The Mule was a dance fad created in 1965 by famed dance instructor Killer Joe Piro based on the earlier "Mule Walk" which was popular in the 1910s.
Novelty and fad dances are dances which are typically characterized by a short burst of popularity. Some of them may get longer-lasting life. They are also called dance fads or dance crazes.
Frank "Killer Joe" Piro was a dance instructor to high society and popularized steps of the discotheque era of the 1960s and 1970s.
The dominant step of the "mule" is from the "Mule Walk," inspired by the James P. Johnson song of the same title. The dance was popular in the 1910s. The song is in a stride style of music, which is similar to ragtime. Johnson is said to have composed it based on a number of country and square dances he was doing while working at The Jungles Casino around 1913, he later published it in 1938.
James Price Johnson was an American pianist and composer. A pioneer of the stride style of jazz piano, he was one of the most important pianists who bridged the ragtime and jazz eras, and, with Jelly Roll Morton, one of the two most important catalysts in the evolution of ragtime piano into jazz. As such, he was a model for Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, and Fats Waller.
Ragtime – also spelled rag-time or rag time – is a musical style that enjoyed its peak popularity between 1895 and 1919. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm.
A square dance is a dance for four couples arranged in a square, with one couple on each side, facing the middle of the square. Square dances were first documented in 16th-century England but were also quite common in France and throughout Europe. They came to North America with the European settlers and have undergone considerable development there. In some countries and regions, through preservation and repetition, square dances have attained the status of a folk dance. The Western American square dance may be the most widely known form worldwide, possibly due to its association in the 20th century with the romanticized image of the American cowboy. Square dancing is, therefore, strongly associated with the United States. Nineteen U.S. states have designated it as their official state dance.
1) Start by standing straight and feet a few inches apart, facing your partner.
2) Lift your right hand high over head, Elbows slightly bent, palms facing forward towards your partner. Lift the right knee forward and bent, about hip height and as you bring the right arm down alongside it with the chest also coming forward. The movement should be vigorous and strongly accented like the 2nd count of the Jerk.
3) Foot comes down, body straightens as left hand is raised overhead.
4) Repeat step 2 with the left arm and foot.
In 1965, Smirnoff Vodka hired Killer Joe Piro to create a new dance called the Mule for their new drink of the same name (vodka with a 7-Up mixer), and to release an album of music by Skitch Henderson that included a track with the same name (Skitch Plays The Mule, Mainstream Records - KP-326). However, the track didn't include calls to help people dance the mule. Instead, the singers tell you how to fix yourself the drink. Piro and his partner also appear in an advertisement for the drink.
Lyle Russell Cedric "Skitch" Henderson was a pianist, conductor, and composer. His nickname "Skitch" came from his ability to "re-sketch" a song in a different key and Bing Crosby suggested that he should use the name professionally.
As for the dance itself, the Mule Walk was usually done at the beginning, partners facing each other and most of the patterns of the dance were based on the Mule Walk. Once the person learned the basic step the rest was said to be easy. [1]
One must practice the Mule Walk above well before advancing onto the Mule. Get into that straightening and bending groove when lifting the legs/knees with its strong accents. These accents lamely portray a mule walking.
To make the above into 'The Mule' you would start to turn, Kick your feet, and flap your hands like a Mule and generally do whatever you felt like, keeping the above rhythm going which at times could get difficult to do. [1]
In some types of partner dance, lead and follow are designations for the two dancers comprising a dance couple. In the case of mixed-sex couples, the male is traditionally the Lead and the female is the Follow. The Lead is responsible for guiding the couple and initiating transitions to different dance steps and, in improvised dances, for choosing the dance steps to perform. The Lead communicates choices to the Follow and directs the Follow by means of subtle physical and visual signals, thereby allowing the couple to be smoothly coordinated.
The Charleston is a dance named for the harbor city of Charleston, South Carolina. The rhythm was popularized in mainstream dance music in the United States by a 1923 tune called "The Charleston" by composer/pianist James P. Johnson which originated in the Broadway show Runnin' Wild and became one of the most popular hits of the decade. Runnin' Wild ran from 29 October 1923 through 28 June 1924. The peak year for the Charleston as a dance by the public was mid-1926 to 1927.
Iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS) is a common injury to the knee, generally associated with running, cycling, hiking or weight-lifting.
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The Clare Lancers Set is one of the most popular dances in the Irish Set Dancing repertoire. As the name suggests it hails from the Clare area on the mid-west coast of the Republic of Ireland. Other published instructions for this dance include Larry Lynch's Set Dances of Ireland, Terry Moylan's Irish Dances, Pat Murphy's Toss the Feathers and Tom Quinn's Irish Dancing. Joe O'Hara and the Newcastle Irish Set Dancers have versions this set online.
The monkey is a novelty dance, most popular in 1963. The dance was popularized by two R&B records: Major Lance's "The Monkey Time", and the Miracles' "Mickey's Monkey" both Top 10 Pop hits released during the summer of 1963.
Locking is a style of funk dance, which is today also associated, but not to be confused with, hip hop. The name is based on the concept of locking movements, which basically means freezing from a fast movement and "locking" in a certain position, holding that position for a short while and then continuing in the same speed as before. It relies on fast and distinct arm and hand movements combined with more relaxed hips and legs. The movements are generally large and exaggerated, and often very rhythmic and tightly synced with the music. Locking is quite performance oriented, often interacting with the audience by smiling or giving them a high five, and some moves are quite comical in nature.
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Contra dance choreography specifies the dance formation, the figures, and the sequence of those figures in a dance. The figures repeat, ideally, in a graceful flowing pattern, and ideally, aligned with the phrasing of the music. Notably, contra dance figures do not have defined footwork; within the limits of the music and the comfort of their fellow dancers, individuals move to the beat and embellish according to their own taste. Much of the dance is done as a walking movement, one step for each count of the music, while the arms and hands do most of the changing, most of these involving connecting with others' hands.
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Arabesque in dance, particularly ballet, is a body position in which a dancer stands on one leg – the supporting leg – with the other leg – the working leg – turned out and extended behind the body, with both legs held straight. In classical ballet, an arabesque can be executed with the supporting leg en pointe or demi pointe or with foot flat on the floor.