Have you ever danced "The Twist"?

I grew up listening to rock and roll surf music. It was perfect for beach parties. @Bretrick You missed all those fun beach parties? :)

73xwxVgqSjW57XRrVyqMog.png
 
Yep

Saturday afternoons were often spent at the local movie theater. They had shows just for kids on Saturday afternoons. There were two movies. Between the movies, they would run a twist dance contest.

All contestants would dance on the theater stage at once. Then after the song was over, the theater owner would hold his hand above each couples head and the audience would clap.

I tried the dance contest twice ... with Jane Miller and Kay Crowder ... we never won so I can't remember what the prize might have been but I think it was a couple of movie passes good for any time.

They had other types of contests too. One Saturday between the movies they had a head standing contest ... and I took a small pillow with me to put my head on. That stage wood flooring was hard !!! I snuck the pillow out and back in the house without mama catching me. Didn't win the contest.

THEN just a couple of years later in junior high and at band parties under the stadium after football games, we did the twist, the jerk and a maybe a couple of others that were popular. Good times.
 
Oh, you betcha! I used to come home from sock hops with my ribs aching like a toothache. I remember one girl in my school actually broke a rib doing a particularly spectacular rendition.

We even had special "twist blouses" that were a hot commodity. After months of begging, my mom finally gave in and bought me one. The main feature of a twist blouse was that it was on the longer side and had ruffles all the way down the front. I have no idea why they were so popular, but then who ever understood teenage girls?

I had strong legs back then and could do the Twist all the way down to the floor and back up again without sprawling on the gym floor. Of course, one didn't do that in a 60's tight skirt unless one wanted to get a reputation for being "fast".
 
As a kid, I watched Chubby Checker give short, televised lessons on doing The Twist in the New York metropolitan area in the early 1960ā€™sā€¦and the Peppermint Lounge was white-hot back then, where all the really cool stars would be seen to Twist the Night Away! Loved the use of saxophones in that music! šŸŽ¶ šŸŽ·

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top