Charles Holston Williams facts for kids

Charles Holston Williams (born January 25, 1886 – died 1978) was an American dance creator and physical education teacher. He started and led the Hampton Institute Creative Dance Group. This was the first national touring dance group made up of college students. Williams also taught and supervised the Physical Education Department at the Hampton Institute. Today, this school is known as Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia.

Early Life and Challenges

Williams was born in Lexington, Kentucky, on January 25, 1886. In 1904, he started high school at Berea College. But the next year, he moved to Hampton Institute. This was because of a law called the Day Law. It said that Black and white students could not go to the same schools. At Hampton Institute, Williams finished high school and then went on to college.

In college, Williams was a great athlete. He was excellent at football, basketball, and baseball. But in 1910, he had a bad accident. He fell from a scaffold while painting a house and hurt his knees. Doctors told him he might never walk again. But Williams was very determined. He worked hard to recover and got through this tough time. That same year, he became the director of physical training at Hampton Institute.

Williams' Career in Dance

Williams became interested in dance because he loved physical education and sports. He believed that games, sports, and rhythmic movements helped people improve themselves. He also thought that dance was important for African Americans. It could help them connect with their history and culture. This idea was similar to the Harlem Renaissance movement that came later.

In 1917, Williams started holding yearly physical education shows. Students and teachers at Hampton Institute performed drills, gymnastics, and dances. They performed dances like L'Zoronta, a Spanish dance, and the Tarantella, an Italian folk dance. At first, Williams did not include African American heritage in these dances. But he would add these ideas in later years.

In 1925, a famous dance group called the Denishawn Company performed at Hampton. This led to a good friendship between Williams and Ted Shawn, a leader of the Denishawn Company. In 1934, Ted Shawn even gave one of his dances to the Hampton Creative Dance Group.

Williams continued to learn more about dance. In 1930, he went to Harvard University for physical training and took dance classes. He also went to the Bennington Summer School of Dance in 1937 and 1938. There, he watched classes and saw many performances. These experiences helped him learn more about dance and improve his own dance skills.

On April 26 and 27, 1934, Hampton celebrated its sixty-sixth anniversary. Williams presented a show of "interpretive dances." Two of these dances were The Feast of Ramadan and Ya Ma Wisee. These were the first dances to become part of the Hampton Creative Dance Group's performances.

The Hampton Institute Creative Dance Group

In 1934, Charles Williams officially started the Hampton Institute Creative Dance Group. Williams worked with some of his male African students to create dances for the group. Frank O. Roberts from Liberia was one of his best students. He was often a main dancer in the company. At first, the group mostly featured male dancers. Williams showed his love for working with male students in his energetic dance called Men of Valor. This dance was also performed in 1934. Williams used movements from sports like boxing and shot-putting as inspiration for his dances.

Over time, Williams asked female teachers to help him. His most well-known co-director was Charlotte Moten. She worked with the company from 1936 to 1942. More female dancers joined the group when Moten started working with Williams. By 1936, the company was officially recognized. It began its series of tours.

In 1937, the company went on a tour in the southern United States. They performed at major Black colleges like Florida A&M and Tuskegee Institute. They also performed in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Harlem. Some of their dances included Dis Ole Hammer – Water Boy and Mama Parah. The company received good reviews from magazines like Time and newspapers like the New York Sun Times.

The tours stopped when America entered World War II. Many male dancers had to leave school to serve their country. The company started performing again in 1946, but slowly. Williams was very busy with his work. In 1951, Williams retired from Hampton.

The Hampton Institute Creative Dance Group was very important for the growth of Black concert dance. Even though the dancers were students, they went on to teach in segregated schools across the country. Williams' students brought their dance training with them. This helped create new dance programs and teach audiences about dance.

Today, the Hampton Institute Creative Dance Group is called the Terpischorean Dance Company. They perform at Hampton University and in the local community. They show the talents of Hampton students who study different dance styles. These include tap, ballet, African, jazz, and modern dance.

Dance Style and Techniques

Williams was known for using African dance styles in his modern dance creations. His unique style came from mixing cultural and spiritual ideas with modern dance. The Dance Group also used Haitian and African religious dance forms. They also used Negro spirituals, which are religious songs created by enslaved Africans in America. Besides African dances, Williams also used Black American material in his work. For example, he used older plantation dances like the Juba and Cake-Walk in his choreography.