Richard Durlach and Breedlove

Dance was the subject of a recent meeting of the University Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).

Chapter meetings usually include programs focusing on history or current events, and the recent swing dancing demonstration achieved both. The early 20th century dance style is back on dance floors around the country.

With Richard Durlach and his dance partner Breedlove as performers and teachers, DAR members got footwork demonstrations to go with the footnotes from history. Little known facts about the dances that comprise swing dancing were included in the afternoon presentation.

SC has been the home of three out of four most popular dance crazes of the last century and a half. The Big Apple, devised in 1936 in Columbia, is the third largest dance craze, ranked alongside the Charleston and the Shag, SC’s state dance. The most popular dance craze is the Twist.

According to Caldwell, “Everybody remembers the Arthur Murray Dance Studios. They gained national attention by teaching the Big Apple. The Rock the Baby, Spank the Baby, Pickin’ Cherries were all moves or dance steps that were part of the Big Apple,” said the chapter member.

“Years ago 16 high school students from Columbia went to the Roxie Club in New York to introduce the Big Apple,” related Caldwell.

Durlach, an engineer, and Breedlove, a USC education professor emeritus, have garnered a regional following for their speciality, swing dancing. Earlier this year the couple danced in historic Newport, RI mansions during Vintage Dance Week, and they appear regularly at the State Museum’s Blues Festival and other area venues.

The next University Chapter, DAR, will meet January 12 at the SC Archives and History Center on Parklane Road. Dr. Charles Lesser will launch the department’s centennial year of celebration with a program on the state’s first archivist, A.S. Salley.