Dancing is more than just movement to music.  According to Mark Mindek of the New York Historical Dance Society, it’s influenced by the broader culture, new innovations and fashion. For instance, the invention of rubber in 1839 led to more relaxed dancing styles since women were no longer constrained by tight, whale bone corsets and the hoop skirts worn by women during the Civil War prompted the concept of leading and following which helped prevent collisions between dancers.

“Stepping back into the past is very exciting, “ said Mindek, who along with Judy Ayres of Just Dance,  presented Ballroom Dancing Then and Now at Washington Heights Library on March 28.  They shared the origins of two popular dances, the Foxtrot and Rumba, and discussed how they evolved from wild and unruly to elegant and polite, along with plenty of dancing.

While today's dance competition shows have spurred a new interest in social dance, Mindek also credits the Hustle from the '70s with changing the idea of dance for a generation that grew up with the Twist and the Frug (pronounced "froog"). The Hustle ushered in a new form of social dance.

“I just want the participants to be aware that dance has always been with us and changes all the time,” said Mindek. “It’s exciting to see people who grew up with that particular dance do it. It’s under their skin.”

If you’d like to brush up your techniques or just enjoy the beauty of dance,  here are some DVDs you can explore.

Swing Time / a Radio Picture; directed by George Stevens; screen play by Howard Lindsay and Allan Scott; a Pandro S. Berman production.

A performer and gambler travels to New York City to raise the $25,000 he needs to marry his fiancée, only to become entangled with a beautiful aspiring dancer.

 

 

 

 

Top Hat / A Radio Picture; Radio Pictures presents; a Pandro S. Berman production; screenplay by Dwight Taylor and Allan Scott; story by Dwight Taylor; directed by Mark Sandrich.

Rogers and Astaire are caught up in a mistaken identity plot, in which Rogers assumes that Astaire is already married, and is alternatively charmed and repelled by his advances.

 

 

 

The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle / RKO Radio Pictures; produced by George Haight; directed by H.C. Potter.

The story of a husband and wife dance team who had their first success in Paris and became influential international celebrities before he was killed as a flier in World War I.

 

 

 

 

Carefree / Turner Entertainment Co.; RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. presents; a Pandro S. Berman production; screenplay by Allan Scott and Ernest Pagano; story and adaptation by Dudley Nichols and Hagar Wilde; directed by Mark Sandrich.

She's afraid of marriage—can he help? With the forever magic of Irving Berlin's romantic Change Partners, the dance craze of The Yam and more, the answer is delightfully Yes!