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abhasjha
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Aida Overton Walker (1880-1914), one of the most
widely acclaimed African American performers of
the early twentieth century, was known largely for
popularizing a dance form known as the cakewalk
(5) through her choreographing, performance, and
teaching of the dance. The cakewalk was originally
developed prior to the United States Civil War by
African Americans, for whom dance was a means of
maintaining cultural links within a slave society. It
(10)was based on traditional West African ceremonial
dances, and like many other African American
dances, it retained features characteristic of African
dance forms, such as gliding steps and an emphasis
on improvisation.
(15)To this African-derived foundation, the cakewalk
added certain elements from European dances: where
African dances feature flexible body postures, large
groups and separate-GMAT dancing, the cakewalk
developed into a high-kicking walk performed by a
(20) procession of couples. Ironically, while these
modifications later enabled the cakewalk to appeal to
European Americans and become one of the first
cultural forms to cross the racial divide in North
America, they were originally introduced with satiric
(25) intent. Slaves performed the grandiloquent walks in
order to parody the processional dances performed at
slave owners' balls and, in general, the self-important
manners of slave owners. To add a further irony, by
the end of the nineteenth century, the cakewalk was
(30) itself being parodied by European American stage
performers, and these parodies in turn helped shape
subsequent versions of the cakewalk.
While this complex evolution meant that the
Cakewalk was not a simple cultural phenomenon—
(35) one scholar has characterized this layering of parody
upon parody with the phrase "mimetic vertigo—it is
in fact what enabled the dance to attract its wide
audience. In the cultural and socioeconomic flux of
the turn-of-the-century United States, where
(40) industrialization, urbanization, mass immigration, and
rapid social mobility all reshaped the cultural
landscape, an art form had to be capable of being
many things to many people in order to appeal to a
large audience.
(45) Walker's remarkable success at popularizing the
cakewalk across otherwise relatively rigid racial
boundaries rested on her ability to address within her
interpretation of it the varying and sometimes
conflicting demands placed on the dance. Middle-
(50) class African Americans, for example, often
denounced the cakewalk as disreputable, a complaint
reinforced by the parodies circulating at the time.
Walker won over this audience by refining the
cakewalk and emphasizing its fundamental grace.
(55) Meanwhile, because middle- and upper-class
European Americans often felt threatened by the
tremendous cultural flux around them, they prized
what they regarded as authentic art forms as bastions
of stability; much of Walker's success with this
(60) audience derived from her distillation of what was
widely acclaimed as the most authentic cakewalk.
Finally, Walker was able to gain the admiration of
many newly rich industrialists and financiers, who
found in the grand flourishes of her version of the
(65) cakewalk a fitting vehicle for celebrating their
newfound social rank.
13. Which one of the following most accurately expresses
the main point of the passage?
(A) Walker, who was especially well known for her
success in choreographing, performing, and
teaching the cakewalk, was one of the most
widely recognized African American performers
of the early twentieth century.
(B) In spite of the disparate influences that shaped
the cakewalk, Walker was able to give the dance
broad appeal because she distilled what was
regarded as the most authentic version in an era
that valued authenticity highly.
(C) Walker popularized the cakewalk by capitalizing
on the complex cultural mix that had developed
from the dance's original blend of satire and
cultural preservation, together with the effects
of later parodies.
(D) Whereas other versions of the cakewalk
circulating at the beginning of the twentieth
century were primarily parodic in nature, the
version popularized by Walker combined both
satire and cultural preservation.
(E) Because Walker was able to recognize and
preserve the characteristics of the cakewalk as
African Americans originally performed it, it
became the first popular art form to cross the
racial divide in the United States.
14. The author describes the socioeconomic flux of the
turn-of-the-century United States in the third paragraph
primarily in order to
(A) argue that the cakewalk could have become
popular only in such complex social
circumstances
(B) detail the social context that prompted
performers of the cakewalk to fuse African and
European dance forms
(C) identify the target of the overlapping parodic
layers that characterized the cakewalk
(D) indicate why a particular cultural environment
was especially favorable for the success of the
cakewalk
(E) explain why European American parodies of the
cakewalk were able to reach wide audiences
15. Which one of the following is most analogous to the
author's account in the second paragraph of how the
Cakewalk came to appeal to European Americans?
(A) Satirical versions of popular music songs are
frequently more popular than the songs they
parody.
(B) A style of popular music grows in popularity
among young listeners because it parodies the
musical styles admired by older listeners.
(C) A style of music becomes admired among
popular music's audience in part because of
elements that were introduced in order to
parody popular music.
(D) A once popular style of music wins back its
audience by incorporating elements of the style
of music that is currently most popular.
(E) After popular music begins to appropriate
elements of a traditional style of music, interest
in that traditional music increases.
16.The passage asserts which one of the following about
the cakewalk?
(A) It was largely unknown outside African
American culture until Walker popularized it.
(B) It was mainly a folk dance, and Walker became
one of only a handful of people to perform it
professionally.
(C) Its performance as parody became uncommon
as a result of Walker's popularization of its
authentic form.
(D) Its West African origins became commonly
known as a result of Walker's work.
(E) It was one of the first cultural forms to cross
racial lines in the United States.
17. It can be inferred from the passage that the author
would be most likely to agree with which one of the
following statements?
(A) Because of the broad appeal of humor, satiric art
forms are often among the first to cross racial or
cultural divisions.
(B) The interactions between African American
and European American cultural forms often
result in what is appropriately characterized as
"mimetic vertigo."
(C) Middle-class European Americans who valued
the Cakewalk's authenticity subsequently came
to admire other African American dances for the
same reason.
(D) Because of the influence of African dance forms,
some popular dances that later emerged in the
United States featured separate-GMAT dancing.
(E) Some of Walker's admirers were attracted to
her version of the cakewalk as a means for
bolstering their social identities.
18. The passage most strongly suggests that the author
would be likely to agree with which one of the
following statements about Walker's significance in the
history of the cakewalk?
(A) Walker broadened the Cakewalk's appeal by
highlighting elements that were already present
in the dance.
(B) Walker's version of the cakewalk appealed to
larger audiences than previous versions did
because she accentuated its satiric dimension.
(C) Walker popularized the cakewalk by
choreographing various alternative
interpretations of it, each tailored to the interests
of a different cultural group.
(D) Walker added a "mimetic vertigo" to the
cakewalk by inserting imitations of other
performers' cakewalking into her dance
routines.
(E) Walker revitalized the cakewalk by disentangling
its complex admixture of African and European
elements.
19. The passage provides sufficient information to answer
which one of the following questions?
(A) What were some of me attributes of African
dance forms that were preserved in the
Cakewalk?
(B) Who was the first performer to dance the
cakewalk professionally?
(C) What is an aspect of the cakewalk that was
preserved in other North American dance
forms?
(D) What features were added to the original
cakewalk by the stage parodies circulating at the
end of the nineteenth century?
(E) For about how many years into the twentieth
century did the cakewalk remain widely
popular?
widely acclaimed African American performers of
the early twentieth century, was known largely for
popularizing a dance form known as the cakewalk
(5) through her choreographing, performance, and
teaching of the dance. The cakewalk was originally
developed prior to the United States Civil War by
African Americans, for whom dance was a means of
maintaining cultural links within a slave society. It
(10)was based on traditional West African ceremonial
dances, and like many other African American
dances, it retained features characteristic of African
dance forms, such as gliding steps and an emphasis
on improvisation.
(15)To this African-derived foundation, the cakewalk
added certain elements from European dances: where
African dances feature flexible body postures, large
groups and separate-GMAT dancing, the cakewalk
developed into a high-kicking walk performed by a
(20) procession of couples. Ironically, while these
modifications later enabled the cakewalk to appeal to
European Americans and become one of the first
cultural forms to cross the racial divide in North
America, they were originally introduced with satiric
(25) intent. Slaves performed the grandiloquent walks in
order to parody the processional dances performed at
slave owners' balls and, in general, the self-important
manners of slave owners. To add a further irony, by
the end of the nineteenth century, the cakewalk was
(30) itself being parodied by European American stage
performers, and these parodies in turn helped shape
subsequent versions of the cakewalk.
While this complex evolution meant that the
Cakewalk was not a simple cultural phenomenon—
(35) one scholar has characterized this layering of parody
upon parody with the phrase "mimetic vertigo—it is
in fact what enabled the dance to attract its wide
audience. In the cultural and socioeconomic flux of
the turn-of-the-century United States, where
(40) industrialization, urbanization, mass immigration, and
rapid social mobility all reshaped the cultural
landscape, an art form had to be capable of being
many things to many people in order to appeal to a
large audience.
(45) Walker's remarkable success at popularizing the
cakewalk across otherwise relatively rigid racial
boundaries rested on her ability to address within her
interpretation of it the varying and sometimes
conflicting demands placed on the dance. Middle-
(50) class African Americans, for example, often
denounced the cakewalk as disreputable, a complaint
reinforced by the parodies circulating at the time.
Walker won over this audience by refining the
cakewalk and emphasizing its fundamental grace.
(55) Meanwhile, because middle- and upper-class
European Americans often felt threatened by the
tremendous cultural flux around them, they prized
what they regarded as authentic art forms as bastions
of stability; much of Walker's success with this
(60) audience derived from her distillation of what was
widely acclaimed as the most authentic cakewalk.
Finally, Walker was able to gain the admiration of
many newly rich industrialists and financiers, who
found in the grand flourishes of her version of the
(65) cakewalk a fitting vehicle for celebrating their
newfound social rank.
13. Which one of the following most accurately expresses
the main point of the passage?
(A) Walker, who was especially well known for her
success in choreographing, performing, and
teaching the cakewalk, was one of the most
widely recognized African American performers
of the early twentieth century.
(B) In spite of the disparate influences that shaped
the cakewalk, Walker was able to give the dance
broad appeal because she distilled what was
regarded as the most authentic version in an era
that valued authenticity highly.
(C) Walker popularized the cakewalk by capitalizing
on the complex cultural mix that had developed
from the dance's original blend of satire and
cultural preservation, together with the effects
of later parodies.
(D) Whereas other versions of the cakewalk
circulating at the beginning of the twentieth
century were primarily parodic in nature, the
version popularized by Walker combined both
satire and cultural preservation.
(E) Because Walker was able to recognize and
preserve the characteristics of the cakewalk as
African Americans originally performed it, it
became the first popular art form to cross the
racial divide in the United States.
14. The author describes the socioeconomic flux of the
turn-of-the-century United States in the third paragraph
primarily in order to
(A) argue that the cakewalk could have become
popular only in such complex social
circumstances
(B) detail the social context that prompted
performers of the cakewalk to fuse African and
European dance forms
(C) identify the target of the overlapping parodic
layers that characterized the cakewalk
(D) indicate why a particular cultural environment
was especially favorable for the success of the
cakewalk
(E) explain why European American parodies of the
cakewalk were able to reach wide audiences
15. Which one of the following is most analogous to the
author's account in the second paragraph of how the
Cakewalk came to appeal to European Americans?
(A) Satirical versions of popular music songs are
frequently more popular than the songs they
parody.
(B) A style of popular music grows in popularity
among young listeners because it parodies the
musical styles admired by older listeners.
(C) A style of music becomes admired among
popular music's audience in part because of
elements that were introduced in order to
parody popular music.
(D) A once popular style of music wins back its
audience by incorporating elements of the style
of music that is currently most popular.
(E) After popular music begins to appropriate
elements of a traditional style of music, interest
in that traditional music increases.
16.The passage asserts which one of the following about
the cakewalk?
(A) It was largely unknown outside African
American culture until Walker popularized it.
(B) It was mainly a folk dance, and Walker became
one of only a handful of people to perform it
professionally.
(C) Its performance as parody became uncommon
as a result of Walker's popularization of its
authentic form.
(D) Its West African origins became commonly
known as a result of Walker's work.
(E) It was one of the first cultural forms to cross
racial lines in the United States.
17. It can be inferred from the passage that the author
would be most likely to agree with which one of the
following statements?
(A) Because of the broad appeal of humor, satiric art
forms are often among the first to cross racial or
cultural divisions.
(B) The interactions between African American
and European American cultural forms often
result in what is appropriately characterized as
"mimetic vertigo."
(C) Middle-class European Americans who valued
the Cakewalk's authenticity subsequently came
to admire other African American dances for the
same reason.
(D) Because of the influence of African dance forms,
some popular dances that later emerged in the
United States featured separate-GMAT dancing.
(E) Some of Walker's admirers were attracted to
her version of the cakewalk as a means for
bolstering their social identities.
18. The passage most strongly suggests that the author
would be likely to agree with which one of the
following statements about Walker's significance in the
history of the cakewalk?
(A) Walker broadened the Cakewalk's appeal by
highlighting elements that were already present
in the dance.
(B) Walker's version of the cakewalk appealed to
larger audiences than previous versions did
because she accentuated its satiric dimension.
(C) Walker popularized the cakewalk by
choreographing various alternative
interpretations of it, each tailored to the interests
of a different cultural group.
(D) Walker added a "mimetic vertigo" to the
cakewalk by inserting imitations of other
performers' cakewalking into her dance
routines.
(E) Walker revitalized the cakewalk by disentangling
its complex admixture of African and European
elements.
19. The passage provides sufficient information to answer
which one of the following questions?
(A) What were some of me attributes of African
dance forms that were preserved in the
Cakewalk?
(B) Who was the first performer to dance the
cakewalk professionally?
(C) What is an aspect of the cakewalk that was
preserved in other North American dance
forms?
(D) What features were added to the original
cakewalk by the stage parodies circulating at the
end of the nineteenth century?
(E) For about how many years into the twentieth
century did the cakewalk remain widely
popular?
