Characteristic style (1) A Dip
(2) Variations
[PICS
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