[HN Gopher] Dance Marathons of the 1920s and 1930s (2003)
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Dance Marathons of the 1920s and 1930s (2003)
Author : rwmj
Score : 37 points
Date : 2022-07-29 21:24 UTC (2 days ago)
(HTM) web link (www.historylink.org)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.historylink.org)
| thenoblesunfish wrote:
| The 45 minutes on, 15 minutes off aspect reminded me of the
| increasingly popular modern "backyard ultra marathon", (run the
| same 4.1667 mile course every hour until one person is left).
| Obviously those aren't rigged or exploitative, and winning
| doesn't get you anything much except bragging rights amongst a
| particular set of people.
| ycombinete wrote:
| It didn't mention footwear, but I wonder if the women danced in
| heels?
| boomboomsubban wrote:
| Wikipedia has pictures, and it seems some did.
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dance_marathon
| PopAlongKid wrote:
| One of the cited sources was made into a popular movie in 1969,
| "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?"[0], nominated for many awards at
| the time. I remember watching it when released and being mildly
| horrified by the way the marathons were operated (assuming it was
| somewhat historically accurate, which TFA seems to confirm).
|
| https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065088
|
| edit: fixed URL
| ReactiveJelly wrote:
| Your footnote number slipped into the link URL
| https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065088/
| rwmj wrote:
| I watched it and it was one of the most depressing films I've
| ever seen :-/
| arpa wrote:
| it drips with desperation
| JKCalhoun wrote:
| A great film. I wish Hollywood still made films like this.
|
| Seems it's on YouTube: https://youtu.be/6ckHFgCD76o
| mistrial9 wrote:
| the American Los Angeles scene shown in that movie was for the
| purpose of getting money from public audiences; the dancers are
| an act, like a circus. In contrast, the dance marathon events
| that are popular today, are a source of energy and inspiration
| for the dancers, who pay money to be part of it.
|
| Somehow I am reminded of current media options in America by
| the former.. featuring shock and awe, like a drug for the
| viewer, while the people making the content are disposable.
| virtualritz wrote:
| There are still some kind of dance marathons today but the word
| 'marathon' is applied differently. I dance tango (not 'the tango'
| btw.). The kind from the Rio de la Plata area (Argentina &
| Uruguay).
|
| We have 'tango marathons' that usually last a weekend.
|
| The idea is to dance as much as possible with every attendee that
| has the matching role (leader/follower) during this weekend.
|
| Marathons are strictly role-balanced. I.e. for every follower
| there is a leader. In tango you change partners every block of
| 3-4 songs (called 'a tanda'). So with an song lasting between
| 2.5-3.5mins and an average marathon having 100 attendees there
| are ample tandas, over a weekend, to dance once with every of the
| 50 people that match your role (unless you dance both roles, that
| is).
|
| Meals/nibbles/fruits/water during the dance time are usually
| included, sometimes even wine, especially in the Mediterranean.
|
| A typical schedule looks like this:
|
| Friday
|
| 6pm-8pm dinner
|
| 9pm-6am dance
|
| Saturday
|
| 10am-12pm breakfast
|
| 12pm-6pm dance
|
| 6pm-8pm dinner
|
| 9pm-6am dance
|
| Sunday
|
| 10am-12pm breakfast
|
| 12pm-6pm dance
|
| 6pm-8pm dinner
|
| 9pm-6am after party dance (open for non-attendees. Often local
| dancers that didn't make it into or couldn't afford the marathon)
|
| Prices usually range between 80-120EUR for the above.
| Accommodation packages are frequently just double that (e.g. if
| the event is inside a hotel). With flights a weekend of bliss is
| commonly less than 400 EUR.
|
| Often there are pre- and after dance events on Thursdays &
| Mondays for people that come for a long weekend. These don't
| include food and have to be paid separately (around 10EUR, in
| average).
| bergenty wrote:
| That's very cool but I don't think I like dancing all that much
| to do it for so many hours. I used to love raves but I think I
| only liked dancing for 6 hours+ in those because I was rolling.
| i_have_an_idea wrote:
| The same thing exists for Latin dances like Salsa and Bachata
| and are quite popular around the world at the moment.
| normac2 wrote:
| This sounds 1) very cool, but 2) also a monster risk for
| spreading COVID and other diseases (literally pairing people up
| for close contact in as many combinations as possible).
| random_kris wrote:
| xfitm3 wrote:
| We all must move on with our lives.
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