Dance away the night at historic dance hall

Historic Columbia is hosting a dance party for kids and their parents to celebrate the 100th birthday of The Big Apple Night Club in downtown Columbia, birthplace of a dance craze that eventually spread to the dance clubs of New York City.

The Big Apple Night club was located at 1138 Park St. in a building built in 1915 and originally used as the House of Peace synagogue. When the nightclub opened in 1936, Columbia’s African-American youth developed the club’s signature dance. It swept the nation and caught the attention of dance instructor Arthur Murray and songwriter Tommy Dorsey, who was inspired to write “The Big Apple Swing.”

It was a short-lived craze, though, and the dance club closed in 1938. The building itself was abandoned in 1979, and the club was moved three years later to the corner of Hampton and Park streets.

Historic Columbia will celebrate the history of The Big Apple Swing and other South Carolina dances at Thursday’s family event. The dance will be held from 5:30-7 p.m. at 1000 Hampton St. in downtown Columbia. Children ages 6-12 and their accompanying adults will enjoy light refreshments, music and dancing. Advance tickets are $5 for members and $7 for non-members, and available by visiting historiccolumbia.org, calling 803-2521770 or emailing cgalens@historiccolumbia.org. Tickets are also available at the door for $10 each.

Bridget Winston, Special to The State

This story was originally published July 22, 2015 at 6:52 PM with the headline "Dance away the night at historic dance hall."