The Original Dance Shows
December 3rd, 2007 by Rob
It seems like you can find everything on DVD now days… well, almost everything. With the resurgence of dance shows such as “Dancing with the Stars” and “So You Think You Can Dance” in the last few years, why hasn’t anyone released some of the original dance shows on DVD? Thanks to the swing revival of the late 90’s and the hard work of some dedicated dancers, you can now do some searches on sites like YouTube and find lots of clips of vintage swing dances from old movies of the 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s. These have been an invaluable resource not only for technique and moves, but for the history and culture of swing dancing. So what about that big gap between the 50’s and now? In that time frame, dance shows boomed, collapesed, boomed again, and collapsed again… and where are they now? After running some searches online, not much comes up in regards to videos or DVDs.
What shows an I talking about? Well, you didn’t think dance shows were a new concept did you? Let’s start with one of the most well known, “American Bandstand“. The show ran from 1957 all the way to 1987 with its heyday being in the late 50’s and early 60’s. While not specifically a dance show, it is credited for bringing swing dancing (aka “jitterbug”) to much of the nation (especially the less urban areas). It’s also a center of debate on what roll it played in influencing the dance. Dick Clark had much control over what moves the dancers performed and what the show highlighted. Moves, styles, and even dances could be deemed not in vogue and left out in favor of others. As the show started to highlight dances such as the twist and mashed potato, it almost certainly played a role in the downfall of swing dancing in the era and contributed to the boom of solo dance crazes. All great material that I’m sure many dancers would love to see on video.
But don’t think the dance show boom of that era was isolated to just that one show. “The Buddy and Deane Show” of Baltimore (57 to 64), Allen Freed’s “Big Beat” of New York (57), and “The Milt Grant Show” (56 to 61) of Washington DC all featured dance crazes of the day and would all be very interesting to see. “Teenarama“(63 to 70), a Washington DC show that became the first dance show dedicated to African-Americans, and was recently featured on a PBS special. I’m very much waiting to see that one re-aired!
Dance shows seemed to loose popularity a bit after the early 60’s. But wait… there’s more! (as I do my best William Shatner) Let’s not forget about the late 70’s. Oh no. We can’t forget about the late 70s. Two words… “Dance Fever“! No, not the cable channel me-too remake that tried to ride the wave of the latest boom… I’m talking about the original! Hosted by disco legend Deney Terrio (the man that taught John Travolta his moves) during the peak, the show ran from 79 to 87. Sure the dancing may have been tacky in today’s terms, but this dance competition show holds a special place in my heart. Maybe it’s because I grew up watching it as a kid, but I think this was the pinnacle of dance shows. Unlike shows before it, it was about the dancing and not about promoting bands or music. It’s competition format with celebrity judges laid the format for the wildly popular shows of the last few years. The show had a raw sense about it unlike the overproduced dance shows of today. Hokey? Maybe. But it’s a piece of dance history that we shouldn’t brush under the rug. Where is it now? I’ve done searches for it, and have only found a few brief overview web pages and the oddball YouTube clip or two. Most feature guest bands or judges and not the dancers. It’s a shame. This is another prime candidate for the DVD market.
I’m sure the current dance shows land on DVD shortly after the season airs… but if someone out there is listening, let’s see some of the originals please! And if you have any videos, or links to share, please send them our way!
