‘The Twist, The Frug, The Watusi and more: I knew how to dance in the 60s’

For a nostalgic moment, let’s all hum a tune from the 1960’s, the decade that gave us so many memorable tunes with dances to match.

I am thinking in particular about Chubby Checker and his iconic song ‘The Twist’. My older sister had us all in slingback shoes learning to do The Twist while the song blared from her little record player.

The 1960s were the years of youth for us Boomers. All around the globe young people danced to the same music translated in their own languages. Maybe you recall classic dances such as The Watusi, The Mashed Potato, The Frug and The Hucklebuck. These dances were revolutionary in a way as they didn’t really require a partner, unlike the older, once popular, ballroom dancing.

In our younger days town halls were common among the suburbs and they were packed full of teens dancing and singing most Saturday nights. Most of these town halls have been demolished now, but we remember them as the epicentre of all that was fun, exciting and liberating.

While we then-teens embraced the new sound sweeping the airwaves and scrambled to learn the latest dance moves, not everyone was pleased. In fact, some dances, most notably The Stomp, were banned from some town halls in Sydney over fears it would damage the floors.

My late husband was a teenager at that time in an inner-city suburb in Australia. He and his mates were part of a gang called The Sharps. Saturday nights at the town hall were an excuse for a rumble with rival gangs. It was the time of The Sharps, versus The Mods, versus The Rockers. Wild brawls often took place next to the town hall or on the train system. Juvenile offenders were frequently brought home to their parents in police cars. The lads were the disgrace of the neighbourhood, but admired by younger kids.

Those teenagers are old Baby Boomers now, vanished to nostalgic memories. Here in the 21st Century, teenagers are still dancing to their own music only now it’s us oldies who shake our heads at their lyrics and ear-grating tunes.

Music can still unite each generation. For old time’s sake, let’s twist again or do The Hucklebuck. Ouch, there goes my lumbago! Ah, they don’t write songs like they used to.