Essence of Old Virginia, also referred to as Virginia Essence, is a traditional minstrel song and dance routine. It likely originated in the southern Appalachia region. Dan Bryant performed it in the 1850s.[1]
According to Hampshire College professor emerita and historian Constance Valis Hill, "a rapid and pigeon-toed dance performed on the minstrel stage" the dance "was slowed down and popularized in the 1870s by the African-American minstrel Billy Kersands. It "would later be refined by the Irish-American minstrel George H. Primrose into a graceful Soft Shoe,[2] or Song-and-Dance" and became the "most elegant style of tap dancing on the musical stage."[3] Advertisements touted Kersanda performing the dance and watermelon eating contests.[4]
Seth Kinman performed it on the fiddle for U.S. president Abraham Lincoln. According to IMDb a 1903 short film was made with this title. A brand of whiskey used the name and was adorned with picture of black people dancing.[5]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Nielsen, Erica M. (22 July 2011). Folk Dancing. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 978-0-313-37689-4.
- ^ Cullen, Frank; Hackman, Florence; McNeilly, Donald (2007). Vaudeville old & new: An encyclopedia of variety performances in America. Psychology Press. ISBN 978-0-415-93853-2.
- ^ "Tap Dance in America: A Short History by Constance…".
- ^ Shiovitz, Brynn Wein (7 February 2019). The Body, the Dance and the Text: Essays on Performance and the Margins of History. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-7189-5.
- ^ "Essence of Old Virginia Wheat Whiskey, A.M. Bininger & Co. / Sarony, Major & Knapp liths., N.Y." Library of Congress.