Dancing Through the Decades

Rarely ever do my kids have homework, but last night, they did. The younger one needed to come up with a 50's costume, and the older one needed a 70s costume.  She was also tasked with learning to dance The Hustle and lip sing Abba's "Dancing Queen" for a lip dub contest.  She hogged the microphone during their little performance.

 
This school takes "fostering a love for learning" to new heights, and my kids have more fun at school than most anywhere else.  I, for one, consider learning to dance 70s style a critical component of any rubric!

This assignment was for a history unit at school entitled  "Dancing Through the Decades."  The study culminated today with a school wide dance-off  in which each class dressed in the fashion of different decade (50s, 60s, 70s,and 80s) and performed a popular dance from that era.

Our son's lower grammar class chose the 1950s and performed the Mickey Mouse clubhouse song.   The Mickey Mouse Club television show, created by Walt Disney, first aired on ABC in 1955 and featured an ever-changing cast of child characters.  The girls made poodle skirts, and the boys made jackets during class to supplement their outfits.  This video and the one that follows were taken by Lisa, the middle school teacher.


Our daughter's class chose the 1970s and danced the Hustle to Stayin' Alive, a song written and produced by the Bee Gees and released in 1977.  Our daughter was emphatic about what she wanted to wear.  Her outfit merged the 1960s and 1970s and pigtails to reflect her bright and colorful personality.  She danced up front to the right (stage left) of her teacher.
Some of the other songs and dances performed by other classes included:

•  "Yakety Yak", which was first released by the The Coasters on Atlantic Records in 1958.
•  "Beat It", which was written and performed by  Michael Jackson, and produced by Quincy Jones (with co-production by Jackson) in 1982 for the solo album, Thriller.
•  "The Twist" which gave birth to the Twist dance craze.  The song was written in early 1959 by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters but was popularized in 1960 when the song was covered by Chubby Checker.
• "Johnny B. Goode" which was written and originally performed by Chuck Berry in 1958.