The cakewalk later evolved into a refined social dance whose accompanying music was a predecessor to ragtime. The pair that most entertained their white owners would be awarded cake. A dance known as the cakewalk, by then a standard act in minstrel theatre, originated on plantations as a competition among slaves. HISTORY UVM's Kake Walk dates to the early 1890s when it resembled the popular American minstrel show.

The terminated competition, which was the highlight of the campus social calendar for over eighty years, featured fraternity brothers in blackface and kinky wigs dancing to the tune of 'Cotton Babes.' Show more The Kake Walk at UVM collection documents a former University of Vermont event that is for some a hallowed tradition and for others overt racism.

The terminated competition, which was the highlight of the campus social calendar for over eighty.

The Kake Walk at UVM collection documents a former University of Vermont event that is for some a hallowed tradition and for others overt racism.

Cakewalk by bandlab ios