Waltzing in the Dark African American Vaudeville and Race Politics in the Swing Era

This unique study focuses on the social, racial, and artistic climate for African American performers working during the swing era-roughly the late 1920s through the 1940s. The career of Norton and Margot, a ballroom dance team whose work was thwarted by the racial tenets of the era, serves as a tour guide and barometer of the times on this excursion through the worlds of African American vaudeville, separate black and white Americas, the European touring circuit, and pre-Civil Rights era racial etiquette.

Brenda Dixon Gottschild is Professor Emerita of dance studies at Temple University. She writes for Dance Magazine and performs with her husband, Hellmut Gottschild.