Tag Archives: Symphony in Black: A Rhapsody of Negro Life

Duke Ellington’s Symphony in Black, Starring A 19-Year-old Billie Holiday (video)

Posted on May 19, 2013 by | 1 Comment

In September of 1935 Paramount Pictures released a nine-minute movie remarkable in several ways. Symphony in Black: A Rhapsody of Negro Life is one of the earliest cinematic explorations of African-American culture for a mass audience. Continue reading →

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Harlem’s Earl ‘Snakehips’ Tucker (video)

Posted on October 12, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Earl “Snakehips” Tucker (1905 – 1937) became known as the “Human Boa Constrictor” after the dance he popularized in Harlem in the 1920s called the “snakehips (Dance)“. Continue reading →

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Posted in Harlem dance, Harlem movie

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