Dance Halls as Community Spaces
by Jake Dromgoole
Recently, Texas Dance Hall Preservation advisory board member and Texas Polka News editor Gary E. McKee shared with me that some dance halls used to serve as skating rinks for their communities. This information came as a major surprise to me, though it probably should not have. In my time researching dance halls, and speaking to hall owners/operators, I have learned that Texas’ beloved dance halls have served a variety of functions from their beginnings. We may think of them as a toe-tapping, two-stepping, music venues, but they have always been […]