Written by Suzi Rose, Originally published in Bozeman Life and Style
Take yourself back to the middle of the 1800s. Now imagine that you and your family have decided to pack up your New England home and move to the Last Best Place: Montana.
Real Estate propaganda promised rich land for raising cattle and wheat and numerous opportunities in mining towns needing merchants. With the American Dream in mind thousands of settlers left comfortable, established cities in the East for the wilds of The West. As if the hardships of a wagon train were not enough, once arriving homesteaders faced a lack of comforts, heat, wind, drought, predators, huge drops in market prices and of course driving blizzards. These early settlers were charged with the task of carving “civilized” communities out of the harsh Montana landscape.
This meant establishing the elements of the high society of their native cultures, one very important one being dance! Representing many different nationalities, the homesteaders joined together in true American spirit and blended aspects of each nationality’s native dances to create hybrids dances now native only to the American West!
By the late 19th century, a dance was born that reflected the westerners who created it. Traditional dancers frowned at its speed, energy, and lack of attention to traditional rules and fundamentals. Swing dance was high-energy, paid little attention to formalities, quickly connected partners and was FUN!
Historically, dances were created by well-paid dance professionals, practiced, and coached in the homes of aristocrats; however, the creation of Montana’s western dances was much like a game of telephone. Annual events saw dancers gather then return to their respective corners of the state to practice what they remembered on their own.
Depending on the region one danced in the footwork and patterns would vary and the speed was fast! This new dance relied on adaptability as dancers spontaneously injected traditional moves from their homelands.
The one thing element that stayed the same was the lead and follow roles. Western swing dancing is lead directed, meaning that the lead choreographs the patterns, and it is the follows job to execute each command with grace regardless of complexity or speed. It is the leads job to utilize patterns and moves that make the follow appear graceful. Browned and calloused by the sun and hard work of the West, the dance floor was one of the few places western women were able to relax and feel like “ladies” again.
The young Montana lacked large community buildings in which to host social dances, so settlers made do with what they had: barns, schools and outdoors in the ranch yards, hence these dances were dubbed “country dances”. Regardless of how high society felt Montanans loved the new style and took to it with great enthusiasm, practicing as often as they could.
The drive to learn to dance was so great that even in women-deprived cow camps cowboys took to practicing with each other. Cowboys acting as a follow would tie a bandana around one arm to indicate that they were acting as a follow and then switch so that everyone got a chance to learn. Cowboys who often spent long hours in solidarity became the life of the party at dances across west. Witnessed by Cattle baron Joseph McCoy. McCoy wrote: “He usually enters the dance with a peculiar zest, his eyes lit up with excitement, liquor, and lust. He stomps in without stopping to divest himself of his sombrero, spurs or pistols."
In the high-societies of the East, dances were invitation-only, keeping dancing formal and reserved for the upper class. Montana’s dances started out then and still are inclusive; a method of connecting and supporting rural communities. Dances were held for minimal fees that merely helped cover the cost of keeping the dancehalls open and paying for the band.
Dancehalls often ended up shouldering the responsibility of holding a space for their neighbors to gather. They became a cornerstone to the community, hosting benefits and offering shelter in the event of disaster. A great example of Montana dancehalls supporting the community is the Shanty of Helena in 1935. The Shanty was a gathering place for the Helena area for decades. On October 18, 1935, a devastating earthquake hit Helena causing destruction and panic.
Dancers were in full swing at the Shanty but quickly jumped into action driving to the nearby Deaconess School where they found house mothers and the children in the yard singing “God Will Take Over You”. Within minutes brave dancers and neighbors had entered the destroyed five story building, thrown mattresses out the windows and loaded the children into farm trucks. The children were driven to the dancehall where they lived until suitable housing was found at the Salvail Mansion. This story is a beautiful depiction of what dancing and dancehalls mean to Montana communities.
Dancing is a means of coming together for people and a dancehall is a physical location for this connection to take place. The music is high tempo to help dancers remove themselves from the challenges of daily life, the dances are fast, and the faces are friendly. As a community space, dancehalls are a natural to host fundraisers and celebrations.
Montana is once more experiencing a large influx of new residents who are experiencing Montana culture for the first time. Western Swing Dancing in our honky-tonks and dancehalls is a great way for these new residents to learn and link into our culture.
The dances here mimic our Western culture. Our leaders are confident and competent, our follows are strong and graceful. We respect each other’s space, we work together to overcome challenges, we care for our neighbors, and we love to dance.
Welcome to Montana, come dance with us. Book your first lesson!
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