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The Madison is a novelty dance that was popular in the late 1950s to mid-1960s.
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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, came to the attention of the producers of The Buddy Deane Show in 1960. Picked up by dance shows across the country, it became widely popular.
The Madison is a line dance 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 movie Hairspray, and it continues to be performed in the Broadway musical Hairspray. Both the film and the musical feature one of many songs released during the Madison "craze" in the US.
Ray Bryant 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 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 took on international flavor when Count Basie visited Columbus in 1959 and adopted the dance as a feature of his entertainment when he played London and the Continent, creating press notices in London.
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), the Big "M", the "T" Time, the Jackie Gleason, the Birdland, and The Rifleman. "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 and Kampuchea Krom (Mekong delta). It is a very popular dance at wedding banquets and other parties.