Collegiate Steps - Modern Ballroom Dancing 1930

Walter's Random Musings

Extracted verbatim from "Modern Ballroom Dancing" by Lillian Ray. Franklin Publishing Company, 1930.

COLLEGIATE STEPS

No MODERN book on ballroom dancing would be complete without including a few Collegiate Steps for the younger generation. These hopping and jumping steps are lively if not dignified. They reflect the brisk tempo of young America. They will be seen more often at fraternity dances and Village night clubs than in the ballrooms of the more pretentious and formal hotels and country clubs. But these Collegiate Steps are too much a part of present day dancing to be shunned as stepchildren.

All the steps detailed in the following pages should be danced with plenty of pep and abandon. They are, after all, to be used in a spirit of fun. Even the starting position for the Collegiate Steps is less formal than that for the older and more dignified dances. The collegiates affect a crooked elbow and a closer hold than their elders. Figure shows the position for the Collegiate Walk, which is similar to the Fox Trot but sharper and snappier.

STARTING POSITION FOR COLLEGIATE WALK. UNLIKE THE FORMAL POSITION FOR FOX TROT AND WALTZ, THIS IS A JAZZ HOLD WITH ELBOWS BENT SHARPLY

A bit of what those college dances probably looked like:

Collegiate Steps - Modern Ballroom Dancing 1930

COLLEGIATE STEPS

Jazz Age Dance