Otis Givens, who appeared on televised dance shows in the 1950s and '60s, is sharing his innovative moves in a local class.
One evening in the 1950s, Otis Givens attended a neighborhood party at the invitation of two sisters. As the music started playing, the girls began to dance -- but Givens, then 16, was planted firmly to the floor.
His friends were surprised, and asked the teen why he wasn't grooving to the music.
"I don't know how," he recalls responding.
From that point on, the sisters decided to teach Givens the decade's popular dance moves. With some practice, he eventually retrained his two left feet and became quite proud of his newfound talent.
His young teachers also were impressed, and wanted Givens as their dance partner.
"When they went somewhere, they wanted me to go," says Givens, originally from 19th and Christian streets. "We would show off together."
As his moves improved, Givens became a staple at South Philly's plentiful dance halls. He also was a welcome guest on a few TV programs filmed in the region.
"There was a lot of dancing going on in my time," notes the dancer, who now has his own students in a class he teaches at Hawthorne Recreation Center, 12th and Carpenter streets.
In the '50s, the dancer's regular haunts included halls at St. Charles Borromeo, 20th and Christian streets, and St. Simon the Cyrenian Church, 1401 S. 22nd St.
The former Girls YMCA, 16th and Fitzwater streets, held Thursday-night dances, and young people would boogie Friday nights at the Christian Street YMCA, 1724
Christian St.
Dancing was so popular that teens couldn't stop their feet from moving -- even during the school day, Givens recalls.
"People from all over would cut class and go to Bok Vocational to dance during the lunch hour," he says.
South Philly was a neighborhood of corner-hanging cliques in those days, and Givens belonged to the "20th Street corner." Its boundaries included South Street to Washington Avenue and 20th to 18th streets.
It was understood that residents could attend dances only in the area of their designated corner, notes Givens, 67.
But by showing off his impressive moves, Givens was given a pass to dance at out-of-neighborhood establishments.
His version of the "Strand," also known as "walking the floor," was a regular crowd-pleaser. The dance began by forming a circle and slowly strutting around the perimeter of the dance hall. Brave couples made their way into the circle and performed such dances as the cha-cha or mambo.
As Givens made his way around the room, he never passed up the chance to out-dance a couple standing on the sidelines.
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