In the early 1900s, ballroom dancing was becoming popular among working class people as more public dance halls opened. Dances like the waltz (a slow and graceful dance) and the quadrille (which had four couples dancing in a square) had been around through the 1800s and were still often danced. Click the image below to see a group of people dancing the quadrille:
In some public dance halls
there were phonographs. These were speakers that you could put a few coins in and
choose a pre-recorded song to play. The phonograph was quite popular, but it
was soon overtaken by the gramophone – a machine that you could have in your
home and simply wind up to produce music. Click the image below to see a clip of a working gramophone:
Public entertainment such as
Punch and Judy could be found almost anywhere in the 1900s. This was a show
with puppets that told topical stories, made slapstick jokes and made fun of
politicians or famous people. The puppeteers would then collect donations from
the audience after the show.
A photograph of a Punch and Judy show in the
1900s