http://youtu.be/e1yCs7EWttw
Before there were shows like So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing with the Stars, there were dance shows where everyday people got to be on the TV and dance their hearts out. Dance Fever, Solid Gold, Dance Party USA, each showcased dance and music representative of its time.
If you’ve ever heard anyone say “It’s got a good beat and you can dance to it,” chances are that they watched American Bandstand and specifically, the “Rate-a-Record” segment when Clark asked two audience members to listen to parts of two songs and then rate them. American Bandstand ran on Saturdays for decades and became the showcase where many new artists first performed. Clark was so professional and could seamlessly interact with artists of any genre, while never seeming to age. And, no. The artists aren’t singing, they are lip-synching when it was still cool to and not have to do the hokey pokey when busted.
Soul Train, “the hippest trip in America,” was hosted by the “you can never be that cool” Don Cornelius. It predominantly featured black dancers and artists and also ran for over three decades. One of the mainstays of the show was the “Soul Train Line” where selected dancers would get in two lines and then dance down the middle. If you’ve even been to a [great] wedding, it’s likely that you have seen and/or done this. You can’t beat the moment in time the fashion and the moves captured by Soul Train.