Dance Til You Drop by Cate Martin
The Great Depression. A dance competition with cash prizes. And contestants and con artists on the scene.
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Historical Fiction | Short Story
Dance Til You Drop by Cate Martin
Description
During the Great Depression, the cash prizes offered for dance competitions lure crowds of young people to literally dance until they drop. Now, Alice and Henry have traveled to Fargo determined to outlast all the other couples at such a competition, where they may wind up dancing for days or weeks without more than momentary rest breaks. But in these hard economic times, the cash awards for the top contestants are guaranteed to draw cheats and con artists to the dancing scene.
My Thoughts
I first heard something about the Great Depression craze of dance marathons from an episode of The Waltons, when the lead character John Boy danced in one. I only remember snippets of that, but reading this short story led me to look up more of the related history.
No Partying Hearty Here
The story gives a good depiction of how these marathons, although serving as a form of entertainment for spectators, were not light and carefree dance parties. And not all of the serious contestants would share the same goal.
Concerning the Cash
Now, a few of the particulars in this read are repetitive. On the other hand, while I got the gist of the tale, a couple of the unexplained particulars left me somewhat confused at the end. Looking up some info about the financial operations of the real-life marathons left me clearer on that score.
I plan on checking out more of this author's historical fiction stories soon.
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