Going to the Palais: a social and cultural history of the dance hall in Britain, c.1918-60
This project is a social and cultural history of dance halls in Britain, c1918-60. From the mid 1920s, the dance hall occupied a pivotal place in the popular culture of Britain - a place rivalled only by the cinema. Despite its importance, the dance hall has attracted little academic attention. This project aims to reverse the dearth of historical scholarship on this subject.
The project has four main objectives:
- Firstly, to examine the expansion of the dance hall industry and the development of a ‘mass audience’ for dancing between 1918 and 1960.
- Secondly, the impact of these changes on individuals and communities will be examined. This research will attempt to recreate what ‘going to the palais’ involved by examining the style and design of the halls, as well as their facilities. It will also consider the behaviour of patrons and the conventions they observed. By using oral history/interviews and questionnaire replies I want to discover the impact of dancing and dance halls on individuals and communities, chiefly in the post 1945 period.
- Thirdly, the cultural impact of dancing and dance halls will be explored – to ask whether local musical/dancing traditions held up well against various standardising processes (commercialisation, Americanisation etc) over the period.
- Finally, an assessment of wider reactions to dance halls and dancing in the period will be examined.
The impact of these developments on individuals and society is perhaps the most important aspect of this study and the use of oral history interviews and questionnaires is vital to this.
Many thanks for agreeing to participate!
Complete the questionnaire online >
If you prefer to download the questionnaire click the link to download the document and return by email or post to the address below
Dr James Nott
School of History
University of St Andrews
St Katharine's Lodge
The Scores
St Andews, Fife
KY16 9AL
email:
jjn4@st-andrews.ac.uk