When 1924 arrived the Charleston and Black Bottom dances were big. Sears Roebuck was celebrating the opening of a new store at Vermont and slauson.They held a Charleston. I had to enter. I was about 3 or 4 years old. I was told I won but i really doubt it. When i was about 7,in the summer our family would go to Venice and Ocean park beaches. I remember seeing several ballrooms, one was on the corner of Navy street and Ocean front, it was called the Crystal palace, over the dance floor was a large mirrored ball, on Lick pier was the Bon Ton, on Ocean park pier was another one, can't remember what it was called, but i remember they held a dance marathon there. Marathon's were big at that time. and there was the Casino Garden's and the Venice Ballroom on the Venice pier.

The style of dancing i remember seeing at these ballrooms was a cross between the Fox Trot and the Charleston. They were doing steps that are still being done today, just watch old movies or news reels. Its possible that the dance styles were influenced by the east coast and other parts of the country, because i saw allot of men in Navy uniforms dancing at these ballrooms. if this was the case in these beach cities,it very well may be that it was happening up and down the west coast.

In 1934 i was in junior high school at Venice High. one time after school my girlfriend and I walk over to the gym to watch the dance they were having. From then on i was stuck. We learned there were dances at nearby parks, and also on tuesday evenings from 7 to 9 high school students could go dance at Casino Gardens, and friday nights they had high school night. Students came from all over Los Angeles.

Later on the Venice Ballroom started to have dances on sunday afternoons. That's when i first went in a contest. My partner was Hal Takier. After the sunday afternoon dance we go down south to Redondo to the Mandarin, anyway's we could get there. that was about as far south as we were able to get.

The Mandarin was were i first saw the best dancers i had ever scene. Gel Fernandez, Lolly Wise,Lil Arnold,Betty Stoy,Billie Smith,Eddy Cummings,Jack Frazer and Bobby Small. It was the Night that Benny Goodman's band played at the Mandarin that i first saw Bobby and I was 15 years old.

The dance styles in Southern California from 1934 to 1938 were swing (i don't mean Lindy) Jig Trot, The Balboa Shuffle, not to forget the basic waltz and Fox trot.

The swing was a easy style consisting of various steps,breaks,slides and simple spins. Jig Trot was danced very upbeat tempo. Balboa dancers didn't do spins or breaks. When you watch the jams of today you will see all the different styles. Hal Takier does Jig Trot, Max Dorf and Willie Desatoff do swing and Ed and Inez Thompson, Dean and Nancy Raftery do the Balboa shuffle. Jack and Norma do the double shuffle. Dean Collins tried to master these styles, but he looked more like he was closer to shag. Now as far the Lindy hop style of dancing it was about 1937 that some dancers started to copy this style, but there was not set pattern until Dean Collins came to Los Angeles in 1937, but it wasn't until around 1938 that we saw him at the local dances.

Back to the different dance styles of dances in the swing area most of the dancers that weren't Balboa dancers were young people some still in school but the Balboa dancers were a little older and more mature. At the dances they would dance on one side of the band stand and the other dancers took the other side. I don't know about the Rendezvous in balboa. I've never had the opportunity to go there.

In the years 1937,37,3839 some of the most popular places to dance were the Deana,Montebello,Huntington Park,Mesa,Zenda,Shatto,The Hut,Mandarin and Sunday afternoons at Venice Ballroom and Casino Gardens. All these dancers had live bands. We thought they were good. Then there was the Palomar on Vermont and 3rd in Los Angeles if they had a big swing band. the Palomar burnt down in 1939 and then the Paladium opened with big bands and later on sunday afternoons, which became very popular with the dancers.

The original Lindy Hop which has been credited to Frankie Manning and Whitey's Lindy Hoppers was very flashy, which some now call the Flying Lindy with lifts and aerials and danced to a more upbeat tempo, but the Lindy pattern could also be danced to slower tempo without all the flash.

Lindy also changed the type of shoes the girl dancers started to wear, some wore saddle shoes,flats or wedges,some even went so far as to glue rubber half soles on their regular shoes. All the other female dancers wore regular high heel shoes.

As the larger ballrooms started to disappear dancers started to go to small clubs with small floors and small bands. You might say this is why the slot was invented. The dancers now call it west coast swing, but its the same pattern the late Dean Collins brought from the East Coast. East meets West. I guess the Twain did meet.

Venna Archer,1997