Download or read book Dance of the Sleepwalkers written by Frank M. Calabria and published by Popular Press. This book was released on 1993 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dance marathons were a phenomenally popular fad during the manic 1920s and depressive 1930s. What began as a craze soon developed into a money-making business which lasted 30 years. Some 20,000 contestants and show personnel participated in these events; audiences, the majority women, totalled in the millions. "A Poor Man's Nightclub," dance marathons were the dog-end of American show business, a bastard form of entertainment which borrowed from vaudeville, burlesque, night club acts and sports.