Dancing apart, together: fifty years of dance revolution

Dancing apart, together: fifty years of dance revolution
By Kevin Bratcher
(NEW YORK) Say the name Chubby Checker- what comes to mind?
The Twist.
It’s the hit dance style made famous by Chubby Checker in 1960 that has left the dance world forever changed.
On Friday Chubby Checker will be back in his hometown of Philadelphia for a free concert to celebrate 50 years of the Twist and to remind everybody who the father of modern dance is.
Chubby, born Ernest Evans, was born October 3, 1941 and was raised in Philadelphia with his parents and two brothers. He would introduce his version of “The Twist” in July of 1960 on The Clay Cole Show, launching a hit that is the only single to top the Billboard Hot 100 twice.
The advent of the Twist, along with a number of other original styles (“The Fly,” “The Pony,” and “The Hucklebuck” to name a few), made popular what Chubby refers to as “Dancing apart…together.”
“People have been dancing by themselves with somebody else for centuries,” Chubby said. “It came along in the 20th century and The Twist happened to have the name on it, and it became a successful thing for the music that young people enjoy…and I just happen to be blessed to be the person that’s doing this.”
Chubby drew a comparison between what he did with dance and what inventors such as Alexander Graham Bell did with their inventions:
“Is Alexander Graham Bell not here when I’m talking on a cell phone to you? The man who made the typewriter, when you’re on the computer, is he not there? When you’re on the floor dancing and enjoying yourself to Lady Gaga or any of those people like that, is Chubby Checker not there?”
Chubby noted that the free concert isn’t targeted just towards the generation alive when the Twist first made its debut:
“It is not limited to your mother and your dad and ‘I remember the Twist,’ Chubby said, “You’re caught up in it. If you’re ten years old, you’re caught up in it. You’re caught up in dancing apart to the beat. Before Chubby Checker brought that, it wasn’t here.”
Asked if he had a message for the new generation, Chubby said, “For the kids that were born in 1989, they’re living in the best time of humanity. They have everything available to them: more information, more technology, and they need to take advantage of it… And one more thing: Behave!”
Chubby Checker’s concert will be at noon in Dilworth Plaza at City Hall in Philadelphia. Additional information may be found at Chubby Checker’s official site at www.ChubbyChecker.com