After the war there was nothing aimed at the teenagers anymore. They were craving their independence but were pushed around by rules. Then songs started coming out about their lives. Things like high school sweethearts, parties, and fast cars and these songs were sung by other teens. This helped them connect, and they were all for this new music. Music and dance was these teens escape from the rules. This music was the teen's music and it was what real hit home to them, it was what was real. With this new rock music the teens needed a new style of dance. They took the swing moves and made them their own. The steps and styles changed by region. The teens started looking to the African Americans for new moves and styles. Then Dance shows started airing on the television for kids when they got home from school. Teens started copying what they saw on TV rather than following the regional trends and the Philadelphia style became the national style. Many new dance styles came out or new twists on old styles, like the Stroll, the Bop, the Calypso, the Bunny Hop, and the Twist. The twist didn't really become a hit until the 1960s though.
1950s Dancing
The rock'n'roll music really connect with the kids. That is why the adults were so scarred of it. Since the music was coming from kids their age they were able to relate better. This widened the gap between adults and kids because who needs your parents to talk to when you have your friends and music knowing exactly how you feel. Another reason the adult generation did not like this music because it talked about things like sex which before hand was not talked about. It was a private matter and the parents wanted to keep it that way. Also white adults were raised with the idea of segregation and now this new music was trying to change that. Adults do not do well with change. It's not easy to change their views that they have grew up with their whole lives. To the adult this rock'n'roll music portray everything that an adult is trying to hide from their kid. Therefore they believed that it was devil's music. This era really hit the kids hard. First by coming out with this new music that related to them sung by kids their age. Then television shows being aired for them right when they got out of school. This era is a main building block to what society is like today. Now we have shows aimed at kids from when they get out of school to 9 at night. There's more singers out there singing about the struggles and good times of being a teenager. The media has learned from the 50's and is able to relate to kids even more.
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