Permission, not perfection- why people danced the Charleston, and why you probably should too

The Charleston was never about getting every step right. It wasn’t polished or precise, neat and tidy. It was loose, wild, a bit messy. As Craig Revel-Horwood is so fond of saying, with the Charleston, “There is no top you can go over!” And yes, the Charleston can absolutely be ‘too perfect.’

Why America needed the Charleston

To understand why the Charleston exploded in the way it did, you need to understand America at the start of the 1920s.  Just as the country was grieving the end of World War I, it was hit by the Spanish flu pandemic. Sweeping across the country, infecting 25% of the population and causing an estimated 50 million deaths, America was a country living in fear. Mask use was widespread, people were encouraged to stay indoors, quarantine, and maintain social distancing.

Life was heavy.

Cautious.

Quiet.

When the clouds finally lifted, people were crying out for joy and escapism.

At the same time the rules that had shaped the ‘Victorian’ way of life were starting to shift. The economy was booming, people had more disposable income, and mass entertainment was spreading via radio and movies.  Young people pushed back on propriety, carving out an identity of their own, separate from their parents. Women won the vote, hemlines were raised, hair was bobbed, corsets were abandoned. The ‘Flapper’ ,a fledging bird, just learning to fly, was born.

Prohibition only added to the mischief, making nightlife seem even more daring and glamorous.  Alcohol was banned, which meant everybody went out drinking (obviously!) Speakeasies popped up on every street corner, secret parties were thrown. Threading through it all was jazz, brought north by Black musicians during the Great Migration. Music that was syncopated, energetic and a little wild.

The Charleston couldn’t have fit the ‘rule-breaking’ mood more perfectly. People needed escapism, the chance to blow off steam, to rebel, to throw caution to the wind and to feel alive.

It's little wonder that when it hit Broadway in the 1923 show ‘Runnin' Wild’, (above) the Charleston spread like wildfire. Soon everyone was trying it — chorus girls, college students, bankers, secretaries. It definitely didn’t matter if you were ‘trained’, and to be honest it was probably better if you weren’t.

The charm was in the chaos – wrong but strong all the way!

The Charleston wasn’t about perfection, it was about permission.

Permission to take up space.

Permission to move joyfully.

Permission to be silly.

Perfection?

Applesauce.

Why we need the Charleston now

If I'm honest, I often wonder about how much have things have really changed in the last hundred years. Increasingly, it seems that there are plenty of reasons why we might all need a dose of joy and escapism right now. And yet somehow we've managed to convince ourselves that dancing is only for people who already know how. We tell ourselves we'll wait until we’re fitter, feeling braver, less likely to feel silly. Consider this your permission to just dance!

Come as you are, get bits wrong, laugh, dance anyway. And most importantly…

Keep Shakin’ That Thing!

Caroline x

*PS Where the Charleston actually originated is too significant for a footnote, but it's important to say it was a Black dance, born of Black culture and dancers, which we should never forget.  I’ll share more on its Black roots and history in a future post.