Dances From The 60s

The Freddie

Lift your right arm and leg Lift your left arm and leg. It sounds simple, but at high speeds, it can result in a crazy dance.

The Frug

Stand with your feet together and bend your knees slightly. Move your hips to the right, and then move them to the left. The movement should come from the hips rather than your knees. The frug is danced at a fast pace, and a right-left pair of hip movements should take a single count.

The Hitch-Hike While doing the hip motions of the frug, hold you right hand in a fist with thumb extended, as if you are hitch-hiking. Move your thumb to the right for three counts. Clap your hands to the right on the fourth count. Switch hands and move your thumb to the left for three counts. Clap your hands, this time to the left, on the fourth count.

The Loco-motion

This dance is unique among famous dances in the sixties in being a line dance. Dancers take instruction from the song, performing hip swings and jumps, among other steps.

The Mashed Potato

Stand with your heels together and your toes turned out, much like in ballet first position. Shift your weight to your toes and swing your heels out and back in. From there, you can start lifting your feet with the outward swings.

The Shimmy

Shake your shoulders back and forth while holding the rest of your body still. Your arms should be held to the side with elbows slightly bent.

The Swim

The key to this dance is in the arm movements. While your lower body is doing the frug or the twist, your arms are swimming and diving. For the grand finale, hold your nose and pretend to be sinking under water.

The Twist

When listening to Chubby Checker's popular song, the only way to move is to twist your body back and forth to the beat. The key to performing the Twist properly is that you must use both your legs and your torso, often in opposite directions.

The Watusi

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent. Raise one arm up in front of you, then raise the other arm as the first arm drops down, and repeat. The feet generally stay in place, although you may also take small steps throughout your dancing. Some dancers choose to bob their heads or bend their knees to accompany the arm movements. This dance was popular in surfer culture, so it was prominently featured in beach-themed movies.