The rise of commercialized leisure coincided with the arrival of millions of immigrants to America's cities. Conflict was inevitable as older generations attempted to preserve their traditions, values, and ethnic identities, while the young sought out the cheap amusements and sexual freedom which the urban landscape offered. At immigrant picnics, social clubs, and urban dance halls, Randy McBee discovers distinct and highly contested gender lines, proving that the battle between the ages was also one between the sexes. Free from their parents and their strict rules governing sexual conduct, working women took advantage of their time in dance halls to challenge conventional gender norms. They routinely passed certain men over for dances, refused escorts home, and embraced the sensual and physical side of dance to further accentuate their superior skills and ability on the dance floor. Most men felt threatened by women's displays of empowerment and took steps to thwart the changes taking place. Accustomed to street corners, poolrooms, saloons, and other all-male get-togethers, working men tried to transform the dance hall into something that resembled these familiar hangouts. McBee also finds that men frequently abandoned the commercial dance hall for their own clubs, set up in the basements of tenement flats. In these hangouts, working men established rules governing intimacy and leisure that allowed them to regulate the behavior of the women who attended club events. The collective manner in which they behaved not only affected the organization of commercial leisure but also men and women's struggles with and against one another to define the meaning of leisure, sexuality, intimacy, and even masculinity.

Blending dynamic live shots with intimate portraits and candids, Dancehall Days is a collection of over 300 stunning black-and-white photographs drawn from Michael O'Reilly's personal archive.

An angry lover who turned a place of dance and light into a place of death. A much-missed husband in the wrong place at the wrong time. Who will be waiting for Ann at the top of the stairs? "A hall, a hall, give room!—And foot it, girls.— More light, you knaves! And turn the tables up, And quench the fire. The room is grown too hot.— Ah, sirrah, this unlooked-for sport comes well.— Nay, sit, nay, sit, good cousin Capulet, For you and I are past our dancing days." —William Shakespeare, "Romeo & Juliet" An Ann Kinnear Suspense Short from Matty Dalrymple, author of the Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels, including Book 1: THE SENSE OF DEATH.

"Blending literary and photo-journalism, history, and storytelling, essays examine eighteen Texas dance halls in terms of their music, culture, and community. Also considers the predominantly Czech and German heritage from which these halls evolved, as well as the cultural dynamics that enable them to continue as centers of community"--Provided by publisher.