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Billy Pierce (choreographer)
Billy Pierce (14 June 1890 – 11 April 1933) was an African American choreographer, dancer and dance studio owner who has been credited with the invention of the Black Bottom dance that became a national craze in the mid-1920s. Biography The son of two freedmen, Dennis and Nellie (née Shorter) Pierce, William Joseph Pierce was born in Purcellville, Virginia. His parents were truck farmers, but Billy, an only child, went to college, matriculating first at Storer College and then attending Howard University. Pierce started out as a journalist, eventually moving to Chicago to write for the ''Chicago Defender'', the premier African American newspaper of its time. He also worked for two Washington, D.C.-based newspapers, the ''Dispatcher'' and the ''Washington Eagle''. During World War I, he served with the 8th Infantry Regiment of the Illinois National Guard, an all-black unit commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Otis B. Duncan, the highest ranking black officer in the United Sta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Bottom (dance)
The black bottom is a dance which became popular during 1920s amid the Jazz Age. It was danced solo or by couples. Originating among African Americans in the Deep South, rural South, the black bottom eventually spread to mainstream American culture and became a Novelty and fad dances, national craze in the 1920s. The dance was most famously performed by Ann Pennington (actress), Ann Pennington, a star of the Ziegfeld Follies, who performed it in a Broadway show, Broadway revue staged by Ziegfeld's rival George White (producer), George White in 1926. Origins The dance originated in New Orleans in the first decade of the 20th century. Jazz pianist and composer Jelly Roll Morton wrote the tune "Black Bottom Stomp", its title referring to the Black Bottom, Detroit, Black Bottom area of Detroit, Michigan, Detroit. Sheet music from the mid-20s identifies the composers as Gus Horsley and Perry Bradford and claims the dance was introduced by the African-American dancer and choreographer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |