What could i do for a 1950s dance???

Question

i am on my schools student council and on the dance committee and need to think of an idea for our semi formal, i was thinking about the 50s bet i dont know much about it any help? and any other semi formal or dance ideas would be great thanks

Answer 1

live band with a swing-jazz-early rock and roll sound.

(e.g. Hound Dog, Stand By Me, Yakkity Yak)

Think "Grease" in the dance scene.

Answer 2

A band that can play the Lindy, and wide skits with crinolines.

The 50's was the start of rock&roll.  Bill Hailey and the Comets come to mind.  It is a great idea for a dance ans dance was what was done then!  Look up all the songs that were popular then.  If you are hiring a band, fine one that can play the stuff.  If you are hiring a DJ, make sure he/she has 50's discs.

Answer 3

lots of rock n roll music,think "grease"in terms of music,style etc,theres a scene in film where they are at high school dance and it may give you some ideas for style and how to decorate venue and how to dress.good luck

Answer 4

I don't think that most people know what the 50s were about so why don't you do something like beach theme or masquerade or something fun!!! a sock hop would be cool too.

Have fun!

Answer 5

See Source at the bottom for the Web Site, but here are a few:

Th Stroll

The stroll is the classic line dance of the 1950's. It is performed to slow swing and rhythm and blues The stroll is popular throughout the swing scene in Europe (strange as it's an American dance). Less danced in the US, it's addictive so that this will soon change, especially if Ellen and Marc have anything to do with it.... You can stroll to loads of swing music, popular choices include - On Revival Day (Lavern Baker), Lavender Coffin (Lionel Hampton) and My Baby Just Cares For Me (Nina Simone). Strolling is also part ofthe film American Graffiti (George Lucas), with the eponympous song The Stroll by The Diamonds.

Origins

The stroll is done in two parallell lines (leads on one side, follows across the divide.) A simple basic step-pattern is performed in such a fashion that the line advances, or moves one pace with each pattern. Individuals on each end pair up and perform a "shine" routine as they proceed down the line; at the end, they separate and rejoin the lines. This formulation is part of many "contra" dances that were done in the US and Europe for centures. Thus, in one sense, the Stroll has been with us for a long time.

The emergence of the Stroll as a recognizable dance is due in large part to American Bandstand, a popular televised dance party that began in 1954. Initially, the show's regulars created the popular dance called the Bunny Hop. Following this success, the kids began churning out new dances for every new beat, including The Stroll, a slow, simple dance, where two lines - boys on one side, girls on the other - faced each other, shifting from left to right, then back again. The fun came when the couple met in the middle to strut down the aisle, all eyes on them. The dance was inspired by Chuck Willis' hit C.C. Rider. It became so popular that Willis was dubbed "King of the Stroll." But the dance soon got a song of its own when d**k Clark suggested to the Diamonds that they create a song specifically for the dance. The Diamonds hot with their hit Lil Darlin' (1957), struck gold again with The Stroll --- famous for its opening line,"Come, let's Stroll.". For us Lindy Hoppers, Chuck Willis vs. the Diamonds is sort of reminiscent of the debate about "Jitterbug Stroll" (one of our group dances) --- should it be done to Woodchopper's Ball or the called version by Steven Mitchell?

The Hand Jive

The Hand Jive was a phenomenon in the summer of 1958 -- I was 14 and it seemed to be everywhere. My research indicates that it was in the Top Ten for 16 weeks -- to remain popular with fickle teenagers for almost four months was nothing short of astounding! However, to understand the Hand Jive properly, we must delve into the career of John Velioties a.k.a Johnny Otis

Born on Dec 28, 1921 in Vallejo, CA as Johnny Veliotes. Johnny Otis has modeled an amazing number of contrasting musical hats over a career spanning more than half a century. Bandleader, record producer, talent scout, label owner, nightclub impresario, disc jockey, TV variety show host, author, R&B pioneer, rock & roll star -- Otis has answered to all those descriptions and quite a few more. Not bad for a Greek-American who loved jazz and R&B so fervently that he adopted the African-American culture as his own.

California-born John Veliotes changed his name to the blacker-sounding Otis when he was in his teens. Drums were his first passion -- he spent time behind the traps with the Oakland-based orchestra of Count Otis Matthews and kept time for various Midwestern swing outfits before settling in Los Angeles during the mid-'40s and joining Harlan Leonard's Rockets, then resident at the Club Alabam.

It wasn't long before the Alabam's owner entreated Otis to assemble his own orchestra for house-band duties. The group's 1945 debut sides for Excelsior were solidly in the big-band jazz vein and included an arrangement of the moody "Harlem Nocturne" that sold well. The Otis outfit continued to record for Excelsior through 1947 (one date featured Big Jay McNeely on sax), but his influence on L.A.'s R&B scene soared exponentially when he and partner Bardu Ali opened the Barrelhouse Club in Watts. R&B replaced jazz in Otis's heart; he pared the big band down and discovered young talent such as the Robins, vocalists Mel Walker and Little Esther Phillips, and guitarist Pete Lewis that would serve him well in years to come.

Otis signed with Newark, NJ-based Savoy Records in 1949, and the R&B hits came in droves: "Double Crossing Blues," "Mistrustin' Blues," and "Cupid's Boogie" all hit number one that year (in all, Otis scored ten Top Ten smashes that year alone!); "Gee Baby," "Mambo Boogie," and "All Nite Long" lit the lamp in 1951, and "Sunset to Dawn" capped his amazing run in 1952 (vocals were shared by Esther, Walker, and other members of the group).

In 1955, Otis started his own label, Dig Records, to showcase his own work as well as his latest discoveries (including Arthur Lee Maye & the Crowns, Tony Allen, and Mel Williams). Rock & roll was at its zenith in 1957, when the multi-instrumentalist signed on with Capitol Records; billed as the Johnny Otis Show, he set the R&B and pop charts ablaze in 1958 with his shave-and-a-haircut beat, Willie and the Hand Jive, taking the vocal himself (other singers then with the Otis Show included Mel Williams and the gargantuan Marie Adams & the Three Tons of Joy). During the late '50s, Otis hosted his own variety program on L.A. television, starring his entire troupe (and on one episode, Lionel Hampton), and did a guest shot in a 1958 movie, Juke Box Rhythm.

In recent years, Otis has been operating a California health-food emporium. If blues boasts a renaissance man amongst its ranks, Johnny Otis surely fills that bill.

The dance consists of various hand movements (Slap thighs, cross palms, pound fists, touch elbows, hitch-hike). It is incredibly easy to learn, since it is repeated without change over six choruses of the song. No wonder EVERYONE in 1958 could do the Hand Jive! In the class, Ellen and Marc added footwork to the Hand Jive. They formed the group into two circles which rotated in opposite directions. I really don't think that words are going to describe this, but you might get a good idea from the pictures of what is going on here. This was a whole lot of fun! The gang looks forward to performing this (and getting you to join in...) at a dance soon.

The Madison

The Madison is an amusing line dance that originated in the late 1950's. According to Lance Benishek (dance historian), "The Madison probably started in Chicago, although it may have been Detroit or Cleveland. The Baltimore Colts learned it in Cleveland and brought it to Baltimore in 1959." It is danced to the Ray Bryant tune, The Madison Time, with calls for the particular dance sequences provided by Eddie Morrison. Eddie was a Baltimore disc jockey who started calling the steps live on the air. Based on a six count chorus step, The Madison contains several dance sequences which make playful references to 1950s and 1960s Television shows (e.g. The Rifleman) sports stars (e.g. Wilt Chamberlain) and performers (e.g. Jackie Gleason)

The Madison can be seen in the 1988 movie "Hairspray", and the song most used nowadays is the version on the soundtrack of that movie. In Baltimore, the Madison was done to generic music with the DJ calling the figures. There was one record made which included calls for some of the more common figures on the record. One local radio DJ, Jack Gail, came out with a comedy version including one call to hold both feet up off the ground at the same time.

More Madison Sources:

Ray Bryant CD with a bunch of called Madison Variants

The history of Bell Records and their link to The Madison

An actual Annotated Score for Madison Time (with detailed descriptions of the figures!)

A fairly comprehensive Index of Dance Fads

"Two Up, Two Back, Doublecross and come out of it like the Rifleman"

GOOD LUCK!