Shingle dancing is a form of
solo dancing
"Solo Dancing" is a song by British singer-songwriter Indiana. The song was released in the United Kingdom on 18 April 2014 as a digital download from her debut studio album '' No Romeo'' (2015). The song peaked at number 14 on the UK Singles C ...
akin to
tap dancing, of
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
origin, usually associated with
old-time music
Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dancing, clogging, and buck dancing. It is played on acoustic instruments, generally centering on a combinati ...
. A shingle dancer dances on a small wooden platform (typically no more than about 30 inches square), sometimes equipped with a bell or a loose piece of metal to allow additional percussive effects.
In the early 19th century in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
, African American
slaves would shingle dance for spare change on their days off.
References
* Lott, Eric. ''Love and Theft: Blackface Minstrelsy and the American Working Class''. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. . p. 41-43.
African-American dance
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