Book Review: Ballroom: A People's History of Dancing by Hilary French

Ballroom: A People's History of Dancing by Hilary French

Starting from the early 1900s, this book chronicles the various rises and falls of ballroom dancing in Britain. At the dawn of the twentieth century, English culture shifted with the beginning of working-class holidays, partly spurred by new laws that guaranteed paid time off. Since travel was very limited, seaside vacations became popular. With the unreliable English weather, ballrooms and other indoor entertainments sprang up, especially in Blackpool. The popularity caused entrepreneurs to build venues or start dance studios. Some people even started dance camps--a whole vacation centered around social dancing! Dances came in from Europe and America, fueling the early craze. Competitions were started; radio programs played ballroom music; when television came, some of the instructors and radio personalities made the transition. Once international travel became more feasible, fewer local vacations happened and the British public became more interested in sunny seaside resorts, like on the Mediterranean. Dancing went through a decline in the 1950s and 1960s. Movies like Saturday Night Fever or Strictly Ballroom would fuel new crazes. The book covers all the way to the late 2010s.

The narrative covers a wide swath of British culture, following the various trends and social expectations around partner dancing. It gives a lot of good detail though sometimes the writing is a little dry. It's more about the things and places than the people, making it less compelling reading than it could be. I learned a lot but was not wowed.

Mildly recommended--you need to be into the topic to enjoy the book.