Grizzlies,
Bunnies,
and
Foxes
OH
MY!
When he reached 16 years of age, Ernest Hemingway could
take dancing lessons during his freshman year at Oak Park High School. Ernest
was also able to attend his school dances when he started lessons, although
he did not end up going to any of his high school's dances. This was probably
due to the fact that Ernest could not ask girls to the dances until his sister
had gotten asked to go first. (Mellow, 563). These dancing lessons took place
at the Colonial Club. Clarence Hemingway did not want his children to engage
in any of the tomfoolery, especially in classes explaining how to do the dances
of that period. Some of the dances performed at that time, around 1915, consisted
of: the One Step, Castle Walk, Grizzly Bear, Bunny Hug, Fox Trot, and Turkey
Trot. The Bunny Hug, Turkey Trot, and Grizzly Bear stirred up many arguments
about the way people danced at that time. There are numerous Chicago
Tribune newspaper articles that show scandals surrounding the types of dances
that were being performed. One article about the
three controversial dances stated,“The nomenclature and the dances suggest
only one form of entertainment- the lowest type of ball, where the dregs of
primitive humanity are stirred into a broth not met for the young men and maidens
who this winter have been displaying their agility and elasticity in the contortions
and embraces demanded by this trio of dances” (12 May 1912, B1). Clarence probably
agreed with the articles that condemned the forms of dancing take place. He
would not want his children participating in anything vulgar like those dances.
Or maybe he disagreed with the vivid lyrics the songs exhibited. "Squeeze
me, tease me, please me while we glide along" are just a few lyrics that
insinuate the dance moves performed to rag time songs that existed in Ernest's
time. Grace held a New Year’s Eve Ball for Marcelline and Ernest, even though
she knew that her husband did not think highly of dancing in any aspect. The
Ball, located in the Hemingway's home, consisted of old-fashioned square dancing
and fox trot melodies. Food was Ernest's favorite part of the ball; he did
not have good balance on the dance floor because of his large feet and graceless
coordination (Lynn, 22-23). The links below will link to more in depth
descriptions of the dances that took place in Hemingway's time.
One Step:
This
dance became very popular because of its simplicity. During the rag time era,
the one step dominated the ballroom (Powers, 1). “This
is the way to dance it: The dancers stand directly in front of each other,
the lady’s right hand in the gentleman’s left. The elbows should be slightly
bent, not held out stiffly, like the bowsprit of a boat, as this not only looks
awkward, but is uncomfortable, and often dangerous to the other dancers. The
gentleman’s right hand should be a little above the lady’s waist-line, more
or less over her shoulder-blade; but this, of course, depends upon the size
of the lady… The lady’s left hand should rest lightly on the gentleman’s right
shoulder. She should not curl her arm tightly around his. The gentleman
usually starts forward and the lady backward- the reason being that the lady
is generally more graceful and can go backward with greater ease, and a man
can also see where he is going and thus prevent a collision with other couples.
Now
to
begin
with
the
dance:
the
gentleman
starts
forward
with
his
left
foot,
and
the
lady
steps
backward
with
her
right,
walking
in
time
to
the
music. Bear
in mind this one important part: When I say walk,
that
is
all
it
is. Do
not shuffle, do not bob up and down or trot. Simply walk as
softly
and
smoothly
as
possible,
taking
a
step
to
every
count
of
the
music”
(Castle,
44).
The
following
link
is
a
video
displaying
two
people
performing
the
one-step
dance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_le0Q5D5IE
Castle Walk:
During the 19th century,a change in the way dances were
performed occurred. The music that was played in ballrooms changed also.
The ragtime music came from the Rural South and Midwest and dances were developed
by numerous people, two of them being Irene and Vernon Castle. (Powers,
1). Mr. and Mrs. Castle were a very important part of dancing in the
early 1900’s. “In Europe as well as in America it has been universally
conceded that as teachers they are unequaled. Refinement is the
keynote of their method; under their direction Castle House became the
model school of modern dancing, and through its influence the spirit of
beauty and of art is allied to the legitimate physical need of healthy
exercise and of honest enjoyment” (Castle, 20). Irene
and Vernon
Castle possessed
much popularity
in
Paris and
people looked
up to
them as
a classy
couple (Powers,
1).
“First
of
all,
walk
as
I
have
already
explained
in
the
One
Step. Now, raise yourself up slightly on your toes at each step,
with the legs a trifle stiff, and a breeze along happily and easily, and you
know all that there is to know about the Castle Walk” (Castle, pg. 47). The
Castle’s
danced
the
one-step,
but
in
their
own
unique
way
that
eventually
was
named
the
Castle
Walk
(Powers,
pg.
1).
The
following
link
illustrates
the
Castle
Walk.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuDJ-qOi8uQ
The Turkey Trot
The chorus of I'm Crazy 'bout the Turkey Trot,
a popular ragtime tune from the early 1900's, describes the steps used in
the dance: "Gobble, Gobble, while the music’s playing. Hobble,
Wobble, let your feet go swaying. Babe
this sure
is going
some, I
just feel
like
crowing
“Hon”. Slower,
faster, not
the way
you useter.
You’re a
chicken, I’m
a
great big
rooster…Sigh with
me and
try with
me, to
crack your
wings and
fly
with
me. ‘Great
Scott’ tell
you what,
I’m crazy
‘bout the
Turkey Trot”
(Goodwin,
3-4).
The Turkey Trot consisted of a fast, marching one-step dance
while the dancers pumped their arms at their sides. The dancers would then use
arm-flaps occasionally that represented a crazed turkey. (Sterns, 96)
Hammond
discussed
in
a
1912
Chicago
Tribune article
how
the
Turkey
Trot
occurred
in
the
Grand
Opera. “But tonight the audience
sat up and stared. What was this, the humped shoulders, the bowed back,
the sidling sway, the magic embrace? It was, it was-yes-the turkey trot!" (Hammond,
9).
Foxtrot:
From
the
years
1914-1918
the
Foxtrot
was
one
of
the
most
popular dances performed. This
dance would
have been
done in
Ernest's
high
school dance
lessons; he
would have
been between
the ages
of 15-18
years
when
this dance
was most
popular.
This
dance
is
similar
to
the
one-step
dance,
which
makes
it easy to learn. “Begin with eight walking steps, the girl walking backward,
starting on her left foot. Do these steps rather slowly, allowing two
beats to each one, and swaying a very little from side to side. Take four
slides to the right, then four slides to the left, then four slow walking-steps. Repeat
this four times. Polka four times. Then comes the true fox trot
step, which happens to be eight running steps, a step to each beat. While
you are running, do you not lift your feet off of the floor" (Mouvet,
83).
The
following
link
shows
an
example
of
the
fox
trot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2yZxLRikuE&feature=PlayList&p=BA97CC5B88DF6189&index=2
The Bunny Hug
"The
Tango
is
O.K.;
Bunny
Hug
is
Bad" (CT
24
Aug.
1913 B7). The Bunny Hug caused much controversy in the early 1900's and
that is why Dr. Hemingway would not have wanted his children to learn this
outrageous dance. One Chicago Tribune article stated that a lavish ball
was held in Boston, Massachusetts. The wealthy guests that attended the
ball partook in numerous “Freak” dances, such as the bunny hug. (CT 23 Feb.
1913, 2).
The image below is of the cover of the sheet music
for a tune created for the Bunny Hug dance in 1912. The
lyrics
of The
Bunny Hug,
music
by
Harry
Von
Tilzer and
words by
William Jerome,
stated: "Float
me honey ‘round the hall, Bounce me like a rubber ball. Squeeze
me, tease me, please me while we glide along. Folks in high society
Bunny Hug like you and me. Glancing, prancing, dancing love’s soft
dreamy song. See them rolling their dreamy eyes. See them strolling
to paradise. While they bend
and sway, they sweetly say: Let’s do that Bunny Hug, that ever lovin’
Bunny Hug. Oh babe, just you and I, come on and try. Oh
my! Oh dear just show me the way. Oh, love please coax me to stay. Just
throw your arms around me. Tell me that you’re glad you found me. Come
on sweet. Oh-sweetie, won’t you come, oh sweet! There’s honey
in the air. Oh babe I’m there, there, there! Oh you sweet beauty bright,
hold me fast, hold me tight. Close
as a kitten that lays on a rug, That Bunny Hug..."(Jerome, 1-4). These
song
lyrics
illustrate
the
types
of
dance
moves
that
took
place
during
the
bunny
hug
dance,
and
explain
how
the
dance
was
controversial
in
the
way
it
was
executed.
The Grizzly Bear
"Man
Shot
for
Bear
Dancing".
If
a
person
wanted
to perform the Grizzly Bear Dance, that person needed to be cautious for
his
or her life. The police had asked a man to stop performing the controversial
dance, and when he refused to, he was shot and had to go to the hospital.
(CT 23 Sep. 1912,3).
An article in the Chicago Tribune labeled “DANCING MASTERS
WAR ON 'RAGTIME': Say Degenerate Composers Have Caused Spread of Vulgar ‘Grizzly
Bear’. “ This article exemplifies the idea that the Rag Time music in 1912
developed the need for “vulgar” dance moves, such as the Grizzly Bear. This
newspaper
article
continued
to
discussed
how
dancing
masters
had
come
up
with
the
idea
of
entirely
getting
rid
of
all
rag-time
tunes,
and
discussed
the
notion
of
having
people
learn
only
certain
dances:
the
waltz,
and
two-step
for
example.
(CT
23
Sep.
1912,3).
These articles reiterate why Clarence did not want
Ernest or Marcelline to dance. Another popular ragtime tune
was The
Dance of the Grizzly Bear,
music
by
George
Botsford
and
words
by
Irving
Berlin.
This
song
had
these
lyrics:
“Out
in
San
Francisco
where
the
weather’s
fair,
they
have
a
dance
out
there,
they
call
the
grizzly
bear. All your
other lovin’ dances don’t compare, not so conny but a little more than spoony.
Talk about yo’ bears that Teddy Roosevelt shot, they couldn’t class with
what old San Francisco’s got. Listen my honey, do, and I will show to you
the dance of the grizzly bear. Hug up close to your baby, throw your
shoulders t’ward the ceiling, lawdy, lawdy what a feelin’. Snug up
close to your lady, close your eyes and do some nappin’. Something
nice is gwine to happy, hug up close to your baby, sway me everywhere. Show
your darlin’ beau, just how you go to Buffalo, doin’ the grizzly Bear...”
(Berlin 1-4). These
intriguing
song
lyrics
show
how
the
dance
could
be
viewed
as
controversial
compared
to
other
dances
performed
at
that
time.
Click
on
the
following
link
to
view
a
video
that
shows
a
couple
performing
the
Grizzly
Bear
Dance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAw4BOz-J1o
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Cited
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Encyclopedia Britannica Online. 10 Jun. 2009
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Spread of Vulgar "Grizzly Bear." PLAN TO STOP BUNNY HUG Assert
Waltz, Twostep and Quadrille Need Only Proper Music to Be Pretty.. " Chicago
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Syndicate
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1914.
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2009 <http://www.dancewith.co.uk/history/1900-1920.html>.
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TRIP
FREAK
STEPS
AT
$100,000
BALL
:Society
Leaders
of
Boston,
New
York
and
Philadelphia
York
Lavish
Revel.
HAMILTON
FISH
JR.
HOST.
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Hug," "Turkey
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Night..
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