| WHAT IS SOCIAL DANCING? | In essence, social dancing involves interacting with others in a social setting where the skill level of participants is not the prime concern – the pleasure of dancing and interacting with other participants is. Hence it excludes solo dance and dancing where the principal purpose is performing competitively or for an audience. |
| COLONIAL ERA SOCIAL DANCING | South Australia was officially settled by Europeans in 1836 and for many years the majority of settlers came from the British Isles. However, the social dances they brought with them had been influenced by a considerable exchange of dances across much of Europe as the upper classes travelled. Hence it was not simply English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish dance traditions that we inherited. |
| Dances through time Coppin’s Grand Assembly Ball, Adelaide, 27.8.1850.Volunteer Ball, Adelaide, 9.11.1864
Mayoral Ball, Adelaide, 10.8.1893
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1850 – Polka, Schottish [sic], Quadrilles, WaltzSource: South Australian 26.8.50, p1 1864 – Polka, Quadrille, Waltz, Lancers, Schottishe, Galop, Spanish Waltz, Caledonians, Circassian Circle Source: South Australian Register 10.11.64, p3
1893 – The Lancers, Waltz, Schottische, Mazurka, Quadrille, Barn Dance, Highland Schottische, Alberts Source: South Australian Chronicle 12.8.93, p23 |
| Dance venues | Venues included ‘Assembly Rooms’ at hotels, Institute halls, Lodge halls, Town Halls and private homes. In the twentieth century they were supplemented by purpose-built ballrooms.
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| TWENTIETH CENTURY SOCIAL DANCING | In Australia the early years of the twentieth century saw the beginning of waves of closed couple dances that displaced the older dances, especially in cities and larger towns. These included the One Step, Military Two Step, Modern Waltz, Quickstep, Foxtrot and Tango.There were also what came to be called ‘New Vogue’ dances – for example, the Evening Three Step, Pride of Erin, Gypsy Tap, Tangoette, Parma Waltz, Canadian Barn Dance and Charmaine.
The Early Dance Circle is not the body you would expect to provide a succinct overview of 20th century social dance in the western world but it has. Not only that, but it has woven into the story two revivals of dances from earlier times whose good work the ATBDS and countless other heritage dance groups have benefitted from. See http://www.earlydancecircle.co.uk/resources/dance-through-history/20th-century-dance/ For a specifically Australian history see ‘Potted History – Early till now’ on the Australian Social Dance Network website https://asdnwordpresscom.wordpress.com/articles/potted-history-early-till-now/ Carolyn Laffan’s piece on Dance on the eMelbourne website – the on-line version of the Encyclopedia of Melbourne published as a book in 2005 – provides a State-level snapshot. See http://www.emelbourne.net.au/biogs/EM00439b.htm For South Australia, Don Hopgood’s engaging article on the Palais de Danse (pictured above) nicely puts the venue in the broader musical/entertainment context. See “A Fairyland of a Thousand Twinkling Lights: the opening of the ‘Palais de Danse’ on North Terrace in 1920”, Journal of the Historical Society of South Australia No. 34, 2006 pp 17-25. |
| RESOURCES FOR AUSTRALIAN SOCIAL DANCING | This page of our website has links to books, music and recordings available to purchase – http://www.atbdsdancesa.com.au/tips-for-dancers-2/australian-social-dancing-resources/ The historical content of these websites is also useful: The History of Music and Dance in Australia 1788-1840. © Heather Clarke and Wongawilli Colonial Dance Club
Two of Australia’s pioneering dance collectors were Shirley Andrews (1915-2001) and Peter Ellis (1946-2015) and their obituaries and tributes to them reveal the breadth of their interests and achievements. See http://folkstream.com/reviews/revival/shirley.html, http://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/andrews-shirley-aldythea-14936 and https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=157284. In addition, singer/songwriter Bruce Watson’s talk at the 2016 National Folklore Conference about his collaborations with Peter Ellis can be downloaded here. Peter’s History of Old Time Dancing is here. |
