ABOUT THIS BOOK

A tune-filled, light-footed people’s history of ballroom dancing, from Vernon and Irene Castle and Arthur Murray to Dancing with the Stars.

In the early twentieth century, American ragtime and the Parisian Tango fueled a dancing craze in Britain. Public ballrooms—which had never been seen before—were built throughout the country, providing a glamorous setting for all classes to dance. The new styles of dance being defined and taught in the 1920s, as well as the films of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in the 1930s, ensured that ballroom dancing continued to be the most popular pastime until the 1960s, rivaled only by the cinema.

This book explores the vibrant history of Ballroom and Latin: the dances, the lavish venues, competitions, and influential instructors. It also traces the decline of competitive dancing and its resurgence in recent years with the hugely popular TV shows Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing with the Stars.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Hilary French is professor of design studies at Bath Spa University. She is also a ballroom dancer and occasional competitor.

REVIEWS

"French’s fascinating people’s history of dancing is also a cultural history of social space: those cathedral-sized palaces created to meet the enormous demand for dancing at the turn of the twentieth century."

— Morning Star

"Strictly fans will love Hilary French's Ballroom, a 'people's history' of dancing that tells how American ragtime and Parisian tango fuelled a dancing craze in Britain in the early part of the last century. The book also charts the emergence of Latin dance, and the rise, fall and rise again of ballroom dancing."

— Choice

"Have you ever watched Strictly Come Dancing and wondered about the history of ballroom and Latin dancing? If so, French has provided an authoritative and accessible introduction. . . . French's richly detailed book is thoroughly recommended for anyone intrigued by the social history of dancing."

— BBC History

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Contents

Introduction

One: ‘A Flood of Splendour’: Blackpool’s New Ballrooms

Two: Jazz, Ragtime and Tangoitis

Three: The Democratization of Dancing

Four: Basic Technique Takes Shape

Five: Dancing in Public

Six: Nightlife and Private Clubs

Seven: Hollywood Glamour

Eight: Everyday Glamour

Nine: Togetherness: Holiday Camps and Sequence Dancing

Ten: Jitterbug, Rock’n’Roll and Jive

Eleven: Latin, the 1960s and Change

Twelve: Television, Come Dancing and Peggy Spencer

Thirteen: The End of an Era

Fourteen: Twenty-First-Century Ballroom

Appendix: The Ten International style Ballroom and latin Dances

References

Select Bibliography

Acknowledgements

Illustration Acknowledgements

Index

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