<P> The Charleston is a dance named for the harbor city of Charleston, South Carolina . The rhythm was popularized in mainstream dance music in the United States by a 1923 tune called "The Charleston" by composer / pianist James P. Johnson which originated in the Broadway show Runnin' Wild and became one of the most popular hits of the decade . Runnin' Wild ran from 29 October 1923, through 28 June 1924 . The peak year for the Charleston as a dance by the public was mid-1926 to 1927 . </P> <P> While the dance probably came from the "star" or challenge dances that were all part of the African - American dance called Juba, the particular sequence of steps which appeared in Runnin' Wild were probably newly devised for popular appeal . "At first, the step started off with a simple twisting of the feet, to rhythm in a lazy sort of way . (This could well be the Jay - Bird .) When the dance hit Harlem, a new version was added . It became a fast kicking step, kicking the feet, both forward and backward and later done with a tap ." Further changes were undoubtedly made before the dance was put on stage . In the words of Harold Courlander, while the Charleston had some characteristics of traditional Negro dance, it "was a synthetic creation, a newly - devised conglomerate tailored for wide spread popular appeal ." Although the step known as "Jay - Bird", and other specific movement sequences are of Afro - American origin, no record of the Charleston being performed on the plantation has been discovered . </P>

Where did the charleston dance get its name