Dance Floor Time Machine
Despite becoming the ultimate symbol of 1970s disco, this shiny dance-floor decoration was actually being used decades earlier, as far back as the early 1900s.
What is a disco ball / mirror ball?
DJ Casper created this school-dance favorite not for a party, but originally as a step-aerobics routine for his fitness-trainer nephew.
What is the “Cha Cha Slide”?
This 1981 song by Journey has become a huge sing-along at dances and sporting events, even though the phrase in its title is not actually sung until the very end of the song.
What is “Don’t Stop Believin’”?
These shoes, often with a dark-colored section across the middle, are strongly associated with the 1950s sock-hop look.
What are saddle shoes?
The name “Homecoming” originally referred to inviting this group of people to return to their former school, not to students going to a dance.
Who are alumni?
In the 1950s, some school dances got this name because students were sometimes asked to remove their shoes to protect gym floors while dancing.
What is a sock hop?
The famous arm motions for this Village People song weren't originally planned by the band. An American Bandstand audience helped turn them into the dance everyone knows.
What is “Y.M.C.A.”?
This 2003 OutKast hit tells listeners to “shake it like a Polaroid picture," even though Polaroid itself later warned that shaking its photos isn’t actually a good idea.
What is “Hey Ya!”?
These famous 1950s skirts were usually made from felt and could feature many different designs, even though one particular dog became so famous that it gave the style its nickname.
What is a poodle skirt?
Early American homecomings were often built around this fall sport, which is why the game is still such a huge part of Homecoming Week today.
What is football?
The movie Grease features a very 1950s high-school dance, but the movie itself wasn't released until this decade.
What are the 1970s? (1978)
Although this move became permanently associated with Michael Jackson, dancers were performing similar backward-gliding moves before Jackson famously performed it on TV in 1983.
What is the Moonwalk?
This song became a dance-floor staple after appearing in the 2004 movie White Chicks, where Terry Crews famously sings along to it in the car.
What is “A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton?
John Travolta helped make this dramatic three-piece outfit an icon of disco fashion after wearing a white version in Saturday Night Fever.
What is a suit / three-piece suit?
Universities including Illinois, Missouri, Baylor, and Southwestern have all been connected to early Homecoming traditions, which means historians don't completely agree on which school can claim this title.
What is the first Homecoming?
In 2024, this dance style associated with hip-hop culture made its debut as an Olympic sport in Paris.
What is breakdancing?
This 1990s dance craze became an enormous American hit after a remix added English lyrics to a song that had originally been recorded by the Spanish duo Los del Río.
What is the Macarena?
This song sounds like a goofy 1990s dance song thanks to Rednex, but versions of the song existed in American folk music long before anyone had heard of a DJ.
What is “Cotton Eye Joe”?
If you showed up to a 1970s dance wearing pants that became dramatically wider below the knee, you'd be wearing these.
What are bell-bottoms / flared pants?
At Ohio State, Homecoming existed before the dance did. Its Homecoming Dance wasn't added until this decade: 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, or 1940s?
What are the 1920s?
Long before TikTok dance challenges, this TV show that debuted nationally in the 1970s became famous for having dancers form two lines while individuals danced down the middle.
What is Soul Train?
The dance called “Voguing” existed before Madonna's 1990 hit “Vogue.” It developed largely out of this New York City performance culture where competitors “walked” in different categories.
What is ballroom culture / the ballroom scene?
Before becoming the title of an enormous 2013 Internet dance meme, this name referred to an actual dance associated with a New York City neighborhood and the viral version looked very different.
What is the Harlem Shake?
In the 1980s, this aerobics-inspired accessory somehow escaped the gym and became a fashion item, often worn over leggings even when the wearer wasn't exercising.
What are leg warmers?
Homecoming and prom aren't synonyms. In fact, the word “prom” comes from this longer word that originally referred to walking around socially or for display.
What is “promenade”?