Desperation And Dollars: Washington’s Depression Dance Marathons
Degradation As Entertainment? Is This Today's MMA? No.
How About The Dance Craze Of The Great Depression -Dance Marathons
Let's Foxtrot Back In History 87 Years Ago When Washington's Governor Took Action
Millions of Americans grew up watching the spotlight dance on American Bandstand and the stroll down the Soul Train line. It was good fun just watching people dance. (kinda like Dancing With The Stars but with less cleavage and fewer sparkles)
Forty years earlier, watching people dance became a national craze and spectacle as couples danced almost non-stop for hundreds of hours for prize money. The events became as much a part of life during the Great Depression as high unemployment and low expectations. NOT a thing of beauty but of wretched endurance.
Dance Marathons Were Torturous Events In A Desperate Time In America
It was a time when people were willing to do almost anything to make a buck. Dance marathons became increasingly popular, both as entertainment and opportunity.
The events offered food and shelter to spectators and contestants, in addition to lucrative cash prizes equivalent to a year’s wages. After paying the relatively low admission fee, attendees were free to stay as long as they wanted
The Contests Would Go On For Days, Weeks, And Even Months
The contests were like musical chairs in reverse. When the music stopped you wanted to be the last couple standing. Endless shuffling with just 15 minutes an hour for rest or sleep.
Contestants were fed up to 12 times per day, which was a big incentive for people to participate. Of course, they had to keep dancing while eating. Contestants were also allowed to do things like washing, shaving, and reading, all while keeping their feet moving.
READ MORE: Where To Dance In Yakima
Plenty Of Pushback Triggered A Mercy Killing Of Marathons
Not everyone was a fan. Watch the 1969 hit movie "They Shoot Horses Don't They?" starring Jane Fonda and you'll know why! History Link spells it out:
Marathons provoked great protests ...Churches and women's groups objected on moral grounds to the contestants' full-body hugging/dragging ... of one another around the floor for hours ...and also for humanitarian reasons --the rigors of a dance endurance contest were felt to degrade the human spirit and morals of the contestants and by extension of the community
Spectators Found A Cruel Pleasure Watching The Physical Suffering Of The Dancers
In 1928, a woman from Seattle attempted suicide after competing in a dance marathon. During the contest, she was punched in the jaw by her partner, who seemed to be suffering from psychosis due to sleep deprivation. (Weird things like that happened frequently!) The woman and her partner finished fifth and won just $50. (worth $886 in today's money)
The physical and psychological toll of dance marathons was high, so, 87 years ago this week, Washington Governor Clarence D. Martin signed into law State Bill 189 outlawing the Depression-era human endurance contests on March 15, 1937. The law remained in effect until it was repealed in 1987.
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