The Madison is a

novelty dance Novelty and fad dances are dances which are typically characterized by a short burst of popularity. Some of them, like the Twist, Y.M.C.A. and the Hokey Pokey, have shown much longer-lasting lives. They are also called dance fads or dance craze ...

that was popular in the late 1950s to mid-1960s.

Description and history

It was created and first danced in Columbus, Ohio, in 1957. The local popularity of the dance and record in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, came to the attention of the producers of ''

The Buddy Deane Show ''The Buddy Deane Show'' was a teen dance television show, created by Zvi Shoubin, hosted by Winston "Buddy" Deane (1924–2003), and aired on WJZ-TV (Channel 13), the ABC affiliate station in Baltimore from 1957 until 1964. It was similar to Phi ...

'' in 1960, which led to other dance shows picking it up. The Madison is a

line dance A line dance is a choreographed dance in which a group of people dance along to a repeating sequence of steps while arranged in one or more lines or rows. These lines usually face all in the same direction, or less commonly face each other.Knight, ...

that features a regular back-and-forth pattern interspersed with called steps. Its popularity inspired dance teams and competitions, as well as various recordings, and today it is still sometimes performed as a nostalgic dance. The Madison is featured in the

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...

movie ''

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundtrack), the film's soundtrack album ** ''Hairspray ...

'' (1988), and it continues to be performed in the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical ''

''. Both the film and the musical feature one of many songs released during the Madison "craze" in the US. The jazz pianist

Ray Bryant Raphael Homer "Ray" Bryant (December 24, 1931 – June 2, 2011) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Early life Bryant was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 24, 1931. His mother was an ordained minister who had tau ...

recorded "Madison Time" for Columbia Records in 1959. '' Billboard'' stated that "The footwork for the Madison dance is carefully and clearly diagrammed for the terpers." The Ray Bryant version was the version featured in the film ''Hairspray''. The other popular version was by Al Brown & The Tunetoppers. Another version was recorded by radio presenter

Alan Freeman Alan Leslie Freeman, MBE (6 July 1927 – 27 November 2006), nicknamed "Fluff", was an Australian-born British disc jockey and radio personality in the United Kingdom for 40 years, best known for presenting '' Pick of the Pops'' from 1961 to ...

for Decca Records in 1962. An example of a 1960 song and album featuring music for the Madison is '' The Tunetoppers at The Madison Dance Party'', with calls by Al Brown. The Madison basic, danced in the film ''Hairspray'', is as follows: #Step left forward #Place right beside left (no weight) and clap #Step back on right #Move left foot back and across the right #Move left foot to the left #Move left foot back and across the right Called steps included the Double Cross, the Cleveland Box, The Basketball (with

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain (; August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center. Standing at tall, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 years and is widely reg ...

), the Big "M", the "T" Time, the

Jackie Gleason John Herbert Gleason (February 26, 1916June 24, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, writer, composer, and conductor known affectionately as "The Great One." Developing a style and characters from growing up in Brooklyn, New York, he was know ...

, the Birdland, and

The Rifleman ''The Rifleman'' is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show ...

. "The Jackie Gleason" is based on a tap dance movement known as "Shuffle Off to Buffalo". Additional called sequences are: Two Up and Two Back, Big Boss Cross in Front, Make a "T", the Box, Cuddle Me, and Flying High. "Away We Go" may be the same as "The Jackie Gleason". ''Time'' magazine noted the Madison in April 1960. The Madison dance has become very popular in the Kingdom of

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

and

Kampuchea Krom Kampouchea Krom ( km, កម្ពុជាក្រោម, ; "Lower Cambodia") is the region variously known as Southern Vietnam, Nam Bo, and the former French Cochinchina. Bordering present-day Cambodia, the region is positioned in Cambodian ...

(Mekong delta). It was introduced to Cambodia in the 1960s and remains a very popular dance at wedding banquets and other parties. The largest Madison dance in the world took place in Siem Reap, Cambodia on 15 April 2015 in celebration of the

Cambodian New Year Cambodian New Year (or Khmer New Year; km, បុណ្យចូលឆ្នាំខ្មែរ ), also known as Choul Chnam Thmey ( km, ចូលឆ្នាំថ្មី ; ) and Moha Sangkranta ( km, មហាសង្ក្រាន្� ...

, involving 2,015 participants.

Gallery

Image:Madison (dance) 1 of 4.jpg, 1 of 4 Image:Madison (dance) 2 of 4.jpg, 2 of 4 Image:Madison (dance) 3 of 4.jpg, 3 of 4 Image:Madison (dance) 4 of 4.jpg, 4 of 4

Examples in motion pictures

* In a famous sequence in Jean-Luc Godard's 1964 film '' Bande à part'' (''Band of Outsiders'', 1964), the main characters engage in a dance, which is not named in the film, but which the actors later referred to as the "Madison dance". The music and choreography are, however, unrelated to the Madison. * The dance is performed by a large group in the original (non-musical) version of John Waters' ''Hairspray'' * In ''

The Rocky Horror Picture Show ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 musical comedy horror film by 20th Century Fox, produced by Lou Adler and Michael White and directed by Jim Sharman. The screenplay was written by Sharman and actor Richard O'Brien, who is also ...

'' (1975), Brad (played by

Barry Bostwick Barry Knapp Bostwick (born February 24, 1945) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Brad Majors in the musical comedy horror film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975) and Mayor Randall Winston in the sitcom ''Spin City'' (199 ...

) calls out, "Say, do any of you guys know how to Madison?" after the Time Warp dance. The Rocky Horror Picture Show at en.wikiquote.org However, the dance is not performed in the film. * In ''

Monsieur Ibrahim ''Monsieur Ibrahim'' (original title: ''Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran''; (, ''Mister Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Qur'an'') is a 2003 French drama film starring Omar Sharif, and directed by François Dupeyron. The film is based on a b ...

'' (2003),

Lola Naymark Lola Naymark (born 5 April 1987) is a French film and television actress, writer and director.Pallister & Hottell p.45 In 2005 she was nominated for the César Award for Most Promising Actress for her role in ''A Common Thread'' but lost to Sa ...

does a Madison-like dance at 42 minutes and at 1 hour 18 minutes a group of Turkish youth appears to be doing a facsimile of the dance as well. The song by Olivier Despax and the Gamblers is featured. * In ''

The Go-Getter "The Go-Getter" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, which first appeared in the United States in the March 1931 issue of ''Cosmopolitan'' (as "Sales Resistance"), and in the United Kingdom in the August 1931 ''Strand''. Part of the Blandings ...

'' (2007), Lou Taylor Pucci, Zooey Deschanel and Jena Malone all dance the "Madison" as an homage to Godard's ''Bande à part''. *In the Netflix series ''

Maniac Maniac (from Greek μανιακός, ''maniakos'') is a pejorative for an individual who experiences the mood known as mania. In common usage, it is also an insult for someone involved in reckless behavior. Maniac may also refer to: Film * ' ...

'' (2018) episode 5, the characters played by Rome Kanda, Emma Stone, and Jonah Hill dance the Madison. *In the Hulu miniseries

11.22.63 ''11.22.63'' is an American science fiction thriller miniseries based on the 2011 novel '' 11/22/63'' by Stephen King, and consisting of eight episodes, in which a time traveler attempts to stop the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The series i ...

(2016) ased_on_the_2011_titular_Stephen_King_novel_11/22/63.html" ;"title="11/22/63.html" ;"title="ased on the 2011 titular Stephen King novel 11/22/63">ased on the 2011 titular Stephen King novel 11/22/63">11/22/63.html" ;"title="ased on the 2011 titular Stephen King novel 11/22/63">ased on the 2011 titular Stephen King novel 11/22/63Episode 3 "Other People, Other Rooms" features students and Sadie Dunhill doing The Madison. *The movie Le Week-End (2013) ends with the main characters Nick and Morgan dancing in the midst of the café recreating the scene from Bande à part.

Notes

External links

{{commons category, Madison (dance)
Columbus Music History
with definitive origin article
Article on originsThe Madison dance scene
from Godard's ''Bande à part''

including description of the Madison

Line dances Novelty and fad dances