Print this page Dance Craze USA: Dances of the 50s and 60s

The 1950s and 1960s saw an explosion of dance crazes that transformed popular culture and reflected profound social change. This course explores the music, personalities and dance styles that captivated a generation, from the Twist and the Mashed Potato to many other memorable dance phenomena. Participants will discover how television, youth culture and the rise of rock and roll helped spread these dances around the world and why they continue to evoke nostalgia and cultural fascination today. Through stories, images and music, the course offers a lively exploration of a remarkable era in popular culture.

DELIVERY MODE

Face to face

COURSE OUTLINE

• Rock and Roll brings forward the swing dances of the 1940s
• Teen Culture evolves with jobs, cars, education and a large cohort.
• The Hop or school dance is born.
• By the 60s pop, soul and rock artists started to release songs which were about a specific dance.
• By the early 196Os Dance Crazes were sweeping the nation and world. The biggest was the Twist.
• Others dances came from other genres the Pony (Pop), the Hitch Hike (soul), the Chicken (the Blues)
• This evolved in the 70s, 80s and 90s into dances such as the Macarena, Flash Dance and others but the day of the dance craze with many many hits was over

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Revisit the colourful teen dances of the 1950s and 60s.
• Understand the development of the teen culture and its effect on early globalisation.
• Enjoy a review of the major dance hits especially if the 1960s when the craze was at its peak.
• Hear many tunes you may not have heard in half a century to recall and remember.