When Dancing Plagues Struck Medieval Europe
The tarantella is named for a peasant woman from southern Italy whose tarantula bite started a contagious dancing fever!
When “Middle Eastern” Nightclubs Swept America
In the 1950s, nightclubs featuring "Middle Eastern" music and belly dancers mixed and matched cultures, serving white audiences an exotic experience.
Jane Addams’s Crusade Against Victorian “Dancing Girls”
Jane Addams, a leading Victorian-era reformer, believed dance halls were “one of the great pitfalls of the city.”
The Slave Roots of Square Dancing
Square Dancing's lily-white reputation hides something unexpected: A deep African-American history that's rooted in a legacy of slavery.
The Man Who Invented the Showgirl
Showgirl. Just the word calls to mind fabulous plumes, spangled sequins, and a distinctive strut. But where does ...
Can Ballet Be Feminist?
Ballerinas have long made feminists both uneasy and excited, embodying fulfillment and the shackles of feminine performance.
Dancing with the Amateur Stars
Amateur ballroom dance enthusiasts value dance not just as a hobby, but as an indelible component of their identity.
Do the Hustle: How Disco Was Marketed
Disco changed the way the music industry marketed music to the public. The genre innovated an industry and changed our interaction with popular music.
83-Year-Old Carmen de Lavallade Dances at Kennedy Center
Dance icon Carmen de Lavallade, 83, was the first African-American prima ballerina at the Metropolitan Opera.