Why was the twist such a controvertial dance during our mama and papa's teen years.?

Question

What's the deal?

Answer 1

Every new generation's social dancing is considered to be "dirty" by the previous one. This is always the case.

Waltz was considered dirty when it just came about. You'll say, Waltz? Dirty? How and where can it be dirty? Well, Waltz is danced in closed embrace, with the bodies in contact. That was new and quite dirty, by comparison to old style, when partners onlt touched each other's hands.

Twist, by comparison to Waltz, introduced the movement and twisting of the body. Waltz held the body still. By comparison to Waltz and Foxtrot, now it was emphasised that people have hips and chests and waists, and all of that can move relative to echa other.

If you think what happened next - Rock N Roll, Lambada and other types - there is always a new emphasis, and there is always a feel that it is "dirtier" that the previous one. But I think the main issue is that it is different enough. When I observe people learn Waltz in our studio I see them sometimes freak out because they didn't expect the effects of the closed dance posistion to be so prominent. It's new enough to them :-)

Answer 2

I was a teenager in those years and the "Twist" was not controvertial. We were just breaking away from the previous generation of the Walz and Foxtrot. As in every generation, the older ones tend to look down on anything new. E.G. Our granparents (probably your gr grandparents) danced the "Charleston" etc. which may have been controvertial in their day. Dances which were more controvertial were the French "Can Can" and the S.A. Latin dances such as the "Tango, the "Flamingo" and the "Rhumba" mainly because in those days they were considered almost pornographic to some people, but leggy babes in short skirts had been used for years, as in Zegfield's Follies or the London Palladium. But, not the "Twist" the "Boogalou" or the "Locomotion" that eveyone was doing in the 60s.

Answer 3

ah - not so controversial as "the swim" which came soon after and involved forward pelvic movement. Perhaps it was the combination of social factors - the hippies were just getting started (pre-hippie) actually - in san francisco, where i grew up, they were actually starting to gather; it was a time of rejection of the old mores and standards and the creation of a "new" way of being. with any creation, there is danger to what is already established. also - the objections may have come mostly from white parents - the numbers of white kids listening to black artists was increasing significantly - and the guy (chubby checker) who sang "the twist" was indeed african american; this trend may have threatened some of the white parents.

remembering the moment personally - it was exciting! New, and with possibilities of anything.

Answer 4

Instructions for the Twist could be summed up in one sentence. “It's like putting out a cigarette with both feet,” explained Chubby Checker

This was 1960-1962, the song, dance was for everyone: grandma, your aunt, mom, etc, all races, rich and poor, it was squeeky clean.

Then he gave us the "limbo rock" omg!

Gave my "thumbs up" to those here first.

PS1 In all fairness; certain cities, areas say in the South, well of course some "issues", and as with say parts of Boston society...

PS2

The future "hippies" were still in junior high at best, say ten years old mostly, the music must have made them what they became.

Answer 5

it was at the time when social morality and behavior were undergoing very strong changes. the twist was a dance of absurdly strong movement, which was completely at odds with the former way of dancing (think ballroom). all that pelvic thrusting and butt wiggling drove the parents of the time absolutely crazy.

Answer 6

I think it was because it drew attention to parts of your body that their parents wished remained unnoticed. The moves were somewhat suggestive from the parents' viewpoints and of course "good girls and boys should never do that gyrating stuff!"

Answer 7

Probably because it involved excessive hip movement or some crap. People were maniacally conservative back then, now we're all wholesomely liberalized, victimized, homogenized, and proselytized.