Novelty and fad dances

Fad dances are dances which are characterized by a short burst of popularity, while novelty dances typically have a longer-lasting popularity based on their being characteristically humorous or humor-invoking, as well as the sense of uniqueness which they have.

Fad dances

These are also called "dance crazes". Dancing style fads have for some centuries been a part of social dancing, sometimes gliding smoothly into tradition after their "newness" has faded, and sometimes simply fading away into oblivion.

Since the Renaissance, the courts of European monarchs and nobles played host to a long succession of dance fads, many of which became social 'crazes' that spread into general society. They include the minuet, the allemande, the schottische, the mazurka and the waltz. Many of these European Renaissance dance crazes—such as the allemande—have long since faded into obscurity, but their rhythms were preserved in European classical music. By the time of Bach, the tempi of these dances had evolved into standardized rhythmical frameworks that formed the basis for the various movements of Baroque and early Classical instrumental works.

Dance Craze

Dance Craze is a 1981 British documentary film about the English 2 Tone music genre.

The film was directed by Joe Massot, who originally wanted to do a film only about the band Madness, whom he met during their first US tour. Massot later changed his plans to include the whole 2 Tone movement. The film, shot in 1980, comprised performance footage of Madness, The Specials, The Selecter, The Bodysnatchers, the Beat and Bad Manners on tour throughout the United Kingdom. A soundtrack album of the same name was released the same year, featuring fifteen of the songs that were featured in the film. Later versions of the soundtrack album do not contain the Madness tracks, adding tracks credited to the Special AKA, a name under which the Specials were known.

Songs