Dance

The quality and variety of delightful dances during this era is what made the dancers exuberant and the dance halls thrive.

Line dances were stationary because they didn't move around the floor. Line dances most typically were done in a box formation and were done in the middle of the floor where there was the most room. Examples were Cowboy Boogie, the 38, Flying Eights, Tush Push, Boot Scootin' Boogie, Down and Dirty, Jackson Stomp, Thunderfoot, Cowboy Cha Cha, and so many more.

Line dances done in contra (lines facing each other) were done with lines strung up and down the floor, as in the Montana.

Line dances done in a circle, like the Round-Up, were also done in the center of the floor and since it was an interactive dance, it was done with an inner circle and an outer circle.

Pattern dances, memorized routines done with a partner, were done in the middle lane while moving counter-clockwise around the floor. Some favorites were the Charleston Bump, Sidekick, El Paso, 10 Step, Cotton-Eyed Joe and many others.

Sometimes a pattern dance was a memorized routine with a partner, but it did not progress around the floor. An example of this would be Annie's Cha Cha which was a partnered cha cha done in the center.

Mixer dances used a partner and were memorized. Mixers were very popular because they are a lot of fun and they helped folks meet others by arranging a switch of partners after every 32 counts or so. Mixers were usually done in large circles, so occasionally there were times we needed to clear the entire floor to make a circle large enough to accommodate everyone. Probably the most popular one was The Barnyard Mixer aka The Wild West.

Lead dances, done with a partner, were sequences with spontaneous lead-follow movements. The man would lead and the woman would follow his lead, just like in the traditional ballroom dancing of the 1940s. Done in the outer lane, some of these dances included 2-step, waltz, triple-time 2-step, polka, and others.

Spot dances, done in place (in the same "spot"), with a partner worked well when done in the corners of the floor where the couple's not moving didn’t hinder the other lanes of dancers. Some spot dances could be memorized like the west coast swing, but the most popular spot dances were lead-and-follow as seen in the Arizona 2-step, jitterbug, and cha cha.

A key feature of Tumbl'weeds was being able to coordinate the various dances going on concurrently. In order to do this, we engaged the services of friendly Tumbl'weeds staff, called Amigos, who would lead the line dances and lead the pattern dances. These proficient and knowledgeable dancers would signal when everyone was in place and cue the music to begin. The Music Coordinator --- when all was ready in the center and both lanes of the floor --- would then give the famous "5-6-7-8" countdown!

There was such variety, we could go an entire night without repeating neither dance nor song!