Boogie-Woogie

Last week, my friend Odie sent me an e-mail titled "Dancin' The Boogie." Like many of you, I get a lot of e-mails that are just so-so. Well, this one was so great, that I sent it to everyone in my e-mail address book. It was the best I have seen in a long-long time.

This e-mail included a link to a video of the same title. In the credits for the video, it listed the name of a piano player from Switzerland, Silvan Zingg. It also gave the names of the two boogie dancers, Will and Maeva.

The pianist plays a very rapid and skillful boogie dance song on the piano. During the next three minutes, the dancing couple displays one of the best boogie dance segments that I have ever seen, and I consider myself somewhat of an expert. I feel like I know good boogie when I hear or see it, because it was one of the very first types of music and dance that I can remember.

Boogie-woogie, is the term that describes a type of music and dance that was very popular in the early part of the last century. I researched the term online, and found that it had its origins way back in the early 1900's, just before World War I.

It was a music that had the piano as its foundation. There was a rhythm and blues beat that is so distinctive, that everyone immediately recognizes it. It was not just the tight music beat that was memorable, however. The precision dancing that accompanies the music is something very beautiful.

I was just a kid when the boogie-woogie began to be replaced by new music and dance themes. Thankfully, I did get to see it at the end, because it was something to behold.

In the late '50s, Dick Clark had his first "American Bandstand" show on afternoon television. The show was live each afternoon from Philadelphia. He had a group of young teens that danced everyday to the latest Top 40 songs. All of us loved to watch each day as these familiar teens danced.

At home, my sister had a small phonograph. We had several 45's that we played and practiced the dance moves we had seen on "American Bandstand." Now, if you aren't old enough to know what a 45 is, then you most definitely won't know anything about boogie-woogie.

We were lucky in Nevada to have another place to practice our dancing. When I entered the 7th grade, I was eligible to go to what was called the "Youth Club." The one back then was located just north of the intersection of Washington and Austin on the west side of the street. It is no longer there, but some of you readers will still remember it.

We only had a juke box to dance to, but that was great as far as we were concerned. Most of the songs were the same ones they played on "American Bandstand." The dance steps were every bit as good as those on television, in my memory bank.

There was something very special about the way a talented couple danced the boogie-woogie. Just to follow the beat, you have to move every part of your body. At the same time you and your partner must synchronize your movements so they match up together.

A really good set of partners would flow effortlessly from one movement to the next. It was as if they became one person in their intricate steps, turns, and swings.

This great dance era as I said was coming to an end just as I was learning to enjoy it. My first year at the "Youth Club" was the 1961-62 school year. We started the year with boogie-woogie, and we ended it with something called the "Twist."

Now don't get me wrong, I loved the twist and still do, but sadly it signaled the end of the boogie-woogie era. All through the '30s, '40s, and '50s, young Americans danced the boogie-woogie. In a matter of weeks in the early '60s, it just faded away.

In its place we had a string of dances that seemed to change almost every few weeks. We would again watch "American Bandstand" to see what the latest steps were. Names like the hully bully, the Watusi, the jerk, the fly, the mashed potato, and dozens more became the latest craze.

One thing did not change, however. Here in good old Nevada, we still danced, and in fact we danced a lot. The "Youth Club" moved over to the old Safeway building on North Main, and the name changed to "Tiger Town." Students from junior and senior high still went there on week nights to dance to the latest songs on the juke box.

At school we got to practice our dance steps as well. We had big dances like Homecoming, Anti-Van, and Prom, but we also had some informal dance sessions as well. After most of the home basketball games we took off our shoes and had a what we called a "sock-hop."

I actually feel sorry for the young people of this current generation. From what I have heard, they don't even have much in the way of dancing these days. In fact, if it does not have batteries and a keyboard, they don't even seem interested.

That's their loss. I wouldn't give up one minute of those great days when we danced the nights away. From the boogie-woogie to the twist, it was a great time in America to be a teenager.

P.S. If you would like to watch the boogie-woogie video, log onto the Daily Mail Web site. They can forward your address to me, and I will send you the copy.

Editors note: We checked the video out and it well worth watching. It can been seen on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QQzbCmlZM4