“Footwerk” (PDF) from the Big 6 Brass Band album, Big Six

The evolution of brass band music is sparked by the youthful dance. In the dissertation, Footwork! Improvised Dance as Dissenting Mobility in the New Orleans Second Line, researcher Rachel Carrico demonstrates how brass band tempos fluctuate across generations, from stepping rooted in mid-century R&B music to footwork that reflects the rhythms of progressive hip hop. The back-and-forth relationship between musicians and younger dancers is what pushes the music forward: the post-Civil Rights era audience led the Dirty Dozen Brass Band into funk while still celebrating bebop as its own form of protest music; the hip hop generation leaned back into the drums-and-bass grooves of Rebirth’s Frazier brothers; and the brass band music of a post-Katrina era goes viral within a fifteen-second dance video on social media.

Behind the trombone solo of Big 6’s “Footwerk” are hand claps that evoke a gospel choir lifting the music upward. Carrico describes how dancers respond to such spirited tempos:

To match - and challenge - the music’s increased tempo, second liners changed their basic footwork from a lateral step-touch to a sagittal, or front-and-back, heel-to-toe step. In other words, dancers’ footwork took on the directionality of walking so that dancers could process forward more efficiently… like skipping… giving dancers a split second of airtime as they hover above the ground with each step. (179)

Here’s a YouTube video featuring some youthful footwork:

Recommended reading: Footwork! Improvised Dance as Dissenting Mobility in the New Orleans Second Line by Rachel Corrico. A Dissertation published by University of California Riverside.