Disco Dancing
Disco dancing became very popular in the early 1970’s. It involved intense dance moves, creative clothing, and loud music. Complete with a disco ball, it was the dance craze for about 10 years. The movie ‘Saturday Night Fever’, released in 1977, portrays the life style and dance moves. While disco went out of style some many years ago, that movie is still well known and frequently watched.
Disco dancing is a combination of many other types of dance including the Swing, Cha Cha, Mambo, Fox Trot, and the Tango. The most popular disco song ever is the Bee Gee’s ‘Staying Alive’, with is also featured in the movie ‘Saturday Night Fever’ as we discussed previously.
The most popular disco dance is called the Hustle. This is a fast paced dance, yet it looks smooth and elegant. The man spins his partner almost continually throughout the dance. He also draws her close, and then spins her away. For this dance to be effective, both partners really have to know their dance moves.
Dance lessons became a very popular past time during the disco era. Clubs opened during the day with instructions to teach both men and women the latest fascinating moves. This generated even more revenue for the disco clubs. Disco dance contests and marathons also became very popular. Disco clubs would charge entry fees into the contests, and also feel the club with interested spectators. The Guinness Book of World Records lists 329 hours as the longest anyone danced to disco in a marathon. Talk about stamina!
Those who really knew their disco dance moves found it paid off well. People from all over were selected as extras to dance in moves about disco, including ‘Saturday Night Fever’. Moves including ‘Rollerboogie’ and ‘Skatetown USA’ soon followed. Many found themselves living the life in Hollywood because they knew how to dance. A few even did commercials with disco moves in them. Hollywood was out to find the best talent, so contests were held in clubs everywhere.
The era of disco is behind us, but the legacy of the music lives on. Many popular disco songs are still heard on the radio today. Disco dancing led to other forms of dancing including brake dancing. If you haven’t watched the movies about the disco music and dancing, you are really missing out on a piece of music history.
