This post presents information about & videos of the R&B and R&B/Hip Hop dance called "The Camel Walk" (from the mid 1940s to 2011). The second part of this post focuses on the Camel Walk as performed by the African American fraternal organization, Prince Hall Shriners.
It should be noted that earlier versions of The Camel Walk were performed as a ragtime dance in the 1920s. http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3camel.htm
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historical, and aesthetic purposes.
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DANCE OVERVIEW
From http://www.ehow.com/about_5580362_history-camel-walk-dance.html
The camel walk is a social dance that has roots in the vaudeville shows of the late 19th century and early 20th century in the United States...
Camel Walk Positions
The posture of the dancer's back is straight while doing a 1920s foxtrot walk (a pedestrian walk with the heel leading forward or extending the leg backward with the toe leading and slightly dragging the other foot to meet). The direction of the steps is usually zigzag or rotary. The camel walk is generally a couple's dance, with the woman sometimes placing her head on her partner's shoulder. This was often viewed as inappropriate for that period of time.
Steps and Versions of the Camel Walk
The two main steps are the fan (a rotary walk) of the leg and the high, slow-lifting walking step forward. The earlier version consisted of couples doing these movements along with interspersing steps from the foxtrot. A later version of the camel walk in the 1950s and 1960s became a freestyle dance that had a variety of names including "the stroll."
DEMONSTRATIONS OF THE CAMEL WALK
(These videos are presented in chronological order.)
Video #1: al & leon -- camel walk [1945 style]
Uploaded by 7roach on Aug 31, 2007
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Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_%26_Leon for information about the Jazz dance duo Al Minns and Leon James.
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Video #2: The Ikettes - Camel Walk (Shindig! 1965)
Uploaded by nyrainbow5 on Feb 3, 2010
-snip-
The White dancers in this film clip aren't doing the Camel Walk.
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Video #3: james brown dancing. with sammy davis jr [1970s or 1980s?]
Uploaded by jpapers66 on Dec 12, 2010
james and sammy davis havin fun
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The camel walk begins at 1:13
[No date is given for this film clip. Judging from the men's hair styles, my guess is that this was filmed in the 1970s or 1980s. It would be great if someone who is a better judge of the clothing styles of those decades or who actually knows when this was filmed would add share that information here or on YouTube.]
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WARNING: From 2:28 to 2:55, this next video includes the repeated cursing refrain "Do dat sh*t".
Video #4: The Official Camel Walk Dance Video [2011]
Uploaded by jrkmsu on Jan 1, 2011
Hitting that Camel Walk. Song by my boy Gevonte Davis. Gulfport, Mississippi
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INFORMATION & VIDEOS OF PRINCE HALL SHRINER PERFORMANCES OF THE CAMEL WALK*
The formal name for the Prince Hall Shriners is "Ancient Egyptian Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine". (A.E.A.O.N.M.S.) This Black fraternal organization are called "Prince Hall Shriners" to distinguish them from the earlier organization of Shriners who are White.
Prince Hall (1735 – 1807) was an African American noted as a tireless abolitionist, for his leadership in the free black community in Boston, and as the founder of Prince Hall Masonry (in 1775). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Hall)
The Prince Hall Shriners were founded in 1893.
The Prince Hall Shriners' performance of the Camel Walk dance is called "riding". A version of the song "Ride The White Horse" appears to be the at least unofficial anthem of the Prince Hall Masons' riding.
Click http://www.aeaonms.org/about.htm and http://www.sinai59.org/DomainHistory.htm for information about the Shriners.
Also, click this post on my zumalayah blog for these & two more videos of Prince Hall Shriners & their tradition of "riding": Hall: http://zumalayah.blogspot.com/2013/05/prince-hall-shriners-riding-doing-camel.html.
Featured videos:
Video #1: Persian Temple No. 46 - 2010 Potentate Ball - Intro (Camel Walk)
Uploaded by smokeyjoesii on Dec 19, 2010
Persian Temple No.46 -2010 Potentate Ball -- Intro --Robert Apple leading the Nobles!
-snip-
This video also points out some striking similarities between the Prince Hall Shriners and historically Black Greek lettered fraternities. Since the Prince Hall Shriners were founded in 1893 and Alpha Phi Alpha, Inc, the first historically Black Greek lettered organization which is still in existance was founded in 1906, it would be correct to say that those historically Black Greek lettered fraternities are modeled after the Prince Hall Shriners and not vice versa. One way in which these organizations resemble each other is their use of call & response chanting.
I can't make out what the leader says in the above video, but the response is "46" (the number of this particular Shriners' "chapter").Compare that to Black Greek lettered fraternities'/sororities' signature chants which include call & response chants that are based on the organization's founding date. For instance, members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. have a call & response chant in which the leader of the chanters calls "1 9" and the other chanters respond "0 6" - 1906 being the date that the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity was founded.
The Camel Walk march/dance also reminds me of the historically Black Greek lettered fraternities' strolls (party walks). I'm unsure if the Shriners' performed this strolling movement before the Black Greek letted organizations (both the fraternities and the sororities began performing strolls.
I'd love to know if it's common for Prince Hall Shriners & Daughters of Isis to pledge a BGLO fraternity or sorority, and if so, I wonder if one particular fraternity or sorority is most often pledged by those men and those women.
By the way, the women in the video who are dressed in white with white hats are members of the Prince Hall Shriners' female auxiliary.
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Video #2: Golconda Temple No. 24 Nobles camel walking into the formal dinner dance
Uploaded by bks2295 on Mar 7, 2011
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Video #3: Ahmed Temple #37
Uploaded by Princess314 on Oct 10, 2010
-snip-
The audience calls in this video such as "I see you [person's name]!", "Alright now!", and "Get it now!" remind me of the responses that are heard at Black Greek lettered step shows and stroll competitions.
Also, one or more person dancing in the center of the circle is a traditional form of African American dances & other African Diaspora dances. That same formation in which a person/persons in the center of the circle format is found in Black children's circle games.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND THANKS
Thanks & much respect to all those whose comments and videos are reposted on this page.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Viewer comments are welcome.
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