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{{Short description|Type of dance}}
{{unreferenced|date=June 2007}}
{{Other uses|Frug (disambiguation)}}
'''The Frug''' (pronounced "froog") was a [[dance craze]] from the 1960s that evolved from another dance of the era, [[The Chicken]]. The Chicken, which featured lateral body movements, was used primarily as a change of pace step while doing [[The Twist]]. As young dancers grew more tired they would do less work, moving only their hips while standing in place. They then started making up arm movements for the dance, which prompted the birth of [[The Swim]], [[Monkey (dance)|The Monkey]], The Dog, [[The Watusi]], and [[The Jerk (dance)|The Jerk]]. The Frug is sometimes referred to as [[The Surf]], [[Big Bea]], [[The Thunderbird]], and [[The Mr. Muggles]].
The '''Frug''' ({{IPAc-en|f|r|ʌ|ɡ}}<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170220092836/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/frug Oxford dictionary]</ref> or /frug/<ref>[https://www.dictionary.com/browse/frug Dictionary.com]</ref>) was a [[dance craze]] from the mid-1960s, which included vigorous dance to [[pop music]].<ref name="StevensonWaite2011">{{cite book |last1=Stevenson |first1=Angus |last2=Waite |first2=Maurice |date=18 August 2011 |title=Concise Oxford English Dictionary: Book & CD-ROM Set |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-960110-3 |pages=572– |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4XycAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA572 }}</ref> It evolved from another dance of the era, [[The Chicken (dance)|the Chicken]]. The Chicken, which featured lateral body movements, was used primarily as a change of pace step while doing [[Twist (dance)|the Twist]]. As young dancers grew more tired they would do less work, moving only their hips while standing in place. They then started making up arm movements for the dance, which prompted the birth of the Swim, [[Monkey (dance)|the Monkey]], the Dog, [[the Watusi]], [[Mashed Potato (dance)|the Mashed Potato]], and [[The Jerk (dance)|the Jerk]]. The Frug is sometimes referred to as the Surf, Big Bea, and the Thunderbird.<ref name="Kassing2007">{{cite book |last=Kassing |first=Gayle |year=2007 |title=History of Dance: An Interactive Arts Approach |publisher=Human Kinetics |isbn=978-0-7360-6035-6 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyofdancein00kass/page/236 236] |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofdancein00kass |url-access=registration }}</ref><ref name="Smith2010">{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Karen Lynn |year=2010 |title=Popular Dance: From Ballroom to Hip-hop |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-1-4381-3476-5 |pages=137– |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2inCRlYF-iAC&pg=PA137}}</ref>


==In popular culture==
A good example of a frug is found in the movie ''[[Sweet Charity]]'', which contains a number called "The Rich Man's Frug", a wildly energetic dance number comprising three "movements" ("The Aloof", "The Heavyweight" and "The Big Finish") that showcases director [[Bob Fosse]]'s distinctive [[choreography]] style, particularly his creative use of unusual poses, gestures, and arm movements.
In ''[[The Andy Griffith Show]]'' episode "The Senior Play" (Season 7, Episode 9) the principal of the high school is appalled by a demonstration of the Frug dance and insists it must not be included in the senior play. But with the help of Helen Crump (who demonstrates the [[Jitterbug]] from her generation) and the kids demonstrating [[the Charleston]] from the principal's generation, he sees that the then contemporary dancing of young people is not much different from previous generations.


The movie ''[[Sweet Charity (film)|Sweet Charity]]'' (1969) contains a number called "The Rich Man's Frug", a wildly energetic dance number comprising three "movements" ("The Aloof", "The Heavyweight" and "The Big Finish") that showcases director [[Bob Fosse]]'s distinctive [[choreography]] style, particularly his creative use of unusual poses, gestures, and arm movements. The evolution of Frug also signified maturation of theatricality in Fosse's choreography, departing regimentation towards visual dissonance, where every dancer could perform their own moves.<ref name="Stiehl2008">{{cite book |last=Stiehl |first=Pamyla Alayne |year=2008 |title=The 'Dansical': American Musical Theatre Reconfigured as a Choreographer's Expression and Domain |isbn=978-0-549-50848-9 |pages=177– |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d1pvgGaHqBIC&pg=PA177}}</ref><ref name="Gottfried2003">{{cite book |last=Gottfried |first=Martin |year=2003 |title=All His Jazz: The Life & Death of Bob Fosse |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=978-0-306-81284-2 |pages=181– |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hv4AAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA181}}</ref>
In a song of the same name, "The Frug" is referenced by the band [[Rilo Kiley]]. It appeared on both their debut album ''[[The Initial Friend E.P.]]'' and on the soundtrack to the movie ''[[Desert Blue]]''.


In 1964, in "In the Red Light: A History of the Republican Convention in 1964," published in the November 1964 issue of ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]'', [[Norman Mailer]] wrote: "The American mind had gone from [[Nathaniel Hawthorne|Hawthorne]] and [[Ralph Waldo Emerson|Emerson]] to the Frug, the Bounce, and '[[Walking the Dog]]', from ''[[Van Wyck Brooks|The Flowering of New England]]'' to the cerebrality of professional football in which a quarterback must have not only heart, courage, strength and grace but a mind like an I.B.M. computer." The piece is collected in Mailer's ''Cannibals and Christians'' (1966).
⚫
[[Category:Novelty and fad dances|Frug, The]]

Indie rock band [[Rilo Kiley]] have a song titled "Frug" (also about the dance) on their 1999 self-titled debut, ''[[The Initial Friend EP]]'', and was also the band's first music video. "Frug" was also included in the soundtrack to the [[Christina Ricci]] film ''[[Desert Blue]]'', which led to the band's heightened popularity and eventual signing to a record label. "Frug" was later included as the final song on the band's B-sides and rarities compilation, ''[[Rkives]]''.

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frug}}
⚫
[[Category:Novelty and fad dances]]
[[Category:1960s in the United States]]
[[Category:Dances of the United States]]
[[Category:1960s introductions]]
[[Category:1960s fads and trends]]

Latest revision as of 11:41, 7 October 2024

For other uses, see Frug (disambiguation).

The Frug (/frʌɡ/[1] or /frug/[2]) was a dance craze from the mid-1960s, which included vigorous dance to pop music.[3] It evolved from another dance of the era, the Chicken. The Chicken, which featured lateral body movements, was used primarily as a change of pace step while doing the Twist. As young dancers grew more tired they would do less work, moving only their hips while standing in place. They then started making up arm movements for the dance, which prompted the birth of the Swim, the Monkey, the Dog, the Watusi, the Mashed Potato, and the Jerk. The Frug is sometimes referred to as the Surf, Big Bea, and the Thunderbird.[4][5]

[edit]

In The Andy Griffith Show episode "The Senior Play" (Season 7, Episode 9) the principal of the high school is appalled by a demonstration of the Frug dance and insists it must not be included in the senior play. But with the help of Helen Crump (who demonstrates the Jitterbug from her generation) and the kids demonstrating the Charleston from the principal's generation, he sees that the then contemporary dancing of young people is not much different from previous generations.

The movie Sweet Charity (1969) contains a number called "The Rich Man's Frug", a wildly energetic dance number comprising three "movements" ("The Aloof", "The Heavyweight" and "The Big Finish") that showcases director Bob Fosse's distinctive choreography style, particularly his creative use of unusual poses, gestures, and arm movements. The evolution of Frug also signified maturation of theatricality in Fosse's choreography, departing regimentation towards visual dissonance, where every dancer could perform their own moves.[6][7]

In 1964, in "In the Red Light: A History of the Republican Convention in 1964," published in the November 1964 issue of Esquire, Norman Mailer wrote: "The American mind had gone from Hawthorne and Emerson to the Frug, the Bounce, and 'Walking the Dog', from The Flowering of New England to the cerebrality of professional football in which a quarterback must have not only heart, courage, strength and grace but a mind like an I.B.M. computer." The piece is collected in Mailer's Cannibals and Christians (1966).

Indie rock band Rilo Kiley have a song titled "Frug" (also about the dance) on their 1999 self-titled debut, The Initial Friend EP, and was also the band's first music video. "Frug" was also included in the soundtrack to the Christina Ricci film Desert Blue, which led to the band's heightened popularity and eventual signing to a record label. "Frug" was later included as the final song on the band's B-sides and rarities compilation, Rkives.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Oxford dictionary
  2. ^ Dictionary.com
  3. ^ Stevenson, Angus; Waite, Maurice (18 August 2011). Concise Oxford English Dictionary: Book & CD-ROM Set. Oxford University Press. pp. 572–. ISBN 978-0-19-960110-3.
  4. ^ Kassing, Gayle (2007). History of Dance: An Interactive Arts Approach. Human Kinetics. pp. 236. ISBN 978-0-7360-6035-6.
  5. ^ Smith, Karen Lynn (2010). Popular Dance: From Ballroom to Hip-hop. Infobase Publishing. pp. 137–. ISBN 978-1-4381-3476-5.
  6. ^ Stiehl, Pamyla Alayne (2008). The 'Dansical': American Musical Theatre Reconfigured as a Choreographer's Expression and Domain. pp. 177–. ISBN 978-0-549-50848-9.
  7. ^ Gottfried, Martin (2003). All His Jazz: The Life & Death of Bob Fosse. Da Capo Press. pp. 181–. ISBN 978-0-306-81284-2.
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