'Practice dances' in Jamaica in the early 20th century
The term 'practice dance' had currency in Jamaica from the 1890s to the 1920s, but was probably originally an import from North America, where it was also in use. I have not so far found any references to the term in social histories etc of Jamaica, so I am posting here the references I have found in contemporary newspaper items. These items seem to show that the term and the events had some significance in the lives of the Jamaican working classes.
Below is an extract from an article by H. H. DeLisser which is very informative, and then there are a number of items from the Gleaner which include the term.
I would be very grateful for any further information on this topic.
Below is an extract from an article by H. H. DeLisser which is very informative, and then there are a number of items from the Gleaner which include the term.
I would be very grateful for any further information on this topic.
Daily Gleaner 1909 11 20 p9
[from article by H G Delisser]
And as you go about the city or the town you will find here and there a house from which the sound of music comes, and in which men and women are dancing, and if you go into a suburb or a lane where the poorer classes live, you will also find dancing going on, though here the polished floor gives way to the hard earth, and for roof one has the sky.
…
To marry well, to be buried well, is a wish that is almost universal, and is shared to the full by the Jamaica peasant. But he does not stop here; he wants to do other things well. If he gives a dance he wishes it to be a good dance; and as your cook and coachman cannot afford to make a good dance except at long intervals and on the subscription plan, they call the dances they do have by a name which suggests a compromise with pride. They call them “practice dances”. The theory is that these dances are for learners. But those who attend them are for the most part experts. Yet no one would speak of them as dances pure and simple, for that would be some reflection on one’s social life. A dance must be given in a house, the dancers must be properly dressed, there must be refreshments. A “practice dance” may be given in a yard, takes place every week, and you may go to it in your working clothes. You are formally invited of course. “Ladies 3d., gentlemen 6d.” is an intimation that you cannot enjoy the privilege of attending the dance without paying. Sometimes the legend runs thus: “Gentlemen 6d. Ladies free.” In any case, someone has to pay. The “master of ceremonies” is very explicit and emphatic on that point.
The dancers may number as many as forty or fifty. Three or four storm lanterns hung on nails against the fence and against the side of the low tenement structures light up the scene faintly, and for seats there are boxes and empty barrels about the yard, while a few of the tenants may bring forth chairs for their own personal convenience. The chief musical instrument is a concertina, and the next is usually a mouth-organ; sometimes a guitar is added, and on special occasions there may be a violin, but the violin is rare. The band is arbitrary and insists on having its own way; it only plays what it likes, not what the dancers like, and the latter must needs be content. Is it a waltz? The concertina leads off with a series of rapid shrieks, and in a minute some twenty couples are wheeling around enveloped in a cloud of dust. Shall it be quadrilles? A preliminary flourish of trumpets (please read concertina and mouth-organ) warns the dancers to “form heads and sides.” And you will understand, that all the rules are obeyed: at the beginning of the dance you bow to your partner here as you do in the great ballroom of the Titchfield Hotel, and she curtsies in the manner approved. And continually I hear the command: “through!” “change!” “chasse to your partner!” and in the dimly lighted darkness I perceive the flying forms of men and women, and I hear their laughter, and at the end, their shouts of merriment which show how thoroughly they have enjoyed themselves.
A NATIVE DANCE
And are there no “native” dances? Yes; a dance which came over from Africa and which is to be found, not in Jamaica only, but in all the West Indian islands, on the Continent of South America, and even in Portugal and Spain. It is a phallic dance, a dance in which a frank appeal is made to the passions. Or rather, a dance in which such an appeal may be made, for it all depends upon how you dance it. It consists of slow movements of the body, and the point of perfection is reached when, as in Hayti, the dancer never allows the upper part of her body to move as she writhes and shuffles over the ground. You dance with your partner alone. If you are refined, your motions may be a trifle suggestive – hardly even that. If you are not refined, they may be coarsely, brutally, blatantly vulgar. Known as the mento, the bamboula, the chica, you will find this dance wherever the African was taken as a slave, and you may see it danced in many a West Indian drawing room without the slightest suspicion that what you are hearing, or even dancing, is a sublimated West African phallic dance.
As I am writing these words, I hear a piano in a house near-by playing a Spanish song, “La Paloma” – “the Dove.” The origin of the air of that song is to be sought in West Africa. In Jamaica the dance I speak of here is known in all its many varieties as the “shay shay” ( a corruption of the French chasse) or mento, and every now and then a new dance makes its appearance, no one can precisely tell how.
This mento forms an important musical item in the repertory of the Jamaica peasant, and is invariably accompanied by words. Every one is very like its predecessor, while the song is simplicity itself. And when the song is at the height of its popularity it is sung and whistled all over the island, while the air is played at every “practice dance.”
Once these mentos were danced from one hour to another by the Jamaican peasant. Many a peasant girl refuses to dance them in these days. And they are by no means the staple of any respectable dance-party given by the working classes now. They are popular, but even so, at your open air “practice dance” you will have two-steps and waltzes and lancers in plenty. The lascivious dances of West Africa have taken second place.
I regret to say that sometimes these “practice dances” do not end peacefully. In every crowd there are quarrelsome persons, and where two or three such are gathered together there is certain to be a row. I witnessed a very entertaining fight between four belligerent men at one of these dances one night. As usual, so that no feature of a Jamaica fray should be lacking, three or four of the women shouted “murder!” and then threatened to assist in committing what I thought they were anxious to prevent. Whilst the excitement was at its fiercest, the “master of ceremonies”, who was also the “agent” of the yard, rushed in with the intention of promoting peace and harmony, and, as an expeditious way of achieving his end, he laid about him with a huge stick he held in his hand. Order being restored he addressed the crowd with great dignity:
“See here; you fancy this is a nagar yard, no? Well, I will has you to know that I am a gentleman! And I am not goin’ to allow any nagar noise here. You is dam forward! You come into a man place and you raise you’ voice and want to bring policeman in upon me! In fact, I am not havin’ any more dance here.”
Being a gentleman, he would not listen to any argument. And for quite two weeks he kept his word. Then he relented, for after all, the subscriptions of the dancers were sure.
ENJOYING ONESELF
On public holidays there are great dances held at well-known places in the city and the villages and towns. Flaring placards inform you that “A Grand Unique Star of the West Picnic will take place at Wildman Penn, on Thursday, King’s Birthday: Mr Johnny’s band in attendance. Admission, Males 1/-, Females 6d.” You go and you find hundreds of persons – I saw quite two thousand on one occasion – dancing on the sward and in the shade of the trees.
To be well-dressed at a picnic of this sort a girl will save for months. And she will dance all day until she is perfectly exhausted and wet through and through with perspiration. Then home she will go to talk about the events of the day with her relatives and friends; to relate quarrels, tell of compliments, and to declare how “I enjoy meself.
[from article by H G Delisser]
And as you go about the city or the town you will find here and there a house from which the sound of music comes, and in which men and women are dancing, and if you go into a suburb or a lane where the poorer classes live, you will also find dancing going on, though here the polished floor gives way to the hard earth, and for roof one has the sky.
…
To marry well, to be buried well, is a wish that is almost universal, and is shared to the full by the Jamaica peasant. But he does not stop here; he wants to do other things well. If he gives a dance he wishes it to be a good dance; and as your cook and coachman cannot afford to make a good dance except at long intervals and on the subscription plan, they call the dances they do have by a name which suggests a compromise with pride. They call them “practice dances”. The theory is that these dances are for learners. But those who attend them are for the most part experts. Yet no one would speak of them as dances pure and simple, for that would be some reflection on one’s social life. A dance must be given in a house, the dancers must be properly dressed, there must be refreshments. A “practice dance” may be given in a yard, takes place every week, and you may go to it in your working clothes. You are formally invited of course. “Ladies 3d., gentlemen 6d.” is an intimation that you cannot enjoy the privilege of attending the dance without paying. Sometimes the legend runs thus: “Gentlemen 6d. Ladies free.” In any case, someone has to pay. The “master of ceremonies” is very explicit and emphatic on that point.
The dancers may number as many as forty or fifty. Three or four storm lanterns hung on nails against the fence and against the side of the low tenement structures light up the scene faintly, and for seats there are boxes and empty barrels about the yard, while a few of the tenants may bring forth chairs for their own personal convenience. The chief musical instrument is a concertina, and the next is usually a mouth-organ; sometimes a guitar is added, and on special occasions there may be a violin, but the violin is rare. The band is arbitrary and insists on having its own way; it only plays what it likes, not what the dancers like, and the latter must needs be content. Is it a waltz? The concertina leads off with a series of rapid shrieks, and in a minute some twenty couples are wheeling around enveloped in a cloud of dust. Shall it be quadrilles? A preliminary flourish of trumpets (please read concertina and mouth-organ) warns the dancers to “form heads and sides.” And you will understand, that all the rules are obeyed: at the beginning of the dance you bow to your partner here as you do in the great ballroom of the Titchfield Hotel, and she curtsies in the manner approved. And continually I hear the command: “through!” “change!” “chasse to your partner!” and in the dimly lighted darkness I perceive the flying forms of men and women, and I hear their laughter, and at the end, their shouts of merriment which show how thoroughly they have enjoyed themselves.
A NATIVE DANCE
And are there no “native” dances? Yes; a dance which came over from Africa and which is to be found, not in Jamaica only, but in all the West Indian islands, on the Continent of South America, and even in Portugal and Spain. It is a phallic dance, a dance in which a frank appeal is made to the passions. Or rather, a dance in which such an appeal may be made, for it all depends upon how you dance it. It consists of slow movements of the body, and the point of perfection is reached when, as in Hayti, the dancer never allows the upper part of her body to move as she writhes and shuffles over the ground. You dance with your partner alone. If you are refined, your motions may be a trifle suggestive – hardly even that. If you are not refined, they may be coarsely, brutally, blatantly vulgar. Known as the mento, the bamboula, the chica, you will find this dance wherever the African was taken as a slave, and you may see it danced in many a West Indian drawing room without the slightest suspicion that what you are hearing, or even dancing, is a sublimated West African phallic dance.
As I am writing these words, I hear a piano in a house near-by playing a Spanish song, “La Paloma” – “the Dove.” The origin of the air of that song is to be sought in West Africa. In Jamaica the dance I speak of here is known in all its many varieties as the “shay shay” ( a corruption of the French chasse) or mento, and every now and then a new dance makes its appearance, no one can precisely tell how.
This mento forms an important musical item in the repertory of the Jamaica peasant, and is invariably accompanied by words. Every one is very like its predecessor, while the song is simplicity itself. And when the song is at the height of its popularity it is sung and whistled all over the island, while the air is played at every “practice dance.”
Once these mentos were danced from one hour to another by the Jamaican peasant. Many a peasant girl refuses to dance them in these days. And they are by no means the staple of any respectable dance-party given by the working classes now. They are popular, but even so, at your open air “practice dance” you will have two-steps and waltzes and lancers in plenty. The lascivious dances of West Africa have taken second place.
I regret to say that sometimes these “practice dances” do not end peacefully. In every crowd there are quarrelsome persons, and where two or three such are gathered together there is certain to be a row. I witnessed a very entertaining fight between four belligerent men at one of these dances one night. As usual, so that no feature of a Jamaica fray should be lacking, three or four of the women shouted “murder!” and then threatened to assist in committing what I thought they were anxious to prevent. Whilst the excitement was at its fiercest, the “master of ceremonies”, who was also the “agent” of the yard, rushed in with the intention of promoting peace and harmony, and, as an expeditious way of achieving his end, he laid about him with a huge stick he held in his hand. Order being restored he addressed the crowd with great dignity:
“See here; you fancy this is a nagar yard, no? Well, I will has you to know that I am a gentleman! And I am not goin’ to allow any nagar noise here. You is dam forward! You come into a man place and you raise you’ voice and want to bring policeman in upon me! In fact, I am not havin’ any more dance here.”
Being a gentleman, he would not listen to any argument. And for quite two weeks he kept his word. Then he relented, for after all, the subscriptions of the dancers were sure.
ENJOYING ONESELF
On public holidays there are great dances held at well-known places in the city and the villages and towns. Flaring placards inform you that “A Grand Unique Star of the West Picnic will take place at Wildman Penn, on Thursday, King’s Birthday: Mr Johnny’s band in attendance. Admission, Males 1/-, Females 6d.” You go and you find hundreds of persons – I saw quite two thousand on one occasion – dancing on the sward and in the shade of the trees.
To be well-dressed at a picnic of this sort a girl will save for months. And she will dance all day until she is perfectly exhausted and wet through and through with perspiration. Then home she will go to talk about the events of the day with her relatives and friends; to relate quarrels, tell of compliments, and to declare how “I enjoy meself.
Herbert George De Lisser (1878-1944) was a journalist and novelist, who was the long-time editor of the Gleaner. He knew Jamaica, and particularly Kingston where he lived for most of his adult life, extremely well, at all levels. His articles in the paper about his country are valuable sources for the Jamaican life of his day. |
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Daily Gleaner references to practice dances:
Daily Gleaner, April 17 1891 p7
To-night at the Exhibition there will be a dance on the skating Rink. Mr. Thomas in charge of the Cane Mill of the Industrial Village has the management and will provide his own music. The charge will be one shilling for a set of six dances. The Dance will commence at 4 80 in the afternoon and last till 10 o'clock. There will no doubt be lots of fun.
[Not a 'practice dance' but a prototype perhaps.]
Daily Gleaner, September 9 1898 p6
Disturbance at a Practice Dance.
[rest of item largely illegible, but seems to be about a father dragging his daughter away from a practice dance.] I have now attempted a transcription.
An interesting case affecting a father and daughter was heard in the Police Court yesterday before Mr Vickers. The defendants were Joseph Scott and Magnolia Scott and they were charged by constable [O Mendes?] with being disorderly in the street on Wednesday night last. Both pleaded guilty.
The evidence showed that the incident occurred in Maiden Lane shortly after nine o'clock on Wednesday night. A practice dance was held up [the lane] to which Magnolia Scott went. Her father heard of it and went to the place. He found her engaged in the dance. He took hold of her and dragged her up the lane beating her with a stick. He also kicked her in [ ] The girl called 'Murder' and a large crowd gathered on the scene. The mother of the girl also came out [and while] trying to take away the [stick] she was also struck by the father.
The man's defence was that [the girl] had become very bad and was in the habit of walking out late [at night]. She went to the practice dance [without her] mother's consent.
The girl said her father had [ceased to] support her some time ago. He [drank?] very much and she was consequently not able to live with him.
The Magistrate said that the [father] had not the slightest right to ill treat his daughter. It was a public disgrace that such an affair should have occurred. He fined him 10s and costs 2s or six days in the Sutton Street lock-up. The girl was discharged.
Daily Gleaner, June 11 1900, p3
A correspondent writes to call the attention of the police to a nuisance which 'occurs nightly at Luke Lane where a practice dance is being carried on to the annoyance of the respectable inhabitants of that locality and where the most abominable language and fighting goes on.'
Daily Gleaner, July 26 1907 p6
[from Editorial]
If we now turn to the latter we shall soon find that they do not live at all, but merely exist. The servant and labourer find their pleasures in sprawling idleness, or in occasional wakes, nine-nights and practice dances. Their yards are insanitary, their rooms small; but happily their spirit is cheerful and they can laugh even when hungry. They are careless, thriftless, light-hearted, and unless assisted to make life a little cleaner and brighter they will never put forth any effort to change their habits.
Daily Gleaner, October 1 1910 p18
PRECIOUS PINT
Court Hears Sequel to Practice Dance.
Row After Merry-Making
Blow in the Head Because of Courting Affair
How a pint of “Old Jamaica” quenched the thirst of from thirty to fifty guests at a “Soiree” or practice dance in St Andrew on the night of the 19th of August last was one of the puzzlers which Mr. A.V. Kingdon, Resident Magistrate had to solve yesterday when Knollys Taylor came before him on a charge of wounding.
The complainant, Alfred Dacres, stated that on the 19th of August a practice dance was held at ”Kensington” by one Yonkmore Samuels. The function was held in a booth attached to a room in which Dacres house-keeper lived. Dacres paid the rent and so claimed the right to exercise jurisdiction over the whole place. He went in on the night in question and found the dancers “tripping the light fantastic toe”, so he joined in and all went "merry as a marriage bell". In the absence of piano and violin a guitar and a mouth organ supplied the music. It was about 10.30 when an adjournment was taken and the little fracas began.
The accused was holding the hand of Mercelia Samuels, whose mother was the complainant's housekeeper and one of those over whom his jurisdiction extended. He immediately discovered that they were preventing his free passage .to his room, and soon declared that "no courting” was to be carried on. The defendant paid no heed until Dacres forcibly released the girl's hand and ejected the defendant from the house. The defendant stated that they had come there for a ''little joke'' and. he came in to spoil it. Then Dacres was subsequently struck by the defendant with a stone in the head and next day he had to day he had to repair to Dr. Edwards for treatment.
Mr. Robinson: And that stopped the joke?
Witness: It did, sir.
Mr. Robinson: Any drinks there that evening?
Witness: Yes, sir, one pint of rum between thirty to fifty people. I myself had a sip.
Mr. Robinson: What, a pint bottle among fifty!
Witness: Well, sir, I don't know how it divide, but I know I got a sip, sir!
His Honour: Perhaps you had the whole pint!
Witness (shocked): Me sir! Rum is a thing I don’t like, sir!
Mr. Robinson: Any orange wine or ginger wine?
Witness: I didn’t see any, sir.
A GREAT DANCER
Joseph Gray, the next witness, was still wearing his “pumps.”
“You are a great dancer,” suggested Mr. Robinson, noticing the “pumps.”
“Well,” replied the witness, with an air of modesty, “not much sir.”
Gray stated that he saw empty rum bottles, but whether they were filled before or not he could not say.
“You didn’t get a touch then?” queried Mr, Robinson.
“Oh, I don’t drink rum, sir, “ replied the witness.
“What do you drink then?” asked His Honour; and Gray replied, “A little orange wine, sir, and a little port wine.”
Margaret Samuels, the house-keeper, also gave evidence. She said that ‘one solitary pint” was divided amongst fifty and therefore no one was tipsy.
Dr. Edwards proved that he treated Dacres on the morning of the 20th of August. He had a wound on the back of the head, but it was not a serious one.
After hearing the evidence for the defence His Honour found that there was a doubt on the evidence of both sides and gave the prisoner the benefit of it.
Daily Gleaner, May 6 1912 p3
POLICE ACTIVE
Noisy Assemblies Law Being Put in Force,
CASES IN ST. ANDREW,
Summons Issued as a Result of A Practice Dance.
The Noisy Assemblies Law seems to be put in force in St Andrew more often than in any other parish.
. . .
On Wednesday next there will be another prosecution under this law.
From what can be gathered, it appears that some folks in Slipe Road anxious to indulge in the delightful terpsichorean art, arranged, to hold practice dances.
Indeed all preparations were made for the opening night and all the invited guests were in attendance. The orchestra, a well known local one started.
The leading violin had hardly caught the key in which the bass was playing, when a neighbor sent over and informed the residents that he was being disturbed and desired that the music should stop.
The music, however, continued and this resident, a Mr. Pearce, alleges that he suffered much from the discordant strains of the clarionet to say nothing of the grating sounds of the bass.
The police were informed of the matter, and as a result two of the musicians and the promoter of the "practice" will come before the Halfway Tree Court on Wednesday on a summons
Daily Gleaner, May 9 1912 p4
STOP DANCES
Prosecution Under Noisy Assemblies Law
NEIGHBOUR COMPLAINS,
Defendant Undertakes to Suspend the Practice Dances.
Mrs. Festus Wilfries a resident of Slipe Road will have no more practice dances at her residence for some time yet,or if she does, she will close down at a reasonable hour so that the residents around will be enabled to enjoy an undisturbed rest.
Yesterday in the Halfway Tree Court, before His Honour Mr. S. C. Burke, Mrs. Wilfries, and Wm. Myrie and another musician, were brought up under the Noisy Assemblies Law.
Mr. Frank Pearce, who resided in the vicinity was called as a witness and he stated this dance was kept up not occasionally, but sometimes for four nights in a week, which was very disgusting to the residents of Manhattan Road. On this occasion he warned the lady to desist from having any practice dances but she would not, and so he informed the police.
Mr. Aston Simpson appeared for the defence and His Honour asked whether the matter could not be shortened.
Mr. Simpson said that the parties charged were making no noise.
His Honour said that perhaps the prosecution would be satisfied, if the lady gave an undertaking that there would be no more of these dances.
This was done after a lengthy discussion and the accused were admonished and discharged.
Daily Gleaner, June 13 1912 p3
SCENE AT A DANCE
PROPRIETOR FINED FOR USING A REVOLVER.
Peter Nelson, a local musician, had to pay the piper, for a mid-night scene in which he played an important part on the 9th April last.
Nelson was in the habit of making weekly practice dances to which the ladies paid 1½d for admission whilst the gentlemen paid a trifle more.
The end came on the 9th April when one of the ladies was insulted. She left; soon after the scene was one which Nelson said he mistook for the "car riot." The dancing hall was bombarded and the shower of bricks that fell in was so thick that he took out his revolver and fired it.
On Thursday Corporal Campbell charged him with unlawfully discharging a firearm.
He pleaded guilty and after he had related the circumstances; His Honour informed him that even if he had mistaken the affair for the riot, he would not be justified in using his revolver. He was fined 21/ or 21 days.
Daily Gleaner, September 10 1914 p13
[revivalism case]
His Honour: I am not having any spirits anywhere near me except they are in the bottle. It is a perfect disgrace. It's bad enough to have the practice dances near one, but the spirit is too much of a good thing.
Daily Gleaner, November 19 1915 p11
Asked what they had to say. Miller said that on the night in question he had just finished gambling and was having a few drinks out of the money he had won, when one of the boys of the party stabbed his paramour who had disobeyed his orders and gone to a practice dance. That was all the row he witnessed that night and he took part in none.
Daily Gleaner, March 13 1917 p14
His Honour Mr. S. C. Burke disposed of a number of cases in the Petty Sessions Court yesterday. Miriam Thompson, a girl who was very disorderly at a practice dance in Text Lane, was fined 5/ or 7 days on a charge of disorderly conduct. District constable Goldson said that this particular form of amusement was very disagreeable to the neighbourhood.
Daily Gleaner, October 1 1920 p4
Louise Brown, Etheline Lemard, and Birdy Leman are young ladies who attend practice dances, and refuse to enjoy the dance in quiet. They believe that enjoyment unaccompanied by noise is a snare, and a delusion. In this frame of, mind they were met by District Constable Samuels on Tuesday night issuing from a practice dance, in a noisy, boisterous manner, and engaging in a fight in the street accompanied by vile expressions. They were each fined 10/ or seven days' imprisonment.
Daily Gleaner, October 27 1920 p11
In the Police Court yesterday before His Honour Mr. S. C. Burke Assistant Resident Magistrate for Kingston, John Lafete was charged with loitering. Corporal Edie told the Magistrate that on Monday night he saw the defendant in Orange Street. He asked him where he was going and Lafete could not give a satisfactory account of himself and he arrested him. The defendant said he was coming from a practice dance when he was arrested by the corporal. He was ordered to receive 6 strokes of the tamarind switch.
Daily Gleaner, January 26 1921 p8
Complaint about noise of practice dances in eastern Kingston, late at night and bad behaviour
Daily Gleaner, November 18 1926 p3
[in Leg Co]
The Hon. T. J, Cawley then pointed out that the Harbour lights were of no use to a man going home from a practice dance in the hills of St. Catherine;
To-night at the Exhibition there will be a dance on the skating Rink. Mr. Thomas in charge of the Cane Mill of the Industrial Village has the management and will provide his own music. The charge will be one shilling for a set of six dances. The Dance will commence at 4 80 in the afternoon and last till 10 o'clock. There will no doubt be lots of fun.
[Not a 'practice dance' but a prototype perhaps.]
Daily Gleaner, September 9 1898 p6
Disturbance at a Practice Dance.
[rest of item largely illegible, but seems to be about a father dragging his daughter away from a practice dance.] I have now attempted a transcription.
An interesting case affecting a father and daughter was heard in the Police Court yesterday before Mr Vickers. The defendants were Joseph Scott and Magnolia Scott and they were charged by constable [O Mendes?] with being disorderly in the street on Wednesday night last. Both pleaded guilty.
The evidence showed that the incident occurred in Maiden Lane shortly after nine o'clock on Wednesday night. A practice dance was held up [the lane] to which Magnolia Scott went. Her father heard of it and went to the place. He found her engaged in the dance. He took hold of her and dragged her up the lane beating her with a stick. He also kicked her in [ ] The girl called 'Murder' and a large crowd gathered on the scene. The mother of the girl also came out [and while] trying to take away the [stick] she was also struck by the father.
The man's defence was that [the girl] had become very bad and was in the habit of walking out late [at night]. She went to the practice dance [without her] mother's consent.
The girl said her father had [ceased to] support her some time ago. He [drank?] very much and she was consequently not able to live with him.
The Magistrate said that the [father] had not the slightest right to ill treat his daughter. It was a public disgrace that such an affair should have occurred. He fined him 10s and costs 2s or six days in the Sutton Street lock-up. The girl was discharged.
Daily Gleaner, June 11 1900, p3
A correspondent writes to call the attention of the police to a nuisance which 'occurs nightly at Luke Lane where a practice dance is being carried on to the annoyance of the respectable inhabitants of that locality and where the most abominable language and fighting goes on.'
Daily Gleaner, July 26 1907 p6
[from Editorial]
If we now turn to the latter we shall soon find that they do not live at all, but merely exist. The servant and labourer find their pleasures in sprawling idleness, or in occasional wakes, nine-nights and practice dances. Their yards are insanitary, their rooms small; but happily their spirit is cheerful and they can laugh even when hungry. They are careless, thriftless, light-hearted, and unless assisted to make life a little cleaner and brighter they will never put forth any effort to change their habits.
Daily Gleaner, October 1 1910 p18
PRECIOUS PINT
Court Hears Sequel to Practice Dance.
Row After Merry-Making
Blow in the Head Because of Courting Affair
How a pint of “Old Jamaica” quenched the thirst of from thirty to fifty guests at a “Soiree” or practice dance in St Andrew on the night of the 19th of August last was one of the puzzlers which Mr. A.V. Kingdon, Resident Magistrate had to solve yesterday when Knollys Taylor came before him on a charge of wounding.
The complainant, Alfred Dacres, stated that on the 19th of August a practice dance was held at ”Kensington” by one Yonkmore Samuels. The function was held in a booth attached to a room in which Dacres house-keeper lived. Dacres paid the rent and so claimed the right to exercise jurisdiction over the whole place. He went in on the night in question and found the dancers “tripping the light fantastic toe”, so he joined in and all went "merry as a marriage bell". In the absence of piano and violin a guitar and a mouth organ supplied the music. It was about 10.30 when an adjournment was taken and the little fracas began.
The accused was holding the hand of Mercelia Samuels, whose mother was the complainant's housekeeper and one of those over whom his jurisdiction extended. He immediately discovered that they were preventing his free passage .to his room, and soon declared that "no courting” was to be carried on. The defendant paid no heed until Dacres forcibly released the girl's hand and ejected the defendant from the house. The defendant stated that they had come there for a ''little joke'' and. he came in to spoil it. Then Dacres was subsequently struck by the defendant with a stone in the head and next day he had to day he had to repair to Dr. Edwards for treatment.
Mr. Robinson: And that stopped the joke?
Witness: It did, sir.
Mr. Robinson: Any drinks there that evening?
Witness: Yes, sir, one pint of rum between thirty to fifty people. I myself had a sip.
Mr. Robinson: What, a pint bottle among fifty!
Witness: Well, sir, I don't know how it divide, but I know I got a sip, sir!
His Honour: Perhaps you had the whole pint!
Witness (shocked): Me sir! Rum is a thing I don’t like, sir!
Mr. Robinson: Any orange wine or ginger wine?
Witness: I didn’t see any, sir.
A GREAT DANCER
Joseph Gray, the next witness, was still wearing his “pumps.”
“You are a great dancer,” suggested Mr. Robinson, noticing the “pumps.”
“Well,” replied the witness, with an air of modesty, “not much sir.”
Gray stated that he saw empty rum bottles, but whether they were filled before or not he could not say.
“You didn’t get a touch then?” queried Mr, Robinson.
“Oh, I don’t drink rum, sir, “ replied the witness.
“What do you drink then?” asked His Honour; and Gray replied, “A little orange wine, sir, and a little port wine.”
Margaret Samuels, the house-keeper, also gave evidence. She said that ‘one solitary pint” was divided amongst fifty and therefore no one was tipsy.
Dr. Edwards proved that he treated Dacres on the morning of the 20th of August. He had a wound on the back of the head, but it was not a serious one.
After hearing the evidence for the defence His Honour found that there was a doubt on the evidence of both sides and gave the prisoner the benefit of it.
Daily Gleaner, May 6 1912 p3
POLICE ACTIVE
Noisy Assemblies Law Being Put in Force,
CASES IN ST. ANDREW,
Summons Issued as a Result of A Practice Dance.
The Noisy Assemblies Law seems to be put in force in St Andrew more often than in any other parish.
. . .
On Wednesday next there will be another prosecution under this law.
From what can be gathered, it appears that some folks in Slipe Road anxious to indulge in the delightful terpsichorean art, arranged, to hold practice dances.
Indeed all preparations were made for the opening night and all the invited guests were in attendance. The orchestra, a well known local one started.
The leading violin had hardly caught the key in which the bass was playing, when a neighbor sent over and informed the residents that he was being disturbed and desired that the music should stop.
The music, however, continued and this resident, a Mr. Pearce, alleges that he suffered much from the discordant strains of the clarionet to say nothing of the grating sounds of the bass.
The police were informed of the matter, and as a result two of the musicians and the promoter of the "practice" will come before the Halfway Tree Court on Wednesday on a summons
Daily Gleaner, May 9 1912 p4
STOP DANCES
Prosecution Under Noisy Assemblies Law
NEIGHBOUR COMPLAINS,
Defendant Undertakes to Suspend the Practice Dances.
Mrs. Festus Wilfries a resident of Slipe Road will have no more practice dances at her residence for some time yet,or if she does, she will close down at a reasonable hour so that the residents around will be enabled to enjoy an undisturbed rest.
Yesterday in the Halfway Tree Court, before His Honour Mr. S. C. Burke, Mrs. Wilfries, and Wm. Myrie and another musician, were brought up under the Noisy Assemblies Law.
Mr. Frank Pearce, who resided in the vicinity was called as a witness and he stated this dance was kept up not occasionally, but sometimes for four nights in a week, which was very disgusting to the residents of Manhattan Road. On this occasion he warned the lady to desist from having any practice dances but she would not, and so he informed the police.
Mr. Aston Simpson appeared for the defence and His Honour asked whether the matter could not be shortened.
Mr. Simpson said that the parties charged were making no noise.
His Honour said that perhaps the prosecution would be satisfied, if the lady gave an undertaking that there would be no more of these dances.
This was done after a lengthy discussion and the accused were admonished and discharged.
Daily Gleaner, June 13 1912 p3
SCENE AT A DANCE
PROPRIETOR FINED FOR USING A REVOLVER.
Peter Nelson, a local musician, had to pay the piper, for a mid-night scene in which he played an important part on the 9th April last.
Nelson was in the habit of making weekly practice dances to which the ladies paid 1½d for admission whilst the gentlemen paid a trifle more.
The end came on the 9th April when one of the ladies was insulted. She left; soon after the scene was one which Nelson said he mistook for the "car riot." The dancing hall was bombarded and the shower of bricks that fell in was so thick that he took out his revolver and fired it.
On Thursday Corporal Campbell charged him with unlawfully discharging a firearm.
He pleaded guilty and after he had related the circumstances; His Honour informed him that even if he had mistaken the affair for the riot, he would not be justified in using his revolver. He was fined 21/ or 21 days.
Daily Gleaner, September 10 1914 p13
[revivalism case]
His Honour: I am not having any spirits anywhere near me except they are in the bottle. It is a perfect disgrace. It's bad enough to have the practice dances near one, but the spirit is too much of a good thing.
Daily Gleaner, November 19 1915 p11
Asked what they had to say. Miller said that on the night in question he had just finished gambling and was having a few drinks out of the money he had won, when one of the boys of the party stabbed his paramour who had disobeyed his orders and gone to a practice dance. That was all the row he witnessed that night and he took part in none.
Daily Gleaner, March 13 1917 p14
His Honour Mr. S. C. Burke disposed of a number of cases in the Petty Sessions Court yesterday. Miriam Thompson, a girl who was very disorderly at a practice dance in Text Lane, was fined 5/ or 7 days on a charge of disorderly conduct. District constable Goldson said that this particular form of amusement was very disagreeable to the neighbourhood.
Daily Gleaner, October 1 1920 p4
Louise Brown, Etheline Lemard, and Birdy Leman are young ladies who attend practice dances, and refuse to enjoy the dance in quiet. They believe that enjoyment unaccompanied by noise is a snare, and a delusion. In this frame of, mind they were met by District Constable Samuels on Tuesday night issuing from a practice dance, in a noisy, boisterous manner, and engaging in a fight in the street accompanied by vile expressions. They were each fined 10/ or seven days' imprisonment.
Daily Gleaner, October 27 1920 p11
In the Police Court yesterday before His Honour Mr. S. C. Burke Assistant Resident Magistrate for Kingston, John Lafete was charged with loitering. Corporal Edie told the Magistrate that on Monday night he saw the defendant in Orange Street. He asked him where he was going and Lafete could not give a satisfactory account of himself and he arrested him. The defendant said he was coming from a practice dance when he was arrested by the corporal. He was ordered to receive 6 strokes of the tamarind switch.
Daily Gleaner, January 26 1921 p8
Complaint about noise of practice dances in eastern Kingston, late at night and bad behaviour
Daily Gleaner, November 18 1926 p3
[in Leg Co]
The Hon. T. J, Cawley then pointed out that the Harbour lights were of no use to a man going home from a practice dance in the hills of St. Catherine;
The clips below, from the Katherine Dunham Collection in the Library of Congress, are said to be from film made by Katherine Dunham in Kingston in 1935 or 1936.
[There seem to be some problems with these videos at the moment - I will try to get them working properly!!!]
- a woman dancing
- a couple dancing
- a couple dancing the 'shay-shay' at a public dance hall