Lights, Camera, Scandal!

Dancing for pleasure in Europe and America has been a long story of misunderstanding and disapproval; along with history, ignorance has caused many people to think that some iconic dances, or even dancing, wasn´t appropriate when it came to mixing social classes, which occasionally led to the prohibition of dancing, as being considered morally damaging.

In the middle age, dancing became more common, since people gathered together to celebrate and feast, even couple dances got popularity over that time. Factors such as wars, slavery, migrations for political and economic reasons made dancers spread across the world, fusing with new influences; social dances emerged, braking bias of gender, race, and class. However, some of these iconic dances weren’t enough to transform paradigms, they even created more, scandalizing many people; join us to see 5 of the most controversial dances in the world’s history…

The Waltz

It shocked the whole society when it first showed up, basically, just because of the distance of the embrace the couple must have; even the British royal family back then, along with the conservative critics thought it would corrupt any young girl; that’s why they suggested that only married women should dance it, as it was too immoral. By that time you could even find manuals of good manners, in which dancing waltz was considered quite the opposite of a good manner.

As it was getting popular, they created special places where people could go, have dinner, play cards and dance the waltz, these places were called Ballroom. Although not only dancers attended, many people were going just for listening to those melodies. This dance was also revolutionary, in a sense where great musicians got inspired by it, happening to compose masterpieces such as “The Blue Danube” in 1867, in fact, it is the most iconic Viennese waltz, written by Johann Strauss. As well, Tchaikovsky used the dance in some of his ballet compositions, like Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker.

Also read: Things you don’t know about the most performed Ballet shows

The CanCan

In the late 1820s, a lower-class group was dancing on the streets of Paris, and while they were improvising, they lifted their legs, exposing their underwear, leading to the creation of the CanCan.
Middle-class Parisians believed that dancing should be discreet and graceful so for them, that dance was disturbing and alarming. While young people were fascinated by this act of rebellion, upper classes were disgusted, complaining about how people who danced it seemed to be suffering from a degenerative disease because of the way they were lifting their legs that high. Under the spot of the critics, and with split opinions, CanCan was taken to music theaters, and it was performed only by women, becoming emblematic across the whole country and one of the most ranked iconic dances.

Tango

Tango came from the brothels and low cafes of Buenos Aires and compared to the waltz, tango has a tighter hug; so you can imagine how closed-minded people were acting when they first experienced it. When it arrived in Europe and the United States it was conceived as an obscene dance where both men and women had the opportunity to rub their bodies together. Nevertheless, it was sensational for many other people who felt intrigued and attracted by its footwork, considering it as it really is, pure art.

Over the years, Tango has turned into an elegant and stylish dance evoking a high-society image, with women in beautiful evening dresses and men in tuxedos.

If you are one of those who fell in love with tango and want to learn it, you can take one of our online classes, which will guide you throughout the proper technique.
StepFlix Tango, level 1, lesson 1: How to walk?

Charleston

As jazz became popular in the 1920s, the Charleston dance emerged in the United States from the descendants of slaves near Charleston, South Carolina. For the first time, women could dance in society without a partner. After World War I, women had the ambition to earn their own money and express themselves creatively, they got empowered dressing in fashion and dancing Charleston. However, their legs movements, the jerking of their arms, and the wiggling of their hips were considered too provocative and scandalous, so it was forbidden in many dance halls during that time. Despite its prohibition, the dance gained popularity and achieved to unite two divided cultures of that epoch, from African Americans to white Americans, they all were having that guilty pleasure of dancing Charleston.

Twist

The twist dance took off after a performance by singer Chubby Checker on the American television show American Brandstand in 1960 and quickly became a global phenomenon.
Initially, this dance was considered vulgar and obscene for similar reasons as the Charleston: it could be danced without a partner, hip movements were predominated and, had its roots in the African-American culture. Unlike with Charleston, there were different implications this time, as the fact of being risky for people’s health, since an orthopedist reported an increase in knee injuries, and the New Jersey Society of Chiropractors said it could cause “strain on the lumbar and sacroiliac areas.”

Everyone perceives dancing in a different way, what matters is to know that accepting other people’s mindsets does not necessarily mean you would apply them in your life. As you can see dancing has evolved, changing social schemes and developing new ways of thinking, as long as we don’t hurt anyone we are free to dance whatever we want, even these 5 iconic dances!