The Savoy Ballroom: An Uprising Of African-American Pop Culture

The Savoy Ballroom: An Uprising of African-American Pop Culture

Manuel Gatdula

April 4, 2023

8th Grade ELA Section 3

The Savoy Ballroom was an integrated community center that was made to change how African-American culture was viewed by showcasing various art forms relating to African-American pop culture. Through the Savoy Ballroom, a musical uprising began with the new development of jazz and swing dance. The Savoy Ballroom contributed to the Harlem Renaissance and through the display of musical and performing art brought relief, joy, and entertainment to the depressed city of Harlem.

Moe Gale and Jay Faggen, who were the owners of the Savoy Ballroom, dreamed of an integrated ballroom that would be created to tribute

African Americans viewed the Savoy Ballroom as “luxurious” and “high class” (Heinila 2). However, white Americans did not think that the ballroom was nearly as good as all white ballrooms. The US press criticized the Savoy Ballroom for allowing different forms of dance (Heinila 2). It was made clear that white Americans had a different perspective on the ballroom and did not respect the Savoy Ballroom (Heinila 2-3). In 1940, a group called “The Music Makers of Stage” posted an article which included racist remarks that were targeted at the Savoy Ballroom for allowing a different form of dance (Heinila 5). This article proves how racism was normalized in the 1900s (Michalke 2). Despite all of the criticism, it did not affect the growth of the Savoy Ballroom. The ballroom’s solution to the discrimination was to just simply ignore it (Heinila 5). Ignoring the criticism showed that racial injustice and hate was not much a concern for the Savoy

Dance was the main attraction that was being showcased at the Savoy Ballroom (Novellino 4-5). In other ballrooms, most people would classify dance to be classical and fancy, but it was different at the Savoy Ballroom. There, dance was violent and more lively. The most common dance that was usually performed at the ballroom was Swing Dance. This particular dance included more physical movements, which made it so interesting and memorable (Novellino 4-5). The dance was created to match what the music sounded like at the Savoy Ballroom, and it goes the same way for music. Jazz was greatly developed through the Savoy Ballroom. The sound of catchy rhythmic music seemed to capture the attention of the audience. With the development of jazz and the creation of swing dance, the Savoy Ballroom found itself serving more customers than usual. The Savoy Ballroom started hosting both musical and dance contests. The most entertaining contest was the battle of the bands. During the nights in which the battle of the bands performed, multiple bands would battle each other through music while dancers kept up with the barrage of tunes. These nights doubled the capacity of customers (Novellino 9).