Figure 1.--We thought we had a French dancing school image to illustrate this page, but we have since learned it was an English school.

We have little information on French boys involved in dance. We note boys taking dancing lessons for social dancing. This seems to have been boys from affluent families. We note younger boys smarly dressed up for the lessons. We do not know if boys received dance lessons at school. This was basic dances such as the box step used in standard social dances. This was common in American schools, often in gym class. French schools tended to be more academic with fewer non-academic activities than American schools. Hopefully our French readers will tell us more about learning to dance in France. There may also be ethnic dances associated with the various provinces, but we have no information about this. We do know some boys especially interested in dance engaged in performance dancing. The specific dance form was usually ballet. This seems to have been done at special schools. Some boys may have been involved in performance dancing. We do not know of other performance dancing that was popular in France. A French reader writes about the dance image here, "Yes this photo is from late-1950. It is not so sure that these children came from an affluent family. Most French children were dressed in the same style, especialy in the cities on Sunday. In the 1950s, the social children system was developed in France. The school and all associated activities were free, including sport, cultural outing, singing, dance ect. It must be say that health care for children was entielely free and compulsory."

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Created: 2:03 AM 10/9/2009
Last updated: 2:04 AM 10/9/2009