Tea dance
Encyclopedia
A tea dance, or thé dansant is a summer or autumn afternoon or early-evening dance from four to seven, sometimes preceded in the English countryside by a garden party
Garden party
A garden party is a social gathering with food provided, in the open in a park or a garden. An event described as a garden party is usually more formal than other similar gatherings, which may be called just parties, picnics, barbecues, etc,...

. The function evolved from the concept of the afternoon tea, and J. Pettigrew traces its origin to the French colonization
French colonial empires
The French colonial empire was the set of territories outside Europe that were under French rule primarily from the 17th century to the late 1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the colonial empire of France was the second-largest in the world behind the British Empire. The French colonial empire...

 of Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

. Books on Victorian Era etiquette such as Party-giving on Every Scale, (London, n.d. [1880]) included detailed instructions for hosting such gatherings. By 1880 it was noted "Afternoon dances are seldom given in London, but are a popular form of entertainment in the suburbs, in garrison-towns, watering-places, etc." Tea dances were given by Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 officers aboard ships at various naval stations, the expenses shared by the captain and officers, as they were shared by colonels and officers at barrack dances in mess rooms ashore.

The usual refreshments in 1880 were tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...

 and coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...

, ices, champagne-cup and claret-cup, fruit, sandwiches, cake and biscuits.

Even after the introduction of the phonograph
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...

 the expected feature was a live orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

 – often referred to as a palm court
Palm court
A large atrium with palm trees, usually in a prestigious hotel, where functions are staged, notably tea dances. Examples include the Langham Hotel , Alexandra Palace , the Carlton Hotel , and the Ritz Hotel , all in London, and the Alexandria Hotel in Los Angeles, California.The concept of the...

 orchestra – or a small band playing light classical music. The types of dances performed during tea dances included Waltzes, Tangos
Tangos
Tangos is a flamenco palo closely related in form and feeling to the Rumba. It is often performed as a finale to a Tientos. Its compas and llamada are the same as that of the Farruca and share the Farruca's lively nature. However, Tangos is normally performed in the A Phrygian mode.Tangos is...

 and, by the late 1920s, The Charleston
Charleston (dance)
The Charleston is a dance named for the harbor city of Charleston, South Carolina. The rhythm was popularized in mainstream dance music in the United States by a 1923 tune called "The Charleston" by composer/pianist James P. Johnson which originated in the Broadway show Runnin' Wild and became one...

.

The expenses of a seated supper, wine and candles associated with a ball
Ball (dance)
A ball is a formal dance. The word 'ball' is derived from the Latin word "ballare", meaning 'to dance'; the term also derived into "bailar", which is the Spanish and Portuguese word for dance . In Catalan it is the same word, 'ball', for the dance event.Attendees wear evening attire, which is...

 were obviated by the tea dance, when a stiff waxed canvas dancing cloth strained over the drawing-room carpet was considered sufficient, rather than taking up the carpet and waxing the floor in preparation for dancing. The dining-room served as the tea-room, with the dining-tables arranged at one end as a buffet
Buffet
A buffet is a system of serving meals in which food is placed in a public area where the diners generally serve themselves. Buffets are offered at various places including hotels and many social events...

. For the older generation a tea dance was a reception akin to an "at home". Floral decorations were modest.

In popular culture

Tea dances are a common cultural reference in early 20th century fiction as a staple of genteel society, where people normally attend these receptions while visiting resort towns (like Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

, the Hamptons, Provincetown, or Ogunquit). One example can be seen in the 1925 hit Broadway musical No, No, Nanette
No, No, Nanette
No, No, Nanette is a musical comedy with lyrics by Irving Caesar and Otto Harbach, music by Vincent Youmans, and a book by Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel, based on Mandel's 1919 Broadway play My Lady Friends...

. A tea dance provides the setting for the plot's climax when the main characters travel to Atlantic City
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...

 (the same musical also features the famous song "Tea for Two
Tea for Two (song)
"Tea for Two" is a song from the 1925 musical No, No, Nanette with music by Vincent Youmans and lyrics by Irving Caesar. It is a duet sung by Nanette and Tom in Act II as they imagine their future.-Analysis:...

" which is sung prior to this scene).

In the United States, the term has been broadened to refer to any casual afternoon dance event. An infamous example was the 1981 Hyatt Regency walkway collapse
Hyatt Regency walkway collapse
The Hyatt Regency hotel walkway collapse was a collapse of an interior suspended skywalk system that occurred on July 17, 1981, in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, killing 114 people and injuring 216 others during a tea dance. At the time, it was the deadliest structural collapse in U.S...

 in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...

, that occurred during an afternoon dance which killed 114 people and injured 200. The incident inspired the song "Rockin' at the T-Dance" by The Rainmakers.

In the 1998 film "Meet Joe Black" the character Allison describes her wishes for her father's birthday party to be "Tea Dance 20's".

Gay tea dances

The term, sometimes spelled T-dance or T dance, is also used within gay culture to designate similar dances: particularly those held on weekends (especially Sunday evenings) in night clubs, or at the end of the day at gay resorts.

World records

The Guinness Book of Records cites the biggest ever open air tea dance as one held in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

 on 30 December 2008 when 418 dancers in George Square during the city's Winterfest celebrations. The programme of music for the event was provided by the Scottish swing dance band That Swing Sensation, with dance hosts the Fly Right Dance Company. The previous record was 195 couples, who danced in London's Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England, United Kingdom. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of...

 in 2005.

Subsequently, the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...

 in London held a World Record attempt on 8th July 2010 in Trafalgar Square, with the unofficial total being 507 dancers. This is yet to be verified by the Guinness Book of Records.

Hot on the heels of the London event, Glasgow's George Square
George Square
George Square is the principal civic square in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is named after King George III.-Historical development:George Square was laid out in 1781, part of the innovative Georgian central grid plan that initially spanned from Stockwell Street east to Buchanan Street—which...

  was the venue for the current official record on 12 September 2010. World Tea Dance record Announcement

See also

  • I-Beam
    I-Beam (nightclub)
    The I-Beam was a popular nightclub in San Francisco that was located in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood at 1748 Haight Street from October 1977 to July 1994.-Opening of the I-Beam:...

     Gay nightclub in San Francisco that had a popular tea dance on Sunday nights from 1978 to 1992.
  • Tea party (social gathering)
  • Tea (meal)
    Tea (meal)
    Tea can refer to any of several different meals or mealtimes, depending on a country's customs and its history of drinking tea. However, in those countries where the term's use is common, the influences are generally those of the former British Empire...

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