Natalie Migdal - Live at Grand

What does it look like when Swingkatten has one of its swing dance nights at Grand? Here is a peek from the season finale the 8th of May when the Natalie Migdal Kvintett visited us.

The video is taken by our trusted sound guy, Olle Svensson, who also mixed the sound for the video.

What do you think of the video clip with Natalie Migdal? Please comment.

"Satan in the Dance Hall" is coming this fall

In the beginning of last year I did a long interview with Ralph Giordano, author of the book Social Dancing in America. Then he also told me a some about his next book project: Satan in the Dance Hall: Social Dancing and Morality in 1920s New York.

The book is now finished and is named Satan in the Dance Hall: Rev. John Roach Straton, Social Dancing, and Morality in 1920s New York City. It will be released in late November by Scarecrow Press.

I think it will be an interesting book, I think many people in the swing dance scene would like to know more about what it was like dancing in the 1920s.

While you wait for this book, you can sign up at Amazon.com to be notified when the "Satan in the Dance Hall" becomes avaiable.

Looking for authors to "The American Dance Floor.”

Mr Giordano's next project is as the series editor for a ten-volume series
on social dancing from Greenwood Press and he is looking for authors.

If you are a writer or know a suitable writer, contact him at RalphGGiordano@aol.com or 718-816-1240.

He has more info about the book series, he writes:

Ten volume companion set: “The American Dance Floor.”
A series of 10 small books that focus on types of dances.
Here are the proposed topics:
Ballroom Dances (author: Martin)
Swing dances
Hip Hop dances/Break dancing/urban dances
Rock 'n' roll dances: 1950s-60s (Author: Sagolla)
Ditto (1970s-present?)
Latin dances
Folk and Square Dancing
Country Dancing and Line dancing (Author: Giordano)
Fads and Party Dances
Underground (like slam dancing)

The projected retail cost is $39.95 HC, intended as a reference / general reader. Each book will be packaged and sold separately, but under a general style and format so that each follows a similar set-up. 75 to 80,000 words. Two-year contract beginning on or about May 1, 2008.

We are in negotiations to have the author’s receive 10% royalty and a small advance. Photo permissions would be set up as a budget and paid by Greenwood.

We will be selecting authors (myself and my senior editor at Greenwood Debby Adams) based on C.V., prior authorship, and submission of an outline/proposal; of the subject matter. We can certainly talk and iron out all the details, if you are interested. In addition, if you know any others that might be interested, let me know.

All the best,
Ralph Giordano

What do you think of the forthcoming "Satan in the Dance Hall" Would you be interested in reading it? Please comment.

Danny Kaye sings "Ballin' the Jack"

Have you ever wanted to learn to dance Ballin' the Jack? Here is your chance.

Danny Kaye shows you how it's done when he sings "Ballin' the Jack" in this video clip from the movie "On the Riviera" from 1951. The woman looking at him is actress Gene Tierney.



Ballin' the Jack is an old dance that according to the book Social Dancing in America: A History and Reference Volume 2 Lindy Hop to Hip Hop, 1901-2000 (page 7-8) was invented in California around 1901-1905 and then was popularised through the theatre production Darktown Follies in 1911.

"Another popular dance from the Darktown Follies was Ballin' the Jack. Historian Willis Lawrence stated that the term "Ballin' the Jack" was a nineteenth century railroad expression that meant "travelling fast and having a good time"."

If you know of any other sources of information about the dance, let me know.

What do you think of Danny Kaye showing how to dance Ballin' the Jack? Tell me.

Steal dances or cutting in

Steal dances or cut-in dances are dances where your dance partner get stolen away from you in one way or another.

Here is a steal dance performed at the Thursday night cabaret at Herräng Dance Camp in 2003 by Tommy Blacharz, Andrew Sutton and Rabéa Lahlou. The song they dance to is (of course ironically chosen) "They can't take that away from me" performed by June Christy.



Andrew Sutton often teaches techniques for steal dancing and has written an article about steal dancing.

There is some information about "Cut-in dances" in Ralph G. Giordano's book Social Dancing in America: A History and Reference Volume 2 Lindy Hop to Hip Hop, 1901-2000.

In the section "Fashion, flappers and the great Gatsby" on page 59 Giordano writes about 1920s college campuses:

"The Charleston and the Varsity Drag were quite popular on college campuses. Also popular on campus was the "cut-in" dance. The idea was that more men than woman would be invited to a dance. The men were expected to "cut-in" during the course of a dance as many times as possible with a different female during an evening."

On page 96 he writes about American movies during the second world war:

"Many [movies] had a dance scene with a slow Foxtrot that also had an individual "Cutting In" on a couple. The scene was especially prevalent during World War II when there simply were not enough women partners at military dances. Although the custom could be annoying to leave a partner that you were enjoying dancing with for either a partner you did not like or possibly no partner at all, it was continually reinforced that it was a patriotic thing to do. "

What do you think of the video clip with steal dancing? Tell me.

Social Dancing in America: Contents of volume one 1607-1900

Earlier this year I did a interview series with author Ralph G. Giordano who recently published his book Social Dancing in America: A History and Reference Volume 2 Lindy Hop to Hip Hop, 1901-2000.

Here is the interview:
[Part 1: How come you wrote a book about social dancing in America?]
[Part 2: Which dances do you write about in the book? ]
[Part 3: Can you share some interesting facts about Lindy hop?]
[Part 4: Do you include Balboa in the book?]
[Part 5: Tell me about the next book you're writing]

I made a suggestion to the Uppsala City Library to buy both volumes of the book and yesterday they became available. Yey!

There is so much material in these books and I just have read small bits and pieces but it seems to be really good books. What I like about them is that Ralph Giordano describes the social context where the dances were danced. That gives a new perspective to know more about who danced in what kind of places and why they did it.

I have already written about the table of the contents for the second volume and for completeness I'll post the table of the content for the first volume as well. While the second volume might be more directly interesting to readers of this blog, I think you also would be interested in knowing more about the dances that came before swing dances, because they are in a way all connected (at least in a social context).

Table of contents: Volume One “Fair Terpsichore to the Ghost Dance”


Chapter 1: The Minuet, Puritans, and Anti Dance Reformation: 1607 – 1740
Pre-Renaissance:
- Black Hat Dance, Ancient Civilization through 1500 (Tibet)
- Choral Dancing, earliest civilization through 1500
- Ring Around the Rosy, mid-14th century through 20th century (Europe)
- St. Vitus, Middle Ages, (Europe)
- Tarantella, mid-14th century through 20th century (Italy)
- Basses Dansés 14th century to early 16th century (Europe)
o Carole,
o Estampie,
o Farandole,
- Branle, 1400 to 1550 (Europe)
Renaissance:
- Allemande, 16th and 17th century (France)
- Ballo, 1450 to mid-1500s (Italy)
- Courante, mid-1500s through 18th century (Italy and France)
- Fandango, 17th century through 19th century (Spain)
- Galliard, late 16th century to early 17th century (Italian and French)
- Gavotte, 1580 to mid-1700s (France)
- Pavane, 1500 to 1600 (Italy or Spain)
- Sarabande, late 16th century (Spain)
- Volta, mid-1500s (Italy)

17th century to early 18th century:
- Contredanse, 1680 through 19th century (France)
- English Country-Dance, 1650 through 19th century (England)
- Pueblo Circle Dance, 10,000 B.C. through 17th century (North America)
- Maypole, early 1600s through 19th century (England and Ancient Times)
- Minuet, early 1600s through 18th century (France)

Chapter 2 : The Virginia Reel, George Washington, and the Waltz: 1740 – 1820
- American Colonial Minuet, 177o to 1820 (France)
- Big Circle Dances, 1800 through 19th century (England)
- Breakdown, mid- 1700s to early-1800s (African)
- Clog Dancing, early 1700s to 1800s (Scotland, Wales, England, Ireland, and French Canadian)
- Contra Dancing, 1770 through 18th century (France and England)
- Cotillion, 1760 through 19th century (France)
- English Country-Dance, 1650 through 19th century (England)
- Hornpipe, 1700 to 19th century (England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland)
- Jig, 16th century through 19th century (Ireland and Scotland)
- Quadrille, 1800 through 19th century (England)
- Rigaudon, 1700 to 19th century (France or Italy)
- Square Order Shuffle, 1770s (England)
- Viennese Waltz, 1776 through 19th century (Vienna, Austria)
- Virginia Reel, early 18th century through 19th century (England)

Chapter 3: The Buffalo Dance, Cotillions, and the Polka: 1820 – 1865
- Buffalo Dance, 1800s (Mandan and Sioux)
- Dancing the Slaves, 1607 to 1820
- The Galop dance 1800 through 19th century (Europe)
- Polka, 1844 through 19th century (Czech Republic and Slovakia)
o Mazurka
o Polka Mazurka
o Redowa
o Polka Redowa,
- Ring Shout, (African tribal)
- Schottische, 1844 to 1900 (Bavaria sometimes “Schottisch”)
- Waltz, 1834 through 19th century (German)
o Boston Waltz
o Spanish Waltz (Europe and Mexican Folk)
o Waltz à Deux Temps
o Waltz à Trois Temps

Chapter 4: The Ghost Dance, the Cakewalk, and the Two-Step: 1865 - 1900
- Cakewalk, 1890 to 1905 (African American)
- Cancan, 1890 to 1910 (France)
- The German, 1870 to 1910 (France)
- Ghost Dance, 1870 to 1893 (Native American Indian)
- Square Dance Calling, 1870 through 20th century (American vernacular)
- Two-Step, 1890 to 1910 (American vernacular)

Have you read the books? What do you think of them? Tell me.

Satan in the Dance Hall: Social Dancing and Morality in 1920s New York

This is the fifth part of an interview with Ralph G. Giordano who recently published his book Social Dancing in America: A History and Reference Volume 2 Lindy Hop to Hip Hop, 1901-2000.

[Part 1: How come you wrote a book about social dancing in America?]
[Part 2: Which dances do you write about in the book? ]
[Part 3: Can you share some interesting facts about Lindy hop?]
[Part 4: Do you include Balboa in the book?]

Part 5: Tell me about the next book you're writing


My next book “Satan in the Dance Hall: Social Dancing and Morality in 1920s New York” is as an interdisciplinary study of how the social, political, economic, and cultural events were intertwined with social dancing in New York City throughout the 1920s.

Arguably, no other period throughout American History is so closely identified with the freewheeling spirit of music and dancing, as did Prohibition, Jazz, dancing the Charleston, as did the 1920s. The perpetual image of the Charleston dance, Jazz music, flapper fashion, and flaunting prohibition is an indelible part of not only popular American history textbooks but also of folklore, legend, and especially Hollywood movies. However, what is lost to popular history is the fact that the 1920s were most likely the most morally disruptive period in American history, especially upon social dancing.

Americans were vehemently divided over Prohibition as many simply scoffed at the law and continued to drink and others proclaimed morality must be enforced by prosecution. Prior to Prohibition, many individuals drank at a neighborhood salon. During Prohibition, the saloons were closed and an “illegal” replacement called “speakeasies” emerged not only for drinking but also music, entertainment, and social dancing. Within cities such as New York, the speakeasy became a fashionable nightspot and newspapers heralded in the antics. To many supporters of Prohibitions, however, the speakeasies were viewed not only as contemptible lawbreakers but also as contributing to moral decadence.

Moral decadence was not only contained to the subject of alcohol. Throughout the country, Americans were continually besieged by a raging nationwide furor and debate between Fundamentalists and Modernists. Some of the most publicized issues included the nationwide push for Americanization, immigration quotas, eugenics, tabloid sensationalism, radio, mass produced automobiles, postal censorship, Hollywood movies, promiscuity, birth control, and the heavily publicized debate between evolution and creation culminating in the Scopes Monkey Trial. In the midst of all of the public and media attention, an almost innocent unwitting victim of the debate was social dancing.

The social dancing debate in New York City also paralleled the tenure of the Reverend John Roach Straton. In 1918, Straton assumed the pulpit at Calvary Baptist Church on West Fifty Seventh Street in New York. His condemnation certainly included all of the aforementioned nationwide issues, but some were specifically applied to New York City, which he viewed as “a modern Babylon.” Straton’s objections included card playing, jazz music, the Broadway theater, divorce, low-cut dresses, romance novels, the Museum of Natural History, boxing, nude art, anti-Catholicism, and even poodle dogs.

But his most ravage attacks were against social dancing and New York’s commercial dance halls. In an interview in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle on March 26, 1922, Straton’s response to the commercial dance halls echoed with fire and brimstone. He bellowed:

“the very fires of Hell are raging at them in the slums, the [dance] palaces and amusement centers of the city and when multitudes of young men and young women are being swept away to eternal destruction.”

At the time, Straton’s exploits were well chronicled in all of New York City’s eleven major daily newspapers. Stanley Walker, for example, city editor of The New York Herald Tribune noted:

“Straton came out in favor of legislation which would prohibit all public dancing except the more seemly sort of mazurkas, such as were danced by David and other pious hoofers in the olden times. Indeed, he was opposed to virtually everything in the way of amusement that was going on in New York”.

What do you think of this upcoming book? Tell me.

Balboa in the book Social Dancing in America

This is the fourth part of an interview with Ralph G. Giordano who recently published his book Social Dancing in America: A History and Reference Volume 2 Lindy Hop to Hip Hop, 1901-2000.

[Part 1: How come you wrote a book about social dancing in America?]
[Part 2: Which dances do you write about in the book? ]
[Part 3: Can you share some interesting facts about Lindy hop?]

Part 4: Do you include Balboa in the book?

Yes, the Balboa is included on pp 103-104 in a chapter section titled: "The Golden Age of Dance Pavilions and the "Queen of Swing". In preparing the general list some dances were omitted, but are included in the book and easily found through the index.

Excerpt

"The Rendezvous Ballroom opened in 1928 with a 12,000 square foot dance floor with a capacity of 1,500 dancing couples. It, like so many ballrooms, suffered through a devastating fire in January 1935. It was quickly rebuilt as the swing and dance craze was spreading nationwide. The Rendezvous was known for developing a unique dance known as the Balboa.


The Balboa was a versatile dance that could be done to very slow or fast music. It could be done on a crowded dance floor since it required little space. Located near a beach, the Rendezvous was a popular destination for teenagers and college students during the spring break. They could combine a day at the beach and dancing to top name swing bands until 1:00 a.m.

On June 18, 1938, a local radio personality Al Poska organized a seven-day non-stop Big Band dance marathon that attracted nationwide media attention. The promotional event to celebrate the end of the school year was covered by LOOK magazine, a widely read mass-media magazine. Within the article they nicknamed the Rendezvous Ballroom the "Queen of Swing."

Have you read this book? What do you think? Tell me.

Excerpts from Social Dancing in America

This is the third part of an interview with Ralph G. Giordano who recently published his book Social Dancing in America: A History and Reference Volume 2 Lindy Hop to Hip Hop, 1901-2000.

[Part 1: How come you wrote a book about social dancing in America?]
[Part 2: Which dances do you write about in the book? ]

Part 3: Can you share some interesting facts about Lindy hop?

I can give you some excerpts from the book:

"Most Americans only saw the Lindy Hop in newsreels of the Harvest Moon Ball competitions and movies such as A Day at the Races (1937), Buck Privates (1941), Hellzapoppin’ (1941), Ride ‘Em Cowboy (1942), Groovie Movie (1944) a nine-minute movie short, and Killer Diller (1948). Each provides some of the best acrobatic performance and smooth style versions of the dance ever filmed.

The acrobatic aerial dance movements were eye-catching stellar performances by the best professional Lindy Hop dancers in the country. They were extremely fast paced and choreographed for maximum effect on the movie scene and definitely not for simple enjoyment on a social dance floor."

"The comedy A Day at the Races, starring the Marx Brothers did well at the box office. At the time, the Marx Brothers were one of the top Hollywood box office attractions. Scenes in the movie offer an excellent contemporary singer Alan Jones singing in the "crooning" style made popular by Bing Crosby. In various dance scenes Groucho Marx performs a Tango, Fox Trot, Rhumba, and Charleston.

The film also has an ensemble dance scene between Harpo Marx and some African American children and another scene of African Americans adults performing the Lindy Hop. Unfortunately a large segment of America did not get to see either the Harpo scene or the Lindy Hop scene. Since these scenes involved "racial mixing," they were censored out of distribution copies throughout the south and other areas of the United States. (At that time, this was a common practice of all Hollywood movies).

Copies with deleted scenes continued to air well into the 1970s on television stations. It was not until the very late 20th century that the movie was shown intact. By that time the age of the movie regulated it to specialty cable stations dedicated for movie buffs that regulated the segregation to obscure trivia status."

Social dancing in America: List of dances included in the book

This is the second part of an interview with Ralph G. Giordano who recently published his book Social Dancing in America: A History and Reference Volume 2 Lindy Hop to Hip Hop, 1901-2000.

[Part 1: How come you wrote a book about social dancing in America?]

Part 2: Which dances do you write about in the book?


Chapter 1: Animal Dances, The Castles, and Ragtime: 1901–1919
- Cakewalk, 1890 to 1900 (African American)
- Two-Step, 1890 to 1910 (American vernacular)
- Texas Tommy, 1901 to 1905 (African American)
- Ballin’ the Jack, 1901 to 1905 (African American)
- The Slow Drag, 1901 to 1905 (African American)
- Animal Dances: 1910 to 1920 (American vernacular)
Turkey Trot,
Chicken Scratch,
Monkey Glide,
Grizzly Bear,
Bunny Hug.
- Fox Trot, 1910 to 2000 (American vernacular)
- The One-Step, 1910 to 1920 (American vernacular)
- The Castle Walk, 1915 to 1920 (American vernacular)
- Hesitation Waltz, 1910 to 1920 (American vernacular)
- Apaché, 1910 to 1920 (Paris)
- Maxixe 1910 to 1920 (Brazil)
- Argentine Tango, 1905 to 1920 (South America / Caribbean.)
- Tango, 1905 to 1925 (South America / Caribbean.)

Chapter 2: The Charleston, Flappers, and Jazz: 1920 – 1932
- Black Bottom, 1919 to 1927 (African American)
- The Charleston, 1922 to 1929 (American vernacular and African American)
- Fox Trot, 1910 to 2000 (American vernacular)
- Lindy Hop, 1927 to 1945 (American vernacular)
- Rhumba, 1930 to 2000 (Cuba)
- The Quickstep, 1921 to 1929 (American vernacular)
- The Shimmy, 1922 to 1924(African American)
- Varsity Drag, 1927 to 1929 (American vernacular)

Chapter 3: The Lindy Hop, Jitterbug, and Swing: 1932 – 1947
- The Big Apple, 1938 to 1940 (American vernacular and African American)
- Conga, 1938 to 1945 (Brazil and South America)
- Fox Trot, 1910 to 2000 (American vernacular)
- Jitterbug, mid-1930s to 1945 (American vernacular)
- The Lambeth Walk, 1938 to 1940 (Northern Europe)
- Lindy Hop, 1927 to 1945 (American vernacular)
- Rhumba, 1930 to 2000 (Cuba)
- Samba, 1939 to 2000 (Brazil)
- The Shim Sham, mid-1930s to 1945 (American vernacular)


Chapter 4: The Mambo, American Bandstand, and Rock ’n’ Roll: 1947 - 1960
- The Bop, late-1950s (American vernacular)
- The Bunny Hop, 1953 to 1960 (American Vernacular)
- Cha-Cha, 1955 to 2000 (Cuba)
- The Fish, late-1950s (American vernacular)
- The Hand Jive, late-1950s (American vernacular and African American)
- Hokey Pokey, 1947 through 2000 (American vernacular)
- The Madison, late-1950s (American vernacular)
- Mambo, 1954 to mid-1960s (Cuba)
- Merengue, late-1950s to mid-1960s (Dominican Republic)
- Polka, 1947 to mid-1960s (Czech)
- Square Dancing, 1947 through 2000 (European English)
- The Stroll, late-1950s (American vernacular)
- Tarantella, 1947 through 2000 (Italian)

Chapter 5: The Twist, Doing Your Own Thing, and A Go-Go: 1960 – 1969
- Boogaloo, 1966 to 1969. (Afro-Cuban and Puerto Rican)
- Bossa Nova, mid-1960s (South American)
- The Bostella, 1965 to 1966 (Paris, France)
- “Doing Your Own Thing,” 1965 through 2000 (American vernacular)
- The Fish- solo dance, 1961 to 1962, (American vernacular)
- The Freddy, mid-1960s (England)
- The Frug, 1962 to 1968 (American vernacular)
- Go-Go Dancing, 1964 to 1968 (American vernacular)
- Hippie Freestyle, 1965 to 1974 (American vernacular)
- The Jerk, mid-1960s, (American vernacular)
- The Limbo, 1950 through 2000 (Caribbean)
- Mashed Potato, 1961 to 1963 (African American)
- The Monkey, 1963 to 1964 (American vernacular)
- The Pachanga, 1961 to mid-1960s (Cuba and Latin Caribbean)
- Solo Dance Fads, 1961 to 1966
- The Swim, 1964 to 1965 (American vernacular)
- The Twist, 1960 through 2000 (African American)
- The Watusi, 1961 to 1962 (American vernacular)

Chapter 6: The Hustle, Saturday Night Fever, and Disco: 1970 – 1979
- American Hustle, 1975 to 1979 (Latin American)
- The Breakdown, 1974 to 1976 (African American)
- The Bump, 1975 to 1979 (American vernacular)
- The Bus Stop, 1975 to 1979 (American vernacular)
- Disco Line Dances, 1975 to 1979 (American vernacular)
- Disco Freestyle, 1975 through 2000 (American vernacular)
- Latin Hustle, 1975 to 1979 (Latin American)
- The Lock, 1974 to 1976 (African American)
- The Hustle, 1975 to 1979 (Latin American)
- The L. A. Hustle, 1975 to 1979 (Latin American)
- New York Hustle, 1975 to 1979 (Latin American)
- Reggae, 1975 through 2000 (Jamaica)
- Scooby Doo, 1974 to 1976 (African American)
- Shout!, 1978 through 2000 (American vernacular)
- Time Warp, 1977 to late-1980s (England)
- Toga, 1978 through 2000 (American vernacular)
- Y-M-C-A, 1978 through 2000 (American vernacular)

Chapter 7: Breakdancing, Country Dancing, and the Swing Dance Revival: 1980 - 2000
- Breakdancing, 1970 to mid-1980s (African American)
- Country Line Dancing, 1990 to 2000 (American vernacular)
- Country Dancing, 1980 through 2000 (American vernacular)
- East Coast Swing, 1990 through 2000 (American vernacular)
- The Electric Slide, 1989 through 2000 (American vernacular)
- Hip-hop, late-1980s through 2000 (African American)
- “House Music,” mid-1980s through 2000 (American vernacular)
- Krumping, late-1990s through 2000 (African American)
- Lindy Hop Revival, mid-1980s through 2000
- The Lambada, 1988 to 1991 (Brazil)
- Macarena, 1993 to 2000 (Spain and South America)
- Moonwalk, 1983 to 1990 (African American)
- Rave, mid-1980s through 2000 (Urban American),
- Salsa, 1980 through 2000 (Latin American and Caribbean)
- Square Dancing, 1947 through 2000 (American vernacular)
- Swing Revival, 1992 through 2000 (Urban American),
- Shag, 1947 through 2000 (American vernacular)
- Slam Dancing, 1980 to mid- 1990s, (England and Urban American),
- Two Step, 1980 through 2000 (American vernacular)
- Vogueing, 1990 to 1995 (Urban American),
- West Coast Swing, mid-1950s through 2000 (American vernacular)

Interview with Ralph Giordano, author of the book Social Dancing in America

This is the first part of an interview with Ralph G. Giordano who recently published his book Social Dancing in America: A History and Reference Volume 2 Lindy Hop to Hip Hop, 1901-2000.


Part 1: How come you wrote a book about social dancing?
[Part 2: Which dances do you write about in the book?]

[Part 3: Excerpts from Social Dancing in America]

[Part 4: Do you include Balboa in the book?]

[Part 5: Tell me about the next book you're writing: Satan in the dance hall]

[Part 6: Contents of volume one 1607-1900]

I teach part-time at the City University of New York and have been writing for historical journals and the thought of combining an historical/cultural work with my own love of social dancing was intriguing.

I definitely wanted to write a scholarly contribution to the very much overlooked American cultural development of Social dancing, however, I wanted to present it in a writing style that would appeal to the average individual. I have discovered in my time within dance clubs, especially the swing dances, that many individuals enjoy dressing in period costume and are quite interested in the history of their favored dance style.


My wife and I have danced in over 23 states in America and six other countries, and visited hundreds of dance clubs, probably a thousand or more if you include outdoor dance events. A very good tool that I learned from architecture is the empirical study of the movement of people when they do not know that they are being observed. In that same sense I was obviously heavily involved in actually dancing or learning a dance style. In the kinetic motion of dancing it is extremely important to just try and move with the music. In that same end it was extremely important being within the social dance environment and also visiting the Cecil Sharp House in London as well as taking a series of classes in English Country-dancing. My wife and I attended and it became an invaluable aid when I was researching the written description of the 18th century dances that I fully understood them because of our time actually performing the steps.

So as it turns out, to date this is the first book of its kind that has put together both a general interest reader and a scholarly work that discusses social dancing in a complete social, cultural, economic, political, and historical context. Many social dance books of the period simply provided descriptions and step-by-step instructions on “how to dance” as opposed to why people dance. My book also provides a consistent theme that contemporary dances and the associated music and fashion were more often attacked by forces of social morality and often labeled the newest dance trend as “scandalous.”

This book is not a book to teach people “How to Dance” there are literally thousands of publications and hundreds of dance studios available to do just that. This book is an attempt to provide a clear understanding of what was involved in the basic patterns and rhythms of the dance, the origins, the popularity, but most importantly to place each in a historical and social context. This book is about the dances themselves and their importance in a social context. Therefore, each chapter contains a brief introduction of the social, political, and cultural climate. The book is about how individual Americans; mainly couples interacted in a social dance setting.