Shaking Big Shoulders: Music and Dance Culture in Chicago, 1910--1925

Part II discusses the dances themselves, focusing on the contrasting pair of the fox trot and shimmy, two dances that have previously received little scholarly attention. Chapter 4 discusses the development and dominance of the fox trot as the most popular dance of the era. Chapter 5 documents the development and dissemination of the shimmy, a shoulder- and hip-shaking dance. These dances reflected the multiple and contradictory practices regarding sexuality and gender, simultaneously expressing and structuring both conservative and modern ideals. While the provocative movements of the shimmy embodied the growing importance of sexual expression, the formation of distinct and separate responsibilities for the sexes in dances like the fox trot simultaneously reinscribed asymmetrical gender relations.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Music

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Bryant, Rebecca Ann

Contributors dc:contributor

• Gushee, Lawrence

• History, United States

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI3086023

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/85711