# So "Hand Dancing " is a big deal. Who knew? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 24, 2016, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-hand-dancing-is-a-big-deal-who-knew/763778 "2016-08-24T00:05:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2016, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-hand-dancing-is-a-big-deal-who-knew/763778/1 "2016-08-24T00:05:09Z")
Saw this local news item below then after a “Hand Dancing”? WTH? googled it up and it’s a thing! I was utterly oblivious to this this trend and dance style. [Delmarva Hand Dancing Club made a donation to Rebuilding Warriors](http://www.delmarvanow.com/picture-gallery/news/local/maryland/2016/08/23/delmarva-hand-dancing-club-made-a-donation-to-rebuilding-warriors/89228178/) [Hand Dancing](http://nationalhanddanceassociation.org/?page_id=156) > [@](#): > > The History of Hand Dance > > Culture can be defined as all the behaviors, arts, beliefs and institutions of a population that are passed down from generation to generation. Culture has been called “the way of life for an entire society.” > > DC Hand Dance is an improvisational form of swing style partner dancing developed in the Washington, DC area in the early 1950s by African Americans as a form of recreation and entertainment. The dance evolved from the early Lindy Hop and Jitterbug dance styles of the 1930s and 1940s created by George “Shorty” Snowden. Hand Dance is rooted in the floor version of swing as opposed to the acrobatics and aerials of the Lindy and Jitterbug. Individual style and interpretation is key in defining and understanding this dance style. > > In the 1950s, the dance was called “Jitterbug” and the dance halls and arenas in the DC area where the best dancers honed their dance skills were Turner’s Arena, Lincoln Colonnade and the U-Line Arena. The tempo of the dance was upbeat and big bands such as Louis Jordan and Big Joe Turner fueled the dance. In the 1960s, the tempo slowed down to a “cool” rhythm as the dance became known as “Fast Dancing” and the music was Motown, Chicago Soul and the Stax Records sound. Teens danced in recreation centers, school gymnasiums, basement parties, in dance halls such as WUST (9th& V Streets, NW), and on the television show “The Teenarama Dance Party” on WOOK-TV Ch. 14. Later in the decade, as free style dancing swept the nation, small numbers of people continued to “fast dance” in and around the area, thereby creating a dance sub-culture. These dancers continued to keep oldies but goodies music and “fast dancing” alive. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2016, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-hand-dancing-is-a-big-deal-who-knew/763778/2 "2016-08-24T01:00:13Z")
Lindy Hop was huge here a couple of years back. I kept meaning to go but never quite made it. Looks like amazing fun! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2016, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-hand-dancing-is-a-big-deal-who-knew/763778/3 "2016-08-24T01:12:17Z")
Am I the only one who saw the thread title and was thinking more along the lines of: \* Are you hand dancing in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me?\* ---
**Author:** ![Fleetwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fleetwood/32/271_2.png) [@Fleetwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fleetwood)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2016, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-hand-dancing-is-a-big-deal-who-knew/763778/4 "2016-08-24T12:43:42Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Am I the only one who saw the thread title and was thinking more along the lines of: \* Are you hand dancing in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me?\* Well, my first thought was that hand dancing leads to hand shaking… ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2016, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-hand-dancing-is-a-big-deal-who-knew/763778/5 "2016-08-24T12:49:24Z")
Something about this reminds me of the “future dancing” seen in the occasional sf film. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2016, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-hand-dancing-is-a-big-deal-who-knew/763778/6 "2016-08-24T13:01:02Z")
You have to do something with your hands when you dance, right? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2016, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-hand-dancing-is-a-big-deal-who-knew/763778/7 "2016-08-24T13:13:36Z")
> [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](#): > > You have to do something with your hands when you dance, right? What do you think made Michael Jackson yell **“WOOOOOOO!”**? ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2016, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-hand-dancing-is-a-big-deal-who-knew/763778/8 "2016-08-24T13:56:14Z")
> [@Fleetwood](#): > > Well, my first thought was that hand dancing leads to hand shaking… …unwanted children and the evils of adoption… ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2016, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-hand-dancing-is-a-big-deal-who-knew/763778/9 "2016-08-24T14:00:07Z")
Born to hand-jive, baby ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2016, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-hand-dancing-is-a-big-deal-who-knew/763778/10 "2016-08-24T14:18:32Z")
I was picturing something like [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BwwgoJoBEM). ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2016, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-hand-dancing-is-a-big-deal-who-knew/763778/11 "2016-08-24T14:36:07Z")
When I was growing up we just called it “dancing”. It was modified jitterbug and bop and all the teen movies of the day featured it until the twist and other novelty dances came along. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2016, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-hand-dancing-is-a-big-deal-who-knew/763778/12 "2016-08-24T15:32:26Z")
We’re not going to do this in this thread. There’s a perfectly good pit thread if you want to take shots at that poster. > [@Fleetwood](#): > > Well, my first thought was that hand dancing leads to hand shaking… > [@madsircool](#): > > …unwanted children and the evils of adoption… ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2016, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-hand-dancing-is-a-big-deal-who-knew/763778/13 "2016-08-24T16:28:27Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > I was picturing something like [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BwwgoJoBEM). Yeah, me too. Or maybe jazz hands. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2016, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-hand-dancing-is-a-big-deal-who-knew/763778/14 "2016-08-25T04:30:38Z")
My first thought was Napoleon Dynamite and the Happy Hands Club. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2016, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-hand-dancing-is-a-big-deal-who-knew/763778/15 "2016-08-25T06:08:34Z")
I thought I knew what hand dancing was. Turns out I was thinking of is [finger tutting](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJwPydpJHyA).