ABSTRACT

The dance marathon was not so much a dance event as a social phenomenon. It required minimal talent or technique; rather, it placed a premium upon stamina and determination. Although bereft of aesthetic considerations, the typical marathon did incorporate snatches of the tango, fox trot, trucking, Charleston, waltz, and other dances of the depression. Above all, however, it tended to be simply movement, milked by the enterprising promoter to last as long as 100 or more days.