ipl-logo

How Did Florence Mills Contribute To Dance

428 Words2 Pages

Florence Mills made an impact on the nation during the Jazz Age because of the passion she had for her art. Florence was an amazing singer, dancer, and a leading performer during this age. Florence is recognized as an icon for African Americans everywhere because of her passion that never died. Florence started following her dreams at a very young age. “Under the name “Baby Florence”, she made her stage debut at about age five” (Britannica). Her family moved to the Harlem district of New York City in 1903. Also, in 1910 her and her two older sisters formed a traveling vaudeville act. Mills spent several years on the road, but eventually returned to Harlem to perform in popular nightclubs. In 1921 Mills finally had her breakthrough, landing the leading role in an Off-Broadway musical “Shuffle Along” by Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle. Despite her color, she left the crowd in awe with her beautiful voice, comedic attitude, and jazzy dance moves. She appeared in other acts throughout the years, and let her …show more content…

Throughout her career, “Mills earned a reputation for her wondrous, high-pitched voice, unique dance movements and comedic timing that allowed her to become an unparalleled force during the Harlem Renaissance. With Mills quite aware of the racial dynamics of the day and wishing to make a difference, she also served as an icon for African-American performers and audiences of all backgrounds.” (Bio.) Mills was well recognized for amazing talents, and became more popular as she starred in “Shuffle Along”, “Plantation Revenue”, and “Blackbirds”. Starring in mostly musicals, Mills was recognized more for her beautiful voice, and was a huge star in Britain by 1926. By embracing her talents, Mills was able to prove to African-Americans everywhere that color doesn’t have to a hindrance, but to show the world what you are made

Show More
Related
296 Words | 2 Pages

Introduction – Josephine Baker “aka” Freda Josephine Mcdonald was a dancer and singer who was very popular in France during the 1920s. She also dedicated much of her life to fighting racism Introductory statement – Josephine fantasized of being one of those people on the big stage. Still in her elementary years she began dancing part-time in a chorus line. She turned sixteen and joined a traveling troupe.

Read More
931 Words | 4 Pages

Bessie Smith was the first female African-American blues singer. Nicknamed The Empress of the Blues, Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s. She is known as one of the greatest singers of her era and, along with Louis Armstrong, a major influence on other jazz vocalists. According to the 1900 census, Bessie Smith was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in July 1892.

Read More
1760 Words | 8 Pages

Nicholas Pinto Professor Lynch 7/16/17 Analyzing How Jazz Changed African-American Society For The Better Jazz has been undeniably been tied to African American society since its creation. In her piece called the Social Effects of Jazz Zola Phillips tells us some of the origins of jazz, “Jazz developed from Afro-American music which included: work songs, spiritual music, minstrelsy, and other forms”. Another big contributor to the creation of Jazz is its direct descendant—the blues. The blues are a type of music created by blacks in America that includes the blues scale.

Read More
98 Words | 1 Pages

Josephine Baker Was African American Woman Who Wasn't Afraid To Speak Her Mind Whenever She Witnessed Or Was Involved In Some Form Of inequality. The Main Purposes Of Her Speech Were The Equality She Received In France Compared To The Inequalities She Faced 24/7 In America And How She Was Disrespected By The Public Day After Day.

Read More
876 Words | 4 Pages

Latoya Tanilus Mrs. Osking ENC1101/ Period 6 7 November 2017 Issues that Madam C. J. Walker addressed “I had to make my own living and my own opportunity. But I made it! Don't sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them”(A-Z quotes.com). Madam C. J. Walker was such an influential individual that revised the outlook toward African- Americans.

Read More
723 Words | 3 Pages

Born as Freda Josephine McDonald on June 3, 1906, in Saint Louis. Her mother had dreams of becoming a music-hall dancer, but gave them up to become a mother and washerwoman and her father abandoned them when she was an infant. Most of her time as a youth was spent in poverty. To help support her family, she started cleaning houses and babysitting at the age of eight often being mistreated. At the age of 13 she ran away from home, found work as a waitress at a club where she met her first husband Willie Wells, who she divorced only weeks later.

Read More
773 Words | 4 Pages

This was managed by bringing new methods of movement and expression to the very narrow minded table. She presented films, writing, photos and her own personal demonstrations, which were an innovation in sharing new work at the time. However moving to New York is where Katherine’s breakthrough to the popular recognition happened, in 1939, which is where she performed at the Windsor Theatre within a program called le ‘jazz hot’ and ‘Tropics’ that was inevitably supposed to be a one night event however because of the demand ended up doing 13 weeks of performing in a row. From here Katherine Dunham developed and became huge within the dance world.

Read More
388 Words | 2 Pages

The Harlem Renaissance was an important event for the life of an African American. During this time, other people decided to give the African Americans a chance because they saw what talent the African American race had with music, art and sports. By giving them a voice, they finally had a chance to get the rights they deserved. After the Civil war, African Americans were free by law, but they still had to fight for almost everything they wanted.     The African American group got so popular by their abilities in art, sports and music.

Read More
966 Words | 4 Pages

Martha Graham was a world famous modern dancer and choreographer from the twentieth century. Graham was special to any other dancer in her time, she created her very own unique difficult technique style which changed the dance community's perspective on modern dance. Graham choreographed her works through themes and ideas that were quite personal and related to issues in her time. The technique style Graham created was a whole new language in dance. She developed the motion of ‘contraction and release’ which was based on the concept of breathing.

Read More
1583 Words | 7 Pages

Lester Horton. Martha Graham. Erick Hawkins. Isadora Duncan. Ruth St. Denis.

Read More
514 Words | 3 Pages

Maya Angelou was a strong African-American women who made an influential impact on the Civil Rights Movement, in bother her actions, and her literature. Her life experiences and courage helped others, and made her work influential. During Maya’s early life, she experienced many hardships that shaped her into the person many remember her as. Born on April 4, 1928, she only lived in St. Louis, MO for three years before her parents got divorced, and Maya, along with her mother and brother, moved in with her grandparents in Arkansas. At the age of eight, raped by her mother’s boyfriend, Maya learned the power that words possess.

Read More
501 Words | 3 Pages

Her position was quickly put on the edge when she started appearing in films that involved ‘Blackface’ a term used when a non-black person uses make up and plays the role of a black person. The films she did reflected the harsh times that the black people were enduring and also had some very notable contributions. (The little girl…)This means that she was otherwise playing roles that acted the way ‘colored people’ did, stereotypically. In one of the films, she played the daughter of a slave-owning family. In the film, the slaves are seen to be content, singing and dancing for their masters, the “unlikely” friendship between Shirley’s character and that of her butler who was portrayed by Bill “Bojangles” Robinson.

Read More
146 Words | 1 Pages

Josephine Baker an amazing vocal opponent of segregation and discrimination, often initiating one-women protests against racial justice. She dealt with alot when she was younger from being burned out of her home to being so frightened and running away, she was beaten just for the things she continued to do and to say the things she said just because she didn't like the rules and laws of segregation. Josephine ran away multiple times but when she ran away to another country she could do anything she wanted she felt like she was equal to everyone. She was a person who not only just wanting to fight for blacks but for all she wanted to do anything with all races all color because she felt like we all was put on this earth and we all suppose

Read More
659 Words | 3 Pages

This essay helps us really examine American theatre and where exactly it grew from. It would or does not surprise me that American theatre is more based in the people that truly build this land, the natives, slaves, and working class. This article describes not only the basis of theatre as we know it and as it was back in the olden days, but how the same roots that theatrical art grew out of also provided the foundation for the culture of America as a whole that only progressed with time. For example, the article speaks about dancing and about “rag” dancing which eventually became the lively classic jazz dance we commonly associate with the 1920s era as a whole, not just for blacks but for white too. It’s no surprise that in that time, the

Read More
813 Words | 4 Pages

Martha Graham is recognised as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. Using the expressive capacity of the body Martha Graham created a new movement language. Her new style grew for her experimentation with contraction and release. With the sharp, angular, and direct movements were in a direct comparison the classical ballet technique. Martha Graham danced and choreographed for over 70 years, and was the first dancer to dance at the White House.

Read More

More about How Did Florence Mills Contribute To Dance

Related Topics

Open Document