Historical Talk

Dancing Times: Jazz and Social Dance in the UK Between the Wars

This year we are back with our historical talk, and have Professor Catherine Tackley from the University of Liverpool as a very special guest. She has a talk about the arrival of Jazz in Britain, with an engaging talk for everyone, whether you've been swing dancing for a few weeks or many years.

The Talk

This talk will discuss how jazz arrived in Britain in the aftermath of the First World War and the impact that it had on musicians and the public alike.

Focusing on the influence of the rhythms and colours of jazz on social dance, which expanded massively as a leisure activity in the first half of the twentieth century, Catherine will show that while the new music and dance styles were attractive for an emerging youth culture, it led others to question the moral basis of contemporary popular culture.

In particular, Catherine will explain the restrictions placed on swing music and dance and how these were abandoned at the outbreak of the Second World War.

Details

Saturday 25th October

14:30 - 15:15

Vanbrugh (V/N/045 lecture theatre)

Open to all, free of charge, regardless of whether or not you are attending any other parts of the event.

Booking not required, just turn up.

The talk will last for 45 minutes and will have a Q&A at the end.

Professor Catherine Tackley

Catherine is a musicologist with a specialisation in Jazz and its evolution in the UK. She is currently a visiting professor at the Open University having been a Director of Research for Music. Before that she was Head of the Centre for Jazz Studies UK. She is highly acclaimed having held a Major Research Fellowship from the Leverhulme trust for the project ‘The British Dance Band: Music and Musicians in the Mainstream’ in 2022-2024. She also won Inspirational Leader of the Year at the University of Liverpool Staff Awards in 2022.

With special thanks to Dr. Catherine Tackley and the York Public Lectures Fund for making this part of the event possible.

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