Dance Hall (Caribbean)

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The dance halls of Jamaica in the 1950's and 60's were home to public dances usually targeted at younger patrons. Sound System operators often provided the entertainment with their massive home-made audio systems (often housed in the flat bed of a pick up truck), spinning records from popular American Rock&Roll musicians, and local ska and rocksteady performers. Dance hall owners-and the sound system operators which kept their halls hopping-often competed fiercely with other owners/operators to capture the attention of their young clientele. This competition often lead to the hiring of Rude Boys to break up a competitors dance, which fostered the growth and violent tendencies of this particular sub-culture. In addition to these "rudies", dance halls also contributed to the rise of ska as the predominant form of popular music on the island during this time, fostered the development of early ska culture, and gave rise to a new social power in the form of major Sound System operators like Duke Reid the Trojan, and Sir Coxsone Dodd.

Caribbean dance halls of today still bear strong resemblance to the days when Sir Coxsone Dodd was spinning the latest release out of Studio One. Though the music has shifted quite a bit, the same energy and spirit can be felt. Dance hall's today often serve as competition grounds for DJ's, just like they did in the early days, though today's competitions end less often in the dance being broken up by rude boys.

Dancehall has also come to refer to the style of music associated with more contemporary dance halls.