The Style of Dancing in the 50s

Popular dance styles of the 1950s included the twist, variations on swing dancing, such as the bop, and an assortment of other dances influenced by the birth of rock and roll music.

The Twist

Though the song entitled "The Twist" wasn't released until 1960, the twist had been gaining momentum as a dance craze during the 50s. The dance takes its name from the twisting, swiveling motion of the dancers hips as they pivot on the balls of their feet.

The Bop and Other Swing Variations

With the advent of rock and roll music, the youth of the 50s began making adjustments to swing dances of previous decades in order to suit the new pop rhythms. The jitterbug, the Lindy Hop and the bop developed in different forms across the country, then became homogenized with the help of dance-oriented television broadcasts.

Other Dances

Other dance styles of the 50s included the stroll, the bunny hop, the boogie-woogie and the Hully-Gully. In many of these dances, the initial steps of a swing dance were replaced with a tap-step to better align the dancers with the back beat of rock and roll rhythms.

References

• Stanford University: Teen Dances of the 1950s