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> After Jane Austen’s death in 1817, the country dance was gradually succeeded by the waltz and other “closed couple” dances like the quadrille and the polka and—later—the foxtrot and the Charleston. A century on, we are rarely offered any such lifeline. At parties and weddings, we dance like cups of Jell-o, ever-unsure with what to do with our puckered lips and T-Rexified hands. Every so often, a DJ may throw us a bone in the form of the “Macarena” or the “Cha-Cha-Slide.” Yet these dances feel curiously disembodied, with each person moving in his or her own little bubble, never to interact.
I am happy to say I've recently discovered salsa and am dancing several times a week.
Latin dance and West Coast Swing have much younger demographics than country dances, are danced worldwide, and in both quite sophisticated and in street styles. They fit precisely the embodied, highly social, and subtly sensual (or not so subtly in the case of bachata) functions the author misses. Can highly recommend.
Line dancing and called dancing (like square dancing) are still quite popular.
Also a good point! A lot of line dancing here in Texas.
Based on the last several weddings I've been to, both "Boot Scootin' Boogie" and "Wobble" have joined the canon of traditional wedding dance songs, and there were several others that I recognized but don't know the names of. But the brides and their crews all seemed to know these complex, coordinated dances that went along with them.
I met my wife, and most of my closest friends at dances like this article describes.
The Scottish Ceilidh, the Irish Ceili and the many Platford and Regency style balls hosted by folk clubs and dance groups keep these very much alive.
When I travel I always take my dance shoes and find local groups to drop in on and am always welcomed with literal open arms.
Sadly in my 40s I am one of the younger attendees of these events. Which is a tragedy for those of us who already love the culture and those who will never experience it.
Yes -- there's an English country dance meetup near me. I went a couple times... but in my late 30s, I was the youngest person in the room by 20 years!
I hope there's some popular movie or TV show that makes it cool again, and injects some fresh blood. Otherwise, it's just going to die, and that would be a loss.
(There's also a contradance[0] about 30 minutes from me. That seems to be having more success attracting young people...?)
Contra is a great beginners dance that is also fun for experienced dancers. It is basically just walking, no fancy steps.
A friend of mine used to host Contra dances done to techno with nightclub like strobes that were very popular with the university students nearby.
Mass culture destroys organic culture
Traditional dance today has to compete with the electronic dance music scene. Since the latter largely goes back to gay, Black clubs of the 1970s and 1980s, it emphasizes “be yourself” and “express yourself” values. Not only could you show up as a total freak, wearing drag or
leather etc., you were celebrated and welcomed as royalty of the community for doing so. So, electronic dance music has a cachet of racial and LGBT acceptance that folk dance just can’t compete with when it comes to drawing younger generations today.
Have you ever seen a Morris dancer? If folk clubs will accept that...
But seriously, you're right that they don't always look like they'd be welcoming. Most folk clubs tend to skew older and that often means conservative, though my experience is that most of the old folkies now were all young hippies once and honestly they are more likely to attend a rally/march than a middle aged professional with a full time job and family...
Even if the participants in some folk-dance clubs are supposedly tolerant old hippies, they still expect new members to be quiet and just learn the moves that are taught. Your examples of Scottish Ceilidh, Irish Ceili and Platford and Regency dances are all about the traditional rules that are passed down, not self-expression. LGBT folks can’t show up and be out, proud, and loud like they can in the electronic dance world. People of color might feel distress at being forced into a mold of whiteness.
I know something of Morris dancing culture as my wife dances and I have the music and dance inflicted on me quite regularly. There are many "sides", as the teams are called, with out LGBT participants and I believe even some LGBT sides. Morris is quite a liberal pastime and I've I've not seen any "shut up and dance" to n00bs but ymmv.
Latino dance like bachata and salsa tend to be much more welcoming to flamboyance and are inherently not nearly as racially constrained.
I think that people today are also just much more familiar with EDM than British folk music. e.g. on the radio, in commercials and movies, etc.
I'd expect that many folk clubs are pretty accepting these days. Unfortunately, many others aren't, and it's very difficult to know from the outside which is which.
I was big into swing dancing about 5 years ago, which had pretty popular followings on the US east coast and also abroad. The local events with bands would usually get around 50 people, the bigger regional events would have hundreds. COVID did a number on the social dance scene though, especially since whether an organizer opened up dances again and whether they required vaccines and/or masks became a political thing. Here's to hoping for more social dancing in the future.
Its awkward that the article ignores the classism of 18th-19th century dance balls, an aspect that I suspect had an impact in the downfall of these sorts of dances; the got co-opted and associated with upper classes, and as those upper classes faded, so did the balls with them. While Disneys Cinderella was late in this phenomenon, it probably helped to solidify the image of dance balls as something more fit to fairytale than for modern person.
I feel intense nostalgia when reading articles like this.
The rich social events and intellectual discussions of America’s past have turned into depravity and crude dancing, and curse filled lyrics.