Princeton Hoofers: LIFE Goes to a Charleston Dance Contest, 1949
Princeton Hoofers: LIFE Goes to a Charleston Dance Contest, 1949
1 minute read
Caption from LIFE. "The tiger and the lady finally hit it right. Bent at the waist and knees, they Charleston in graceless perfection. Barbara borrowed authentic dress from sister-in-law's mother. Ed rented phony tiger hide from New York Costume Company. He performs in it during halves at Princeton football games, Charlestoned at game the next day."Martha Holmes—Time & LIfe Pictures/Getty Images
A November 1949 issue of LIFE featured a wonderfully animated addition to the magazine’s long-running “LIFE Goes to a [fill in the blank here]” franchise, in which the magazine’s photographers chronicled everything from a black magic “hex party” — convened in order to cast spells on Adolf Hitler — to a snail-watching society in England.
The 1949 article in question, meanwhile, featured . . . well, let’s let LIFE set the scene:
The Charleston craze that splintered dance floors in the ’20s is staging a stubborn comeback, so much so that this year the usual elegance of Princeton’s annual Prince-Tiger dance was abandoned for a furious foot-shaking, hair-mussing Charleston contest. In spirt with the Charleston theme, enthusiastic revivalists came in ankle-length raccoon coats, their dates in waistless, sacklike flapper dresses. The enthusiasm even spread to the Princeton tiger in the person of a freshman cheerleader named Ed Craig, who took a few Charleston lessons from somebody else’s date, a girl named Barbara Pettit.
Pettit, it turns out, went on to win the contest (with another partner, not with Tiger Ed). Ivy Leaguers, it seems, weren’t like other collegians back in the day. The more things change . . .
Caption from LIFE. "Easy step is tried first. Barbara twists one foot and steps back on other in a basic step. Tiger shags and trucks in step more reminiscent of jitterbugging than Charleston."Martha Holmes—Time & LIfe Pictures/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. "Gallant tiger, Freshman Ed Craig, bows to kiss hand and stare at feet of Flapper Barbara Pettit preliminary to practicing Charleston steps. They had never met before."Martha Holmes—Time & LIfe Pictures/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. "The tiger and the lady finally hit it right. Bent at the waist and knees, they Charleston in graceless perfection. Barbara borrowed authentic dress from sister-in-law's mother. Ed rented phony tiger hide from New York Costume Company. He performs in it during halves at Princeton football games, Charlestoned at game the next day."Martha Holmes—Time & LIfe Pictures/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. "Tiger falls down, out of breath and steaming inside his 30-lb. costume. He is unable to master the rubber-legged technique of the fundamental Charleston steps."Martha Holmes—Time & LIfe Pictures/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. "During contest judged by Irene Castle (center background), Mike Mooney dances with partner to tune he wrote, 'The Charleston Rag.'"Martha Holmes—Time & LIfe Pictures/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. "Winners of competition were Barbara Pettit and partner Dick Warren, a Princeton junior. Both have mastered the Charleston within the last year."Martha Holmes—Time & LIfe Pictures/Getty ImagesNot published in LIFE. Princeton Charleston dance contest, 1949Martha Holmes—Time & LIfe Pictures/Getty ImagesNot published in LIFE. Princeton Charleston dance contest, 1949Martha Holmes—Time & LIfe Pictures/Getty ImagesNot published in LIFE. Princeton Charleston dance contest, 1949Martha Holmes—Time & LIfe Pictures/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. "Expert instruction is given by Barbara and dancing partner Dick Warren, who teach the tiger how to place and cross his hands on knees. He is beginning to learn."Martha Holmes—Time & LIfe Pictures/Getty Images
