All the Latest Steps: Novelty Dances (Part 1)

Hello everyone! It feels like ages since I last posted! I have been busy studying for exams and, although I have already written 2, I still have 3 left. However I thought I would take a break from studying to post another "All the Latest Steps". This post includes 3 novelty dances, which will hopefully make up for my neglect of this series. This is actually part one of two posts of novelty dances. 

I also want to welcome all my new followers! As I am getting closer to hitting the 200 mark I have started to gather items for a giveaway. Thank you to everyone for reading :) 

The first of the three dances in this section is "The Barn Dance". This simply refers to a type of dancing event rather than actual steps. It originated in America but also enjoyed popularity in Britain during the late 19th and early 20th century.

I was unfortunately unable to find history on the other two dances. I did however discover "All the Latest Steps" is an updated version of an earlier book from 1922 (the only information I was able to find was word for word what was written in "All the Latest Steps"), although a different author is listed... Nevertheless, here are the instructions for The Barn Dance, The Memphis Tapping Novelty, and the Lucky Number Novelty:

The Instructions (click to enlarge):

All the Latest Steps: The Paul Jones

This week's dance is the Paul Jones. I was unable to find any historical footage of this dance, possibly because it is merely a variation on dances such as the foxtrot.

Next Weeks Dance: The Grand March

The Paul Jones is the name of a "mixer dance" (a dance where partners are changed during the dance) that was very popular during the early part of the 20th century. The dance was named "after John Paul Jones (1747-1792), Scottish naval officer known for his victories in the American Revolution".

The Instructions (click to enlarge):

All the Latest Steps: The Fox Trot

This weeks dance is the Fox Trot. Although it is not the most exciting dance in the book, I've decided to post the dances in the order they appear. Next week: The Paul Jones

The Fox Trot was invented in 1914 by an American vaudeville performer, Henry Fox (or, according to some sources, merely popularized by him). The Fox Trot is based on the two-step but is done with a "broken beat" (ie slow-slow quick-quick). It was considered "the easiest [dance] to pick up and the hardest to master" and was one of the most popular social dances of the era. Over time the dance was split into a slow version, the slow Foxtrot, and a fast version, the Quickstep.

The Instructions: (Click to enlarge)

All the Latest Steps

Hello everyone. It has been a hectic week of moving into a new place and starting classes. I have school some days for more than 12 hours straight so I expect to be more tired than usual for the next few months. This means I will likely also have less time for blogging. But nevertheless, based on several requests, I have decided to start a new series of posts based on the book "All the Latest Steps". It was published in the mid-1920's and contains instructions for various dances.

Over the next few months I will be posting the instructions to the dances (some contain diagrams, and some unfortunately do not) and some historical footage of the dance (if I can find any). I'm planning to post once a week, but this may be changed to every two weeks if school gets too busy. (Don't worry, I will still be doing my normal posts as well.)

So dust off your dancing shoes and get ready to learn the "latest steps". Here is some Fred and Ginger to get you in the mood!