Chicken Dance
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The "Chicken Dance" oom-pah song was composed by a Swiss accordion (Handharmonika) player Werner Thomas from Davos, Switzerland in the 1950s. The name of the original song was Der Ententanz (The Duck Dance). Since 1963 he played it in restaurants, people used to dance to the tune, and by the end of 1970s it was played all over the world. On some recorded releases of the music Werner Thomas is listed as the composer, while on others other authors are listed, e.g., as "Thomas/Rendall/Hose", probably including the authors of the particular arrangement. Since then the song has become known under numerous other "birdie" names, including "[Vogerltanz]" (Bird Dance), "Danse des Canards", "Chicken Dance" and "Dance Little Bird". Over 140 versions of it are recorded worldwide, including Walt Disney Records, together making over 40,000,000 records.
It was introduced to the USA nationwide as the "Chicken Dance" by Norm Edlebeck, a bandleader from Wisconsin, on TV's "PM Magazine" show produced by Group W Productions of San Francisco, CA, in early 1982, and repeated the following year. PM Magazine productions titled the 11 minute segment, "The World's Stupidest Dance". The 45 rpm record label was "End of The Trail Records", and the label listed Norm Edlebeck's nickname "Whoopee" as the artist. His version was recorded in a Bluegrass format and included the four different steps and instructions on the record jacket.
So, contrary to some misconceptions, it is not an Austrian folk dance.
In the United States, the publishing rights for the song were acquired by a New York publisher Stanley Mills.
It has become popular in the USA as a German heritage song, and has been likewise adopted by people worldwide of many cultures since its creation. It has become a staple dance at weddings and at Oktoberfests.
Dance steps
The "Chicken Dance" song is accompanied by a dance, which is very easy to learn regardless of age or agility. The dance requires a group of people, and it goes as follows:
- Begin in a large circle with everybody facing in towards the center of the ring.
- At the start of the music, shape a chicken beak with your hands. Open and close it four times, during the first four beats of the music.
- Make chicken wings with your arms. Flap your wings four times, during the next four beats of the music.
- Make a chicken's tail feathers with your arms and hands. Wiggle downwards during the next four beats of the music.
- Clap four times during the next four beats of the music.
- Repeat this process four times.
- After the fourth time you grab your neighbours' hands and move round in a circle.
- Switch directions when the bandleader says so.
- The dance repeats, progressively getting faster and faster, until the music stops.
See also: Novelty and fad dances
Some releases
- Tchip Tchip, by Cash & Carry with Bobby Setter & Co, Cannon Records, Can 3035, 1973.
- Dance Little Bird (The Birdie Song), by The Tweets, 1981.
- Ententanz (Dance Little Bird), by Chor & Orchester Wilde-Enten GmbH, Hamburg.
- The Chicken Dance, by Whoopee, End of The Trail Records, 1982.
- Two albums containing The Chicken Dance songs by Bob Kames:
- * Album title: "The Chicken Dance (Dance Little Bird)", by Bob Kames (and the Happy Organ), GNP Crescendo Records. (Date released: 1st January, 1992ad)
- * Album title: "Chicken Dance", by Bob Kames, GNP Crescendo Records. (Date released: 17th October, 1995ad)
This song in other languages
- Dutch: De Vogeltjesdans
- French: La danse des canards
- German: Der Ententanz
- Hebrew: ריקוד הציפורים (Rikud Ha'Tsiporim) - The Bird Dance
- Icelandic: Fugladansinn
- Italian: Il ballo del qua qua
- Portuguese: A dança do passarinho
- Russian: Танец маленьких утят
- Spanish: Pajaritos a bailar / El baile de los pajaritos/ El Baile De La Gallina
- Swedish: Fågeldansen
Notable performances
At the Cincinnati Oktoberfest on September 20, 2004, rock musician Vince Neil served as the Grand Marshall of the World's Largest Chicken Dance. The US cable television channel VH1, in its compilation of the 40 Least Metal Moments panned this performance as the single least metal moment in Heavy Metal history. [link]
It is also featured in Judson Laipply's [Evolution of Dance]
Popular places for play
- The tune is sometimes played at American high school formals, including proms.
- As part of a promotion with Chick-Fil-A, the Philadelphia Flyers play the song after a fourth goal is scored at home games and offer fans the chance for a free chicken sandwhich at participating restaraunts.
External links
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