American Teen Dance Etiquette, 1960’s

You'll feel like a dream if you've bathed, cleaned your nails, brushed your teeth and groomed your hair. Remember! A trip to the barber- shop takes time, too.

Transportation for your date?

Naturally, it all depends on the pocketbook, but however you plan to go, be sure to let her know in advance when you are picking her up.

And, of course, you know that if you're walking to the dance, it is customary for you to walk on the outside, nearer the curb, with the girl at your other side. If you are going by bus, your date enters the bus first, but on leaving the bus, you alight first so that you can help her off.

Foundation for Good Grooming – Bath: (Dash of cologne if desired), Nails: Clean and manicured, Hair: Neat, Teeth: Clean,  Shoes: Freshly cleaned or brushed.

She is equally undecided...

An informal dance calls for street-length dresses with appropriate accessories. If it's formal, you can be more dressy. Either ballerina-length or long gowns may be worn. Accessories should include a small handbag. Gloves are optional.– From Betty White’s Teen-Age Dance Etiquette, 1961

🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor or the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Betty White’s Teen-Age Dance Etiquette

The child… who acquires courteous and gracious manners through dance etiquette is at ease in any social situation, and particularly in the field of dancing, which plays so large a part in the recreational activities of the average teenager.

Why Dance Etiquette for Teens?

 

Dance etiquette provides more than a yardstick for what is considered socially correct behavior at a dance. It provides social values and attitudes that carry over into every area in life - whether in the home, at school or at the community level. The child, therefore, who acquires courteous and gracious manners through dance etiquette is at ease in any social situation, and particularly in the field of dancing, which plays so large a part in the recreational activities of the average teenager.

Too often, however, the teen-ager who knows how to dance does not have any conception of what constitutes socially acceptable behavior at a dance. He wants to please -to do the right thing at the right time- but is frequently bewildered and confused because he just doesn't know what is expected of him.

The purpose of this book, therefore, is to present the teen-ager with a picture as a whole of social practices that are an integral part of dance etiquette. And what is equally important, social practices that are acceptable to his contemporaries - not just those handed down by authority. (The teen-ager, after all, is not so much concerned with what should be done but rather with what is being done at the social level of his own group.) He needs a dynamic, up-to-date approach to social behavior that will prove both interesting and stimulating.

This book meets that challenge by presenting dance etiquette in a simple, amusing and straightforward manner. Everything has been included that would enable the teen-ager to feel socially at ease and secure. It is hoped, furthermore, that the book will be shared and discussed by children and grownups alike, and especially in the home where courteous and gracious manners begin. – From Betty White’s Teenage Dance Etiquette, 1961

 🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor or the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia