Charleston Dance Steps: How to Dance the Charleston

Charleston is a form of dance that is named after the city of Charleston, South Carolina. The dance moves were popularized in the mainstream dance music in a 1923 tune, known as The Charleston which was composed by famous composer and artist James P. Johnson in the Broadway show Runnin’ Wild.

Charleston developed in African American communities in the US and was associated with white ‘flappers’ and the ‘speakeasy’. It was from Charleston that the Lindy Hop and Jazz Roots (kind of dances) developed in the 1930s. Today, with added innovations and improvisatory choreography, the dance has become quite popular all over the world.

It is generally ragtime that is played with the Charleston, but it doesn’t matter as long as the numerous moves match the kind of music played. Whatever 4/4 time selection of music that has a fast (200-300 beats per minute) pace, is suitable for the Charleston dance. An interesting fact that you would like to know is that one of the characters in the video game ‘Mortal Kombat’, does a ‘friendship’ move in the Charleston style.

Basic Charleston Dance Steps

Charleston’s primary format consists of a solo step, that is a combination of four moves, arms and legs in a complimentary motion. The leg and arm steps are given below:

Legs or The Kick

• Take a step back on the right leg.
• Keep your ankle loose and swing the left leg back in a kicking motion.
• Bring the left foot forward again and return to the starting position.
• Now, keeping the right foot loose, kick it forward.
• Keep repeating the steps until you are tired or perfect in the step.

Arms

• It’s mainly because of the use of arms they are called as flappers.
• Motion of the arms in the dance is complementary to the motion of the legs, just as when you walk. When the right leg goes backwards, the left arm goes up too and vice versa.
• When you are working on getting the motion right, the positioning of the arms needs to be less loose. Bend elbows at 90 degrees.
• Movements should be exaggerated with arms held high and move them in a circular motion to the right and left, when you swing them.

From the starting, Charleston has been a kind of dance that has seen innovations and is quite different from the dance it used to be. As the dance can be quickly adapted, dancers tend to improvise the dance moves with faster steps. Basically, there are two forms of Charleston; solo and partner. Some of the styles of Charleston dance requiring a partner, that were popular in the 1930s and 1940s were:

• Jockey Position - A position in which both the dancers fact the line of dance while remaining in contact with each other.
• Side by Side - Here the person leading the dance has his arm at the other dancer’s lower back and the other dancer’s arm at the leads shoulder.
• Tandem - One partner stands in the front of another and they do the same leg steps just like the way we cycle in tandem.

These are some of the Charleston dance steps that are easy to learn. Whatever the form of dance, it has stood the test of time, proving itself as one of the most popular and simple-to-learn dances.