Walk Around The Clock Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ballet

Ballet sprang to life in Italy during the Renaissance. From there it spread to the rest of the world. The form as we recognise it today developed during the reign of the French king, Louis IV. He loved to dance and had even taken part in a few ballets himself during his younger days. Such was his love of the art that he formed the very prestigious Royal Dance Academy which established rigid forms of the dance and qualifications needed for people to instruct in same.

After ballet went into somewhat of a decline during the 1800s, it would be the highly skilled Russian ballet company, "Ballets Russes", who reintroduced it to the world just before the First World War.

It hasn't done "un tour inverse" since then.

Answer: Belly Dance

Belly dancing has been around for so long in the Middle East that its origins are somewhat shrouded in mystery. In more recent years, it has also become rather popular in Western societies as well, with variations introduced in different countries regarding steps and costumes, according to what or what is not acceptable. Every part of the body is involved in the performance of this dance, particularly the hips, so why it has become known as a belly dance is rather peculiar. One imagines it is because that is the part of the body prominently on show in most countries during the dance. Whatever the reason, this exotic form of dance is highly skilled, graceful, beautifully costumed and delightful to watch.

Answer: Jitterbug

The jitterbug sprang to life early in the twentieth century in the United States. It was a joyous, very energetic form of body movement associated with other lively dances of the time, such as the Lindy Hop and so forth. A description of it in the Los Angeles Times in 2005 stated that "People were top-notch jitterbugging, jumping around, cutting loose and going crazy" and that about sums it up.

It was most definitely frowned upon by those of a more conservative frame of mind, and even as late as 1968 (the swinging sixties if you please), it was described by Stearns, Marshall and Jean in their book "Jazz Dance: The Story of American Vernacular Dance" as a dance whose motions were "...somehow obscene. You have to sway, forwards and backwards, with a controlled hip movement, while your shoulders stay level and your feet glide along the floor. Your right hand is held low on the girl's back, and your left hand down at your side, enclosing her hand". What's obscene about it? That's how I vacuum the floor.

Answer: Calypso

Calypso originated in the Caribbean early in the twentieth century. It was a form of dance that was accompanied by beautiful vocal harmonics as well as heavily accented rhythms. Its roots can be traced back to the harsh days of slavery in the sugar fields of Trinidad, where the slaves were forbidden to not only talk to each other, but to even mention their longed for homeland and families.

They overcame this harsh ruling by developing a form of dance which not only made fun of their cruel overseers, but also allowed them to communicate with each other by their body movements. How sad that such a joyous form of dance and music as we know it today had such a dark beginning.

Answer: Flamenco

The flamenco is a Spanish dance that also incorporates singing and hand clapping to boot. This energetic and very skilled, controlled dance is immensely entertaining to watch, and, if the clapping and foot stamping and clicking keeps pace with the music, a feast of rhythmic delight.

This is a dance whose technicality is so hard to perfect that it takes years for a good dancer to achieve this end. I now have an irrepressible urge to shout "Ole!"

Answer: Charleston

The Charleston evolved from an African-American dance known as the Juba, and, together with music composed by one James P. Johnson, the updated version of the dance first appeared in a Broadway musical called "Runnin' Wild". That ran from 1923 until 1924 and proved to be outrageously popular with a public still recovering from the effects of the war and the long economic struggle that followed.

The dance is joyous, unrestrained and happy, just what everyone needed. My grandmother, the most sedate of women normally, could demonstrate it perfectly, somewhat to our astonishment.

Answer: Hula

The graceful and rhythmic hula is a song and dance form that springs from Hawaii. It has been part of that lovely land's culture for centuries. It was passed passed down through the generations even before written language was introduced to the islands. A skilled hula dancer's movement can relate much of the history of that land, as well as depicting many other stories or emotions.

One particular part of the dance relates back to the days when the high chiefs of the country were treated with great awe and respect. As the chiefs travelled throughout their kingdoms, they and their following were housed, fed and entertained wherever they chose to stay. The hula dances designed to entertain these chiefs created great anxiety among the performers as they had to flatter and praise a chief's different achievements and physical properties. A dance of this nature had to be completed without any mistake, otherwise it was rather unlucky for the dancers and less than flattering for the chief. "Oh, I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts".

Answer: Krumping

Krumping originated in the United States. This very energetic street dance form is filled with exaggerated movements and gestures. It was designed by the youths of the streets in the 1990s as a means of releasing "anger, aggression and frustration positively, in a non-violent way". If it does that job, then it has indeed achieved its purpose. Personally I think its rather ugly and find it unpleasant and alien to watch, but that's the beauty of any dance form.

Some appeal, some do not. They're all very individualistic.

Answer: Polonaise

The Polish based Polonaise dance began its life several centuries ago with the peasant carnival parties associated with that country, and from there, gradually became more of a performance aligned with regal ceremonies, balls and state processions. Though others of the great composers composed Polonaise music over time, this lovely dance is most often associated with the exquisite music of the great Polish composer, Frederic Chopin (1810-1849).

It is, along with four other dances, looked upon as one of the national dances of Poland.

Answer: Rumba

The roots of the entertaining rumba dance are Afro-Cuban based, but as we understand it today it is considered more of a ballroom dance number, intricate in movement, enlivening in its rhythms and beautiful to watch. It reached the height of its early days during the 1930s. Even just watching a performance of this extremely energetic dance can make a person alternate between perspiring with exhaustion, or repressing a wild desire to jump up and dance along with the performers.

This dance makes you feel alive.