Ongoing History of New Music

Ongoing History Daily: The cruelty of dance marathons

Back in the 1930s during the Great Depression, there was a phenomenon known as the dance marathon. Basically, couples would take up a challenge to see who could remain dancing longer than anyone else. They were held in ballrooms and auditoriums and could continue for not just hours, but days and even weeks.

Spectators paid to watch, too. The longer the marathon went on, the higher the admission price Couples had to stay in motion continuously resulting in blisters, injuries, and collapse from exhaustion. \Why would anyone subject themselves to such a thing?

Like I said, it was during the Depression. Many people signed up for these marathons because it meant food, shelter, and a place to sleep, even if it was just a few minutes an hour. Those who won were given a cash prize. Hey, the Depression was rough. People were willing to do anything to survive.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 39348 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

2 thoughts on “Ongoing History Daily: The cruelty of dance marathons

  • There was a movie made in the late 60’s called, “They shoot horses don’t they?”, which was based upon on these marathons. In the wikipedia entry on it and it said that the prize was 1500 silver dollars, and it went on for so many hours, it is hard to comprehend, but then people were desperate in this story.

    Reply
  • Today we just get them to call the studio line.

    Reply

Let us know what you think!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.