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The Original Two-Step was
a simple dance that caught on with the public when John
Phillip Sousa came out with the "Washington
Post March " in 1891. The old quadrilles,
glides and reels were cast aside in favor of dances such as the
Two-Step. Many songs doubled as a one
Step or Two-Steps (called crossovers.) In many's
haste to find the C/W source for the Texas Two-Step, many conceive
Sousa's to be it's parent and it's roots however "The Collegiate
Foxtrot" was the parent of the Texas Two Step. Sousa's Two
Step and the Texas Two Step had no relation to each other in either
dance steps, timing, style, dates, music or evolution.
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Piero
Scaruffi writes on Country's Music birth: "In
1910 John Lomax published "Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier
Ballads", and in 1916 Cecil Sharp published a collection
of folk music from the Appalachian mountains, two events that
sparked interest for the white musical heritage, although the
world had to wait until 1922 before someone, Texan fiddler Eck
Robertson, would cut the first record of "old-time music".
The following year, John Carson recorded two "hillbilly"
songs, an event that is often considered the official founding
of "country" music. In 1924 Riley Puckett introduced
the "yodeling" style of singing (originally from the
Swiss and Austrian Alps) into country music, the style adopted
in 1927 by the first star of country music, Jimmie Rodgers, who
wed it to the Hawaian slide guitar and, de facto, invented the
white equivalent of the blues. In 1925 Carl Sprague became the
first musician to record cowboy songs (the first "singing
cowboy" of country music). And, finally, in 1925, Nashville's
first radio station (WSM) began broadcasting a program that would
eventually change name to "Grand Ole Opry". Country
music was steaming ahead."
The Original Collegiate Foxtrot had hopping steps that were lively
and dignified, they reflected the brisk tempo of a young America
in the 1920s. Other collegiate dances such as the Collegiate-Foxtrot,
Shimmy ,
Collegiate Shag ,
Truckin ,
The
Grizzly Bear , The
Turkey Trot , and The
Bunny Hug etc. were all popular with the Collegiate
set of the 1910s/20s era dancers. The Collegiate
walk was very similar to the Foxtrot. The Texas Two Step
gets its beginnings with the revival of the Collegiate-Foxtrot
in the 1950's.
- Some of these Collegiate dances
had a small but UNSUCCESSFUL revival during the 1940s and 1950s
and not because of the dance but the music in which it was presented.
Over the years the collegiate dance steps had became tamer over
time such as the Collegiate Foxtrot
(aka: One Step) which removed
the hops in favor of the glide. It finally entered the square
dance world during this time to appease the younger generation,
the collegiate-Foxtrot dance was eventually to become known as
the Texas two-step. The printed step
descriptions are of a forward moving "Slow-Slow-Quick-Quick"
for the Collegiate-Foxtrot in the early 1950's are the same as
taught to Country Western Dancers when learning the Texas Two-Step
today.
However the original Texas Two Step of the 1970s Urban Cowboy
period was different than that of later or today's "Slo-Slo-Quick-Quick"
version which is was originally known as the "California
Two-Step." The original Texas version (123-123-12) had a
closer rhythm to that of the Dallas Two-Step/SHUFFLE (123-12-123-12.)
Today's modern Country dancing really isn't Country anymore in
that few clubs that have survived using DJ's play to much Disco,
Rock, Blues, Hip Hop etc. infused with Country Music and most
of the dancing is of the free style or Line Dancing type done
with a DJ rather than a live Band. The clubs that tend to have
kept 'Live Music' do more traditional couples based dances like
the Two Step, Waltz, Schottische, Polka and various swing dances
along with some Line dancing. Some DJ Country Clubs have even
included Night Club Two Step, Disco Hustle and Latin into the
music/dance mix as well.... If you like country western dancing
support the smaller places that don't play 90% (c)Rap, Rock, Disco
and Pop etcetera by an achy-breaky DJ for line dances with a few
Country Western songs thrown in. ... Keep it Country !!!!
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