1950's dance Archives

Spring has sprung here in Toronto and I know in many other places all over the world (thank goodness!). Hearing the word spring made me think of the themed dance ‘The Spring Fling’ and then I wanted to find all the photos related to this dance to share with all of you.

Well friends..I was out of luck, there really are no photos entitled “Spring Fling”. This really surprised me because I thought that this type of dance was popular in day’s gone by? Yes? No? If any of my readers have the answer please let me know in the comment section. So that said, for today’s Vintage Photo Tuesday we are going to just focus on images from the 1930’s-1950’s showcasing ‘The Social Dance’.

1930s Vintage Dance Card 1939 — Source: eBay

Let’s begin!

You cannot have a proper dance without the “King & Queen”, so I introduce to our lovely 1950’s couple who will oversee all the dances being shown today. They are joined by the “Duke”, the “Prince” and the “Princesses”.

Further Reading: Prom in the 1940s & 1950s

1950's Vintage Valentines Dance photo of the King & Queen of the dance and their group. 1950s fashions. — Source: Flickr-St. Mary’s Digital Archives

Oct 27th,1945 the Woody Herman Orchestra performs for eager dancers at Maple Leaf Gardens (Toronto). Dancers on the side of the stage and all the rest of the dancing seems to be happening further back (behind all the people watching).

1940s vintage photo of woody herman in 1945 at maple leaf gardens toronto playing for a big dance — Source: Toronto Archives

It’s the Simpson’s Teen-Town Time dance at Maple Leaf Gardens (1940’s) featuring Bobby Gimby (Toronto Orchestra Leader), Art Hallman (popular Canadian Tenor) and Ken Watts.

1940's Simpsons Sears Teen Town Time Dance at Maple Leaf Gardens - 1940s vintage photo — Source: Toronto Archives

“Dance with me”-1940s Photo.

Canadian Archives 1940's social dance vintage image — Source: Library and Archives Canada

Dancing close in a crowded Toronto dance hall in the 1940’s.

1940's toronto dance hall vintage image — Source: Library and Archives Canada

It’s Boogie Time (circa 1950’s)! Love this vintage photo of girls getting their Rock n Roll on!

1950's vintage image of women dancing at a social dance in 1950s fashions — Source: Library and Archives Canada

Sometimes social dancing also involves social standing and social sitting.

1940s vintage image of a group of women in 1940s fashions sitting on the side at a dance. — Source: Library and Archives Canada

1930’s social dance at the Transportation Building, Toronto, Canadian National Exhibition.

The Calm before the Dance. This is earlier then the images from the 1930’s to the 1950’s that I’m focusing on today but it’s such a marvelous photo that I just had to share.

1910’s Dancing Pavilion at Bo-Lo, Bois Blanc Island, Detroit River.

1940’s Canadian Highland Regiment soldier and beautiful woman share a dance together.

Emma Willard 1950’s School Dance.

1950's dance vintage image Emma Willard School -1950s social dance. — Source: Emma Willard School

1940’s social dance, view of the busy dance floor.

The Closeup of the dance mentioned above.

1940's swing dancing vintage image — Source: Library and Archives Canada

“Couldn’t We Keep on Dancing?”

Further Reading: Vintage Sheet Music from the 1940s

Unfortunately we cannot keep on dancing, BUT I hope you enjoyed this week’s Vintage Photo Tuesday! VPT will be back in 2 weeks with another exciting group of images.

FURTHER READING:

Swing Dance & The Big Band Era – Archived blog posts from the Vintage Inn Blog
Ontario Vintage Dance Hall History – Archived blog posts on various dance halls
Vintage Photos 1920s-1960s (Archived Blog Posts)

Liz

The Bunny Hop Dance History / Videos & Photos

Ahhhh the Bunny Hop a social dance that originated in the 1952 at Balboa High School in San Francisco. The dance is a variation on a conga line. Participants dance in a line, holding on to the hips of the person in front of them. They tap the floor two times with their right foot, then with their left foot, then they hop forwards, backwards, and finally three hops forward to finish the sequence, which continues throughout the tune. The first person in the line leads the group around the floor (Wikipedia).

Ray Anthony the bunny Hop — Photo courtesy of “Shelly’s Vintage Sheet Music“

The Bunny Hop Song:

The original song that everyone dances the Bunny Hop to was done by Ray Anthony’s big band recording, heard below.

See the Bunny Hop in Action:

Ray Anthony & his orchestra perform the 1950s dance sensation known as “The Bunny Hop” on this 1953 episode of The Ray Anthony Show (video link).

I think the Bunny Hop is too cute for words and no 1950’s party should be without a hop hop hop around the dance floor with your friends (try a vintage cocktail or two to help if doing this sober is not your thing lol).