Tonic Jukebox History
WEEK 62 - Strictly Dancing
Music and dance are inextricably linked. This week we present an eclectic selection of music linked to dance. Please take care if you feel compelled to dance along. We cannot be held responsible for injuries sustained.
Monday May 17
Charleston
The Charleston is a dance named after the city of Charleston, South Carolina. The rhythm was popularised in mainstream dance music in the United States by a 1923 tune called The Charleston by composer/pianist James P. Johnson.
Won't You Charleston With Me? is a duet from Sandy Wilson's 1953 musical The Boy Friend. Ken Russell made a film of it in 1971 starring Twiggy, though she does not appear in this clip.
Performance (3 mins)
Polka
The polka is originally a Czech dance and genre of dance music familiar throughout all of Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the nineteenth century in Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic.
This polka is from Die Fledermaus written by Johann Strauss. Dancing is not my strongest suit, but I remember learning to dance this when taking part in a production of the operetta. Singing, acting and dancing - a triple threat performer, at least for a short while.
Performance (2 mins)
Tuesday May 18
Pavane
The pavane is a slow processional dance common in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation. His Pavane in F-sharp minor is a short work written in 1887. It was originally a piano piece, but is better known in Fauré's version for orchestra and optional chorus. It was first performed in Paris in 1888, becoming one of the composer's most popular works. I chose this recording as it is being played by an orchestra of young people.
Performance (8 mins)
Wednesday May 19
Twist
The twist is a dance that was inspired by rock and roll music. From 1959 to the early sixties it became a worldwide dance craze, enjoying immense popularity while drawing controversies from critics who felt it was too provocative. (explanation for our younger readers)
Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans in 1941) is an American Rock and roll singer and dancer. His best known song is the hit Let's Twist Again, released in 1961.
Performance (2 mins)
Cachucha
The Cachucha is a Spanish solo dance similar to the bolero.
Gilbert and Sullivan included the cachucha in Act 2 of The Gondoliers. The whole chorus is expected to dance and sing, as I found out when appearing in the opera in Leeds in 1971. I was one of the younger members of the company and so was chosen to be one half of the 'lead couple', dancing at the front, centre stage. 'In the kingdom of the blind, ....'
Here is Scottish Opera with a lockdown version. You will have to imagine the dancing.
Performance (2 mins)
Thursday May 20
Sarabande
The sarabande is a dance that originated in Central America in the sixteenth century. It became popular in the Spanish colonies before making its way to Europe. At first, it was regarded as being rather scandalous, even being banned in Spain for its obscenity. Baroque composers, such as Handel, adopted the sarabande as one of the movements for the suites they were writing at the time.
Demonstration (2 mins)
George Frideric Handel (1685 – 1759) was a German-born Baroque composer. He received his training in Halle and worked as a composer in Hamburg and Italy before settling in London in 1712, where he spent the bulk of his career and became a naturalised British subject in 1727. His Sarabande was ranked 161st (out of 300) in this year's ClassicFM Hall of Fame.
Performance (4 mins)
Friday May 21
Gavotte
The gavotte is a French dance dating from the 16th-century.
JS Bach's Violin Partita No.3 in E includes a gavotte, originally written for violin. Rachmaninov arranged it for piano and here is that version.
Performance (3 mins)
The Ascot Gavotte is a song in the 1956 musical My Fair Lady by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe.
Performance (3 mins)
Weekend May 22/23
Danzón
Danzón is the official musical genre and dance of Cuba. It is also an active musical form in Mexico, and is much loved in Puerto Rico as well.
Danzón No. 2 is an orchestral composition by Mexican composer Arturo Márquez. It is one of the most popular and most frequently performed orchestral Mexican contemporary classical music compositions. Danzón No. 2 gained great popularity worldwide when the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela under Gustavo Dudamel included it on their programme for their 2007 European and American tour.
Performance (9 mins)
Charleston
The Charleston is a dance named after the city of Charleston, South Carolina. The rhythm was popularised in mainstream dance music in the United States by a 1923 tune called The Charleston by composer/pianist James P. Johnson.
Won't You Charleston With Me? is a duet from Sandy Wilson's 1953 musical The Boy Friend. Ken Russell made a film of it in 1971 starring Twiggy, though she does not appear in this clip.
Performance (3 mins)
Polka
The polka is originally a Czech dance and genre of dance music familiar throughout all of Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the nineteenth century in Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic.
This polka is from Die Fledermaus written by Johann Strauss. Dancing is not my strongest suit, but I remember learning to dance this when taking part in a production of the operetta. Singing, acting and dancing - a triple threat performer, at least for a short while.
Performance (2 mins)
Tuesday May 18
Pavane
The pavane is a slow processional dance common in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation. His Pavane in F-sharp minor is a short work written in 1887. It was originally a piano piece, but is better known in Fauré's version for orchestra and optional chorus. It was first performed in Paris in 1888, becoming one of the composer's most popular works. I chose this recording as it is being played by an orchestra of young people.
Performance (8 mins)
Wednesday May 19
Twist
The twist is a dance that was inspired by rock and roll music. From 1959 to the early sixties it became a worldwide dance craze, enjoying immense popularity while drawing controversies from critics who felt it was too provocative. (explanation for our younger readers)
Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans in 1941) is an American Rock and roll singer and dancer. His best known song is the hit Let's Twist Again, released in 1961.
Performance (2 mins)
Cachucha
The Cachucha is a Spanish solo dance similar to the bolero.
Gilbert and Sullivan included the cachucha in Act 2 of The Gondoliers. The whole chorus is expected to dance and sing, as I found out when appearing in the opera in Leeds in 1971. I was one of the younger members of the company and so was chosen to be one half of the 'lead couple', dancing at the front, centre stage. 'In the kingdom of the blind, ....'
Here is Scottish Opera with a lockdown version. You will have to imagine the dancing.
Performance (2 mins)
Thursday May 20
Sarabande
The sarabande is a dance that originated in Central America in the sixteenth century. It became popular in the Spanish colonies before making its way to Europe. At first, it was regarded as being rather scandalous, even being banned in Spain for its obscenity. Baroque composers, such as Handel, adopted the sarabande as one of the movements for the suites they were writing at the time.
Demonstration (2 mins)
George Frideric Handel (1685 – 1759) was a German-born Baroque composer. He received his training in Halle and worked as a composer in Hamburg and Italy before settling in London in 1712, where he spent the bulk of his career and became a naturalised British subject in 1727. His Sarabande was ranked 161st (out of 300) in this year's ClassicFM Hall of Fame.
Performance (4 mins)
Friday May 21
Gavotte
The gavotte is a French dance dating from the 16th-century.
JS Bach's Violin Partita No.3 in E includes a gavotte, originally written for violin. Rachmaninov arranged it for piano and here is that version.
Performance (3 mins)
The Ascot Gavotte is a song in the 1956 musical My Fair Lady by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe.
Performance (3 mins)
Weekend May 22/23
Danzón
Danzón is the official musical genre and dance of Cuba. It is also an active musical form in Mexico, and is much loved in Puerto Rico as well.
Danzón No. 2 is an orchestral composition by Mexican composer Arturo Márquez. It is one of the most popular and most frequently performed orchestral Mexican contemporary classical music compositions. Danzón No. 2 gained great popularity worldwide when the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela under Gustavo Dudamel included it on their programme for their 2007 European and American tour.
Performance (9 mins)