Composed by the American musician James P. Johnson in 1923, “The Charleston” was one of the first international jazz sensations. As the song (and the dance) made its way across the Atlantic Ocean and into the record players, dance calls, and cafes of Europe’s largest cities, it divided societies, largely along generational lines. For many young Europeans, “The Charleston” signified the dynamism and frenetic energy of (American) modernity. To many of their older conservative counterparts, however, the song’s and dance’s popularity signified a kind of national “degeneracy” and disintegration.
The following is video footage of “The Charleston,” both as jazz music and the accompanying popular style of dance.