Title

Contestants in a dance marathon, Chicago, Illinois, USA, 1930. Artist: Unknown

Caption

Contestants in a dance marathon, Chicago, Illinois, USA, 1930. The girl has fallen asleep. Dance marathons were popular competitions organised in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s. Contestants attempted to continue dancing for as long as posible in order to win prizes. A 1935 book about the contests, They Shoot Horses Don't They?, written by Horace McCoy, who worked as a bouncer at dance marathons, was made into a successful Academy Award-winning film in 1969.
Historica Graphica Collection

Date

1933

Credit line

Photo12/Heritage Images/Historica Graphica Collection

Reference

HRM19D79_214

Model release

No

License type

Rights managed

Available size

40,0Mb (2,3Mb) / 11,0in x 14,2in / 3288 x 4250 (300dpi)

Keywords

building buildings female women woman people male man men couple dance country audience guy sleep sleeping dancing watching dancer endurance competition tired Chicago Illinois location century contest exhaustion asleep exhausted unconscious competitor partner Weariness thirties supporting lady concept weary twenties B&W MONOCHROME contestant slumped dance floor United States of America United States dance hall black & white black and white B W 1930s 1920s 20th century American America USA TGN photograph Unknown Historica Graphica Collection dance marathon photograph