9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 This is the bop. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The bop is a type of social dance. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Dance is a language 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and social dance is an expression[br]that emerges from a community. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The social dance isn't choreographed[br]by any one person. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It can't be traced to any one moment. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Each dance has steps[br]that everyone can agree on 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but it's about the individual[br]and their creative identity. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Because of that, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 social dances bubble up, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 they change 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and they spread like wildfire. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 They are as old as our remembered history. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 In African-American social dances, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 we see over 200 years 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 of how African and African-American[br]traditions influenced our history. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The present always contains the past, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and the past shapes who we are[br]and who we will be. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 (Clapping) 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The Juba dance was born from enslaved[br]African's experience on the plantation, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 brought to the Americas, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 stripped of a common spoken language, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 this dance was a way for enslaved Africans[br]to remember where they're from. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It may have looked something like this. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Slapping thighs, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 shuffling feet 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and patting hands: 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 this was how they got around[br]the slave owners' ban on drumming. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Improvising complex rhythms, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 just like ancestors did[br]with drums in Haiti, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 or in the Yoruba communities[br]of West Africa. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It was about keeping[br]cultural traditions alive 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and retaining a sense of inner[br]freedom under captivity. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It was the same subversive spirit[br]that created this dance: 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The Cakewalk. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 A dance that parodied the mannerisms[br]of Southern high society. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 A way for enslaved[br]to [...] at the masters. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The crazy thing about this dance 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 is that the Cakewalk[br]was performed for the masters, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 who never suspected[br]they were being make fun of. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Now you might recognize this one. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 1920s -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The Charleston. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The Charleston was all about[br]improvisation and musicality, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 making its way into Lindy Hop, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Swing dancing 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and even the Kid n Play, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 originally called the Funky Charleston. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Started by a tight-knit Black community[br]near Charleston, South Carolina, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the Charleston permeated dance halls 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 where young women suddenly had[br]the freedom to kick their heels 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and move their legs. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Now social dance is about[br]community and connection, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 it you knew the steps 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 it meant you belonged to a group. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But what if it becomes a worldwide craze? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Enter the Twist. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It's no surprise that the Twist can be[br]traced back to the 19th century, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 brought to America from[br]the Congo during slavery. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But in the late 50s, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 right before the Civil RIghts Movement, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the twist is popularized[br]by Chubby Checker and Dick Clark. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Suddenly, everybody's doing the Twist: 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 white teenagers, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 kids in Latin America, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 making its way into songs and movies. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Through social dance, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the boundaries between groups[br]become blurred. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The story continues in the 1980s and 90s. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Along with the emergence of Hip-Hop, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 African American social dance[br]took on even more visibility, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 borrowing from its long past, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 shaping culture and being shaped by it. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Today these dances continue[br]to evolve, grow and spread. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Why do we dance? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 To move. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 To let loose. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 To express. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Why do we dance together? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 To heal, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to remember, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to say, "We speak a common language, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 we exist and we are free."