Twisters 1962 Peppermint Lounge
The twist was a popular dance craze that exploded onto the scene after Chubby Checker performed Hank Ballard's song of the same name in 1960. The fact that the dance is so easy to do, and requires no partner, led to its massive popularity across the world and generations.
History
In 1955 Hank Ballard saw teenagers doing the twist and was inspired to write the song of the same name. Then in 1960, Chubby Checker sang the song on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand," and the dance took off around the world. At the time surfing was all the rage, and the dance floors of the 1950s were being replaced by the beach. Previously popular dances like the jive were being tossed aside for stationary dances like the twist, the jive and the monkey were much easier to execute in sand. With television sets in nearly every home, families everywhere learned the dances in their living rooms.
The Steps
The twist is easy enough for anyone to learn. Simply touch one toe out in front, and twist it side to side as if you were putting out a cigarette. Next move your hips from side to side, as if you were drying your lower back with a towel. Repeat the dance gradually moving from one toe in front to the other. That's it! Twisting all the way down to the ground, and back up again by bending your knees is an optional move often performed at social events as part of a contest to see who can twist the lowest.
"Twist" - The Movie
In 1993 Alliance Entertainment released a documentary chronicling the infamous dance's rise. The film tells the story of white middle American teens, who previously had little emotional connection to the more technical dances of the fifties. They began to listen to rhythm and blues, which led to rock and roll and eventually American Bandstand to find the trends in song and dance. Through the twist, they found new ways of moving their hips, and a freedom they had never known before without the restrictions of a partner. The story also chronicles how the twist defied skeptics, and went on to achieve a meteoric rise crossing every cultural divide. The documentary not only boasts Chubby Checker and Hank Ballard as themselves, but also stars the legendary greats Elvis Presley and Little Richard.
Tags: Chubby Checker, Hank Ballard, American Bandstand, dances like, same name, side side