The Spirit Moves

Shortly after arriving in New York City, Dehn stumbled upon the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, an influential hotspot of African-American social dance.

The original editing is preserved: Each chapter is prefaced with a short narration by Dehn to establish the setting and the performers while a list of the dances and styles to be shown is displayed.

[4] Later, when questioned about the then-recent development of breaking (which she also documented), Dehn expressed her view that the style and its wild, athletic movements are a response to the pain and discomfort of growing up in the modern world.

Unable to find the older styles performed in any of the modern venues, Dehn enlisted a group of talented dancers from the Savoy Ballroom to give demonstrations in a studio setting and fill in the gaps.

Due to the technical limitations of film at the time, a separate soundtrack was added after recording the visuals; It features music of the same style as what was performed to by the dancers, but not necessarily the same songs.

Chapter 1 of this section focuses on Ragtime dances such as the Strut and Cakewalk, as well as Jazztime styles like the Charleston of the 1920s and the Jazz steps of the 1930s (e.g. Susie Q, Black Bottom, Shimmy).

Chapter 3 departs from the studio briefly to home in on practice sessions inside the Savoy: Trunky Doo, Big Apple, and Aerial Lindy are some of the styles demonstrated.

Dehn's familiarity with the Savoy Ballroom gave her the perfect setting to observe and record social dancing in its natural environment.

Included is a dazzling recording of an aerial Lindy contest in which one of the two dancers is always in the air, with the role frequently switching between the man and woman.