While most scholars of the Harlem Renaissance focus on literature and visual art, the entertainment industry also played a role in this major cultural outpouring. Music and dance was a major part of the Harlem renaissance, it was the major center of night life. This is where majority of Black embrace net happened. The music and dance was what got America interested in what Blacks can contribute to society. The Harlem area served as a major cultural capital of Black America. Major influences on music and dance would be Josephine Baker, Billy Bojangles Robinson, Adelaide Hall, Ada Ward, Ethel Waters etc. These performers proved that Blacks too can portray great talents and that Blacks have way more to offer than being servants. Music and dance influence the American society, because it helped a lot of people that were going through oppression and needed a way to cope with everything that’s going on.
Music and dance inspired people to make a change in theirs lives, it helped African Americans to express all the struggle they’ve been going through, the pain they felt even from slavery. The music that was sung during the Harlem renaissance express the journey that all African Americans were going through trying to live a happy life in America. Dance was a major factor that influence the American society, because dance showed a visual of what life was really like at that time, and how African Americans were dealing with the situation. Performers gravitated to New York at this time and firmly established as the Mecca for Black entertainment. The diverse array of talent which emerged in Harlem in the 1920s including dancers, orchestras, and actors developed reputations that extended across the nation. Black musicians and singers –along with dancers, comedians, and variety acts were showcased at several famous nightclubs in Harlem.
African Americans came together at night clubs like the Savoy and Cotton Club to hear some of the jazz musicians do their work. Some of the major performers that played these clubs were Josephine Baker, and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. It was a international phenomenon for Blacks and performing arts today would be nothing without this revival of the Harlem Renaissance. At night they went to the clubs, listened to the performers and danced all night. Several notable musicians played a vital role in shaping the jazz scene, such as Fletcher Henderson, Jelly Roll Morton and Cab Calloway. Using the concept of the “New Negro,” artists of the Harlem Renaissance and beyond sought to bring Black culture from the status of folk art to a position of sophistication and dignity. While the Cotton Club and Connie’s Inn were segregated and restricted their audiences to Whites only, the Apollo Theatre and the Savoy Ballroom entertained both White and Black crowds.
For those who viewed the Harlem Renaissance in terms of musical theater and entertainment, the birth occurred three years earlier when Shuffle Along opened at the 63rd Street Musical Hall. Shuffle Along was a musical play written by a pair of veteran Vaudeville acts—comedians Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles, and composers/singers Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle. Most of its cast featured unknowns, but some, like Josephine Baker and Paul Robeson, who had only minor roles in the production, were on their way to international fame. It introduced the White New Yorkers to Black music, theater, and entertainment and helped generated the White fascination with Harlem and the African American arts that was so much a part of the Harlem Renaissance. Shuffle Along also brought jazz to Broadway. It combined jazz music with very creatively choreographed jazz dance to transform musical theater into something new, exciting, and daring.
The term “Jazz Age” was first coined by author F. Scott Fitzgerald in describing the “anything goes” era of the 1920s. Jazz music was characterized by improvisation, strong and lively rhythm, as well as syncopation. The Harlem Renaissance brought genres like Blues, Ragtime, Dixie and Jazz to the Black population. New dances such as Charleston, the Black Bottom, the Shimmy, Cakewalk, the Bunny hop, Turkey trot, the Lindy hop, and American tango also emerged. Actors/actress, dancers, film directors that influence thousands in the next generation emerged from the Harlem Renaissance. Chick Webb, Florence Mills, the “Queen of Happiness“, the Nicholas Brothers and Ethel Waters ushered in a cultural revolution that transformed their genres opened doors. It was a time of social revolution and transformative change during which a new type of improvisational music and style of art was born. It’s hard to imagine the arts today without the contributions of the artists of the era. These include Louis Armstrong, known for his exceptional trumpet playing and distinctive gravelly voice.
