Waltzing in the Dark: African American Vaudeville and Race Politics in the Swing Era

by Brenda Dixon Gottschild

The career of Norton and Margot, a ballroom dance team whose work was thwarted by the racial tenets of the era, serves as the barometer of the times and acts as the tour guide on this excursion through the worlds of African American vaudeville, black and white America during the swing era, the European touring circuit, and pre-Civil Rights era racial etiquette.

Genres: History

278 pages, Paperback

First published August 20, 1999

Reviews

[Degenerate Chemist · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Waltzing in the Dark" is essentially what it says on the tin. It is a look at the intersection of race, colorism, and performance art during the swing era.

The author makes her case by following the career of adagio dance team Harold Norton and Margot Webb, two POC. This team is unique because they excelled at waltzing, a style of dance associated with white Europeans.

Norton and Webb's story in and of itself is fascinating. However, this book follows many of the same beats as similar books written about jazz musicians of the era. Gottschild even mentions the infamous Armstrong, Glaser debacle.

I feel like this book is written for those more familiar with dance than with Black history. Then again, this book is 20 years old and it could just be showing its age.

The discussion on how performers of color are often forced to play to stereotypes of the dominant culture to make a living is excellent. It is worth reading the book for that discussion alone.

This may very well be a me problem rather than a problem with the book itself. I think anyone who would like to understand the commercial damage cultural appropriation has done to the Black community should give this book a try. It has some excellent examples of that topic and also does a fantastic job of portraying Harlem during the swing era.

[Leah Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a revelation to me, given my ignorance of both the broad topic, African-American performers in the pre-Civil Rights era, and the specific one, the adagio dance team of Norton and Margot. Dixon Gottschild, a dancer and scholar, organizes her themes of how African-American artists survived and, to a degree, succeeded despite the horrendous racial chasm in America, and how Africanist and African-Americanist art informed and shaped American culture and still does, around the life story of Margot, whom she was able to interview many times and whose collection of letters and photographs she had access to. Thanks to her insight and deep knowledge, I have a much deeper understanding of both the grievous suffering racism inflicted on such artists, and the glory of their resilient, subversive, and liberating art. She moves these "invisibilized" artists from dancing in the dark to taking their rightful place in the light. I cannot say enough good things about this book.

[Kimber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great look at vaudeville time for black performers. Quick read that is informative and tells the stories of performers during that time, specifically Norton and Margot

[Oyceter · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent overview of how race worked during the swing era, particularly for dancers. I was particularly interested in the bits about cultural appropriation (a lot) and monetary recompense (ha!), and how black arts consistently were taken over by white people, who made more money than black people ever got to, then were coded as white, completely taking black involvement out of them. Angry-making and necessary.

Full review: http://oyceter.livejournal.com/669254...

[Elisabeth]

Fantastically interesting topic and one of the central figures, the lady on the cover in fact, is the great grandmother of one of my dearest friends. How cool is that? Can't wait to read it!