Overview
Dancing Black, Dancing White: Rock and Roll, Race, and Youth Culture of the 1950s and Early 1960s explores the phenomenon of rock and roll dance of the 1950s and early 1960s, a time of egregious racial prejudice and segregation in the U.S., through the lens of the popular televised teen dance program. Both dance history and social history, Dancing Black, Dancing White traces the experiences of Black and white teenagers as they traverse the enticing world of rock and roll music and dance. Several occurrences took shape during this time: the ascendancy of rock and roll music and recorded sound; the rise of the teenager"; the beginnings of television, and the country's struggle with race. The shows were primarily segregated, and the book examines how white teenagers took Black dances and dance styles into their own bodies. At the same time, the book explores the few all-Black teen dance shows that existed-before Soul Train-and considers how both white and Black teenagers navigated the color line. While their experiences differed, in both cases the desire of the teenagers was to have a space of their own where they could be seen, heard, appreciated, and understood, and in many ways the teen dance shows fulfilled these aims"--
- | Author: Julie Malnig
- | Publisher: Oxford University Press
- | Publication Date: May 19, 2023
- | Number of Pages: 240 pages
- | Language: English
- | Binding: Paperback
- | ISBN-10: 0197536263
- | ISBN-13: 9780197536261
