By Dorothy Meindok
The Post Newspaper Veterans Consultant
Born to hand jive, baby! I attended Texas City High School’s production of Grease this weekend and it was great! I sat there and watched the youth of our area share their talents with the world after weeks of hard work (and fun). What I’ve always liked the most about Grease, in particular “the Hand Jive,” is how it fits so well in the hand jive movement’s message as to “finding a way” to lead and express despite close quarters, social & peer pressures in ways that are powerful, noticed & impactful.
The hand jive is reported according to Wikipedia (I’ve heard it elsewhere too) to have originated in “1957 when filmmaker Ken Russell was a freelance photographer, he recorded the teenagers of Soho, London hand-jiving in the basement of The Cat’s Whisker coffee bar, where the hand-jive was invented by Leon Bell of Leon Bell and the Bell Cats. According to an article in the Daily Mirror,”it’s so crowded the girls hand-jive to the band as there’s no room for dancing.” Russell told interviewer Leo Benedictus of The Guardian that “the place was crowded with young kids… the atmosphere was very jolly. Wholesome… everyone jiving with their hands because there was precious little room to do it with their feet… a bizarre sight. The craze fascinated me. It seemed like a strange novelty; I used to join in.” Those small movements survive today and when allowed room to dance… well, you’ve got Grease (it’s the word if you haven’t heard.)
Texas City, your Stingrees put on a fabulous, engaging, fun show filled with spirit & energy leaving me excited with renewed hope in America’s future from what I saw on stage and off.
Great leadership from the TCISD Fine Arts Department; no wonder this district is so highly recognized by the Texas Art & Education Association as a District of Distinction. For more information:
https://www.tcisd.org/departments/fine-arts
Keep hand- jiving & make more room for dancing in a positive direction- like TCISD’s motto: TOGETHER WE SUCCEED.
