The Charleston first appeared in a 1923 Broadway musical titled "Running Wild." The dance craze quickly swept the nation and went on to become synonymous with Ragtime music of the 1920s.The basic step consisted of the dancer placing her weight on one foot and kicking to the front and then the back with the other foot. Arm gestures varied, but included the dancer making circles with her hands held in front of her and crossing one hand over the other as she bent over her knees. Couples did the Charleston together by holding one hand and facing in the same direction.
Other fast dances of the Jazz Age included the foxtrot and the Lindy Hop. Couples did these quick-step dances in each other's arms. Such close dancing was rarely done with fast dances prior to the '20s, and was even rare with slow dances in the early years of the 20th century. The foxtrot consisted of slow steps to the front and back, followed by quick steps to the side. The Lindy Hop was named for pilot Charles Lindbergh. His first solo flight or "hop" across the Atlantic Ocean inspired the dance that had couples hopping in rhythmic sequences. As part of the Lindy, the male partner swung his female partner in the air.
Slow dances like the waltz and the tango became popular in Europe in the 1910s, with fashionable Paris leading the way. Many Americans, especially older citizens, found the dances to be scandalous due to how closely the couples held each other. By the 1920s, those conservative attitudes gave way, and couples began filling the dance floor to take part in flowing Viennese waltzes and smoldering Latin tangos. Before long, even polite society considered these dances the norm.
Dancing was such a beloved activity in the 1920s that high schools regularly held dances, and dance halls opened throughout the nation. With prohibition underway, many nightclubs pushed music and dance as their main attractions. Dance marathons became trendy, as couples competed and danced for hours, even days, with little rest. The longest recorded marathon went on for three weeks. In the midst of the Jazz Age, the unlikely trend of square dancing caught on. Churches and schools hosted these events where a caller led a group of people through a square dance done to folk and Western music.