Slow drag (dance)
Encyclopedia
The Slow drag is an American
social dance
originally performed to ragtime
music, and has been resurrected as part of blues
dancing.
composers, including Scott Joplin
, wrote a number of slow-tempo tunes appropriate for the dance. "They would just hang onto each other and just grind back and forth in one spot all night".
A cornetist who played during the 1890s described the music where the Slow drag was done, in the "less fashionable groups in town", as "more raggy" than the music that was played for the more "high toned" dances. "They did the Slow drag all over Louisiana."
Slow drag was one of ten dance themes Joplin included in "The Ragtime Dance". "The Ragtime Dance" was written in 1899 and consisted of a vocal introduction followed by a series of dance themes introduced by a vocalist.
"The Ragime Dance" was performed once in Sedalia in 1903 with four couples dressed in their own most festive clothing performing the steps to Joplin on the piano playing with a small orchestra.
Joplin also included a Slow drag in his opera
, Treemonisha
, also choreographing the work. His "Directions for the Slow drag" were:
Another Joplin composition, written with Scott Hayden, is "Sun Flower Slow drag", written in 1901.
Sheet music published in 1906 juxtaposes rural blacks with the music in "The Watermelon Trust; A slow drag" written by Harry Thompson. "A down home shout; Characteristic slow-drag two step" by Herman Carle was published in 1907.
Another description of the dance, by a woman born in the 1890s was "hanging on each other and barely moving."
In the late 1930s Jelly Roll Morton
's music was considered old fashioned and obsolete. Morton recorded "Slow Drag" ragtime songs that were by then out of step with mainstream jazz by the time Louis Armstrong
and Earl Hines
recorded together in 1928. His creole melodies and rhythms are closely connected to the Caribbean with its mixture of African, French, Spanish and Mexican people.
"The Dream" (c. 1880) is a slow drag, whorehouse number; popular with the musicians of the generation before Morton. They called it "Spanish" because of its tango
or habaniera beat. The habaniera had previously arrived in the Caribbean from West Africa.
In the decades that followed, it spread throughout the American South
and was most popular in semi-rural juke joint
s, where it was danced to the blues. Buster Pickens
, who was born in 1916, described people doing the slow drag to "slow low-down dirty blues" in barrelhouse
joints.
In 1929, the slow drag became the first African American social dance to be introduced to Broadway
audiences, in the play Harlem. One description of the dance as performed in the play was "a couple dance in which a man and a woman press their bodies tightly together in a smooth bump and grind as they kept the rhythm of the music". It scandalized white critics with its raw sensuality. Many members of the black community were incensed by this picture of the underside of black urban life.
The Slow drag never gained the popularity of other dances derived from African American dance forms, such as the Charleston
. Few films of the dance survive.
Dancers from Philadelphia stated that the dance was often used to announce a special relationship between the couples who danced it, "you didn't just slow drag with anyone."
The "cling and sway" characteristic of the slow drag can be seen in rock and roll
movies
from the late 1950s. It was also popular in the 1960s when dancing without touching was more popular than "partner dancing", and remains popular. In these cases it is referred to as "slow dancing".
The swing revival
helped renew interest in the slow drag, which is acknowledged as one of the many antecedents of swing dancing. A version of the slow drag is taught today in blues dancing.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
social dance
Social dance
Social dance is a major category or classification of danceforms or dance styles, where sociability and socializing are the primary focuses of the dancing...
originally performed to ragtime
Ragtime
Ragtime is an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being published...
music, and has been resurrected as part of blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
dancing.
History
RagtimeRagtime
Ragtime is an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being published...
composers, including Scott Joplin
Scott Joplin
Scott Joplin was an American composer and pianist. Joplin achieved fame for his ragtime compositions, and was later dubbed "The King of Ragtime". During his brief career, Joplin wrote 44 original ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas...
, wrote a number of slow-tempo tunes appropriate for the dance. "They would just hang onto each other and just grind back and forth in one spot all night".
A cornetist who played during the 1890s described the music where the Slow drag was done, in the "less fashionable groups in town", as "more raggy" than the music that was played for the more "high toned" dances. "They did the Slow drag all over Louisiana."
Slow drag was one of ten dance themes Joplin included in "The Ragtime Dance". "The Ragtime Dance" was written in 1899 and consisted of a vocal introduction followed by a series of dance themes introduced by a vocalist.
"Let me see you do the rag-time dance,
Turn left and do the cakewalk prance,
Turn the other way and do the slow drag -
Now take you lady to the World's Fair
And do the rag-time dance."
"The Ragime Dance" was performed once in Sedalia in 1903 with four couples dressed in their own most festive clothing performing the steps to Joplin on the piano playing with a small orchestra.
Joplin also included a Slow drag in his opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, Treemonisha
Treemonisha
Treemonisha is an opera composed by the famed African-American ragtime composer Scott Joplin. Though it encompasses a wide range of musical styles other than ragtime, and Joplin did not refer to it as such, it is sometimes incorrectly referred to as a "ragtime opera"...
, also choreographing the work. His "Directions for the Slow drag" were:
- 1. The Slow drag must begin on the first beat of each measure.
- 2. When moving forward, drag the left foot; when moving backward, drag the right foot.
- 3. When moving sideways to the right, drag the left foot; when moving sideways to the left, drag the right foot.
- 4. When prancing, your steps must come on each beat of the measure.
- 5. When marching, and when sliding, your steps must come on the first and third beat of each measure.
- 6. Hop and skip on second beat of measure. Double the Schottische step to fit the slow music.
Another Joplin composition, written with Scott Hayden, is "Sun Flower Slow drag", written in 1901.
Sheet music published in 1906 juxtaposes rural blacks with the music in "The Watermelon Trust; A slow drag" written by Harry Thompson. "A down home shout; Characteristic slow-drag two step" by Herman Carle was published in 1907.
Another description of the dance, by a woman born in the 1890s was "hanging on each other and barely moving."
In the late 1930s Jelly Roll Morton
Jelly Roll Morton
Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe , known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American ragtime and early jazz pianist, bandleader and composer....
's music was considered old fashioned and obsolete. Morton recorded "Slow Drag" ragtime songs that were by then out of step with mainstream jazz by the time Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
and Earl Hines
Earl Hines
Earl Kenneth Hines, universally known as Earl "Fatha" Hines, was an American jazz pianist. Hines was one of the most influential figures in the development of modern jazz piano and, according to one source, is "one of a small number of pianists whose playing shaped the history of jazz".-Early...
recorded together in 1928. His creole melodies and rhythms are closely connected to the Caribbean with its mixture of African, French, Spanish and Mexican people.
"The Dream" (c. 1880) is a slow drag, whorehouse number; popular with the musicians of the generation before Morton. They called it "Spanish" because of its tango
Tango music
Tango is a style of ballroom dance music in 2/4 or 4/4 time that originated among European immigrant populations of Argentina and Uruguay . It is traditionally played by a sextet, known as the orquesta típica, which includes two violins, piano, double bass, and two bandoneons...
or habaniera beat. The habaniera had previously arrived in the Caribbean from West Africa.
In the decades that followed, it spread throughout the American South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
and was most popular in semi-rural juke joint
Juke joint
Juke joint is the vernacular term for an informal establishment featuring music, dancing, gambling, and drinking, primarily operated by African American people in the southeastern United States. The term "juke" is believed to derive from the Gullah word joog, meaning rowdy or disorderly...
s, where it was danced to the blues. Buster Pickens
Buster Pickens
Buster Pickens was an American blues pianist. Pickens is best known for his work accompanying Alger "Texas" Alexander and Lightnin' Hopkins, although he did record a solo album in 1960.-Biography:...
, who was born in 1916, described people doing the slow drag to "slow low-down dirty blues" in barrelhouse
Barrelhouse
Barrelhouse can refer to:*A "juke joint", a bar or saloon. Originates from the storage of barrels of alcohol.*An early form of jazz with wild, improvised piano, and an accented two-beat rhythm ....
joints.
In 1929, the slow drag became the first African American social dance to be introduced to Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
audiences, in the play Harlem. One description of the dance as performed in the play was "a couple dance in which a man and a woman press their bodies tightly together in a smooth bump and grind as they kept the rhythm of the music". It scandalized white critics with its raw sensuality. Many members of the black community were incensed by this picture of the underside of black urban life.
The Slow drag never gained the popularity of other dances derived from African American dance forms, such as the Charleston
Charleston (dance)
The Charleston is a dance named for the harbor city of Charleston, South Carolina. The rhythm was popularized in mainstream dance music in the United States by a 1923 tune called "The Charleston" by composer/pianist James P. Johnson which originated in the Broadway show Runnin' Wild and became one...
. Few films of the dance survive.
Dancers from Philadelphia stated that the dance was often used to announce a special relationship between the couples who danced it, "you didn't just slow drag with anyone."
The "cling and sway" characteristic of the slow drag can be seen in rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
movies
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
from the late 1950s. It was also popular in the 1960s when dancing without touching was more popular than "partner dancing", and remains popular. In these cases it is referred to as "slow dancing".
The swing revival
Swing Revival
The Swing Revival was a late 1990s and early 2000s period of renewed popular interest in swing and jump blues music and dance from the 1930s and 1940s as exemplified by Louis Prima, often mixed with a more contemporary rock, rockabilly or ska sound, known also as neo-swing or retro...
helped renew interest in the slow drag, which is acknowledged as one of the many antecedents of swing dancing. A version of the slow drag is taught today in blues dancing.
External links
- "Good Times Fall on Hard Times in Mississippi" by Bill Steber Photos and stories about contemporary juke joints, including photos of Slow drag dancers