Butte’s Bygone Ballrooms
Campaign Introduction:
I’m writing a book, “Butte’s Bygone Ballrooms: A Social History,” to record the Mining City’s rich, cultural dance history.
- Our Story
- Contributors
- Updates
- Discussion
Campaign Story
Butte, Montana is home to several hidden, mostly forgotten ballrooms that rollicked with the joy of life back in the Mining City's heyday of the 1920s through the 1960s and beyond. My book, "Butte's Bygone Ballrooms: A Social History," will bring to life the formal dance clubs and their elegant, historically and architecturally significant ballrooms, where folks congregated regularly for dances -- often to big-time national swing bands such as the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
The idea to write about the history of Butte's fascinating ballrooms first dawned on me as a reporter at The Montana Standard, when photographer Walter HInick and I toured a few of the better known spaces around Butte. My feature story touches upon the Pioneer Club above HeadFrame Spirits, a dusty, underused Elks Lodge ballroom and the Masonic Temple ballroom where Big Bands thrilled local audiences like during the Swing Era of old.
Weaving Butte-laden oral histories into my narrative, I will capture the richness of the bygone era of formal ballrooms, their colorful inhabitants and their formal social rituals. We will two-step to our hearts' content and learn some new dance styles while imagining the dance culture of old. So fill your dance card and join me as we fill our dance cards and revive the forgotten history of social dance in beautiful ballrooms for older, younger and future generations.
Pioneer Club ballroom photo by Walter Hinick.
Campaign Contributions
Name | Location | Date |
---|---|---|
Campaign Backers | Laramie, WY | August 01, 2017 |
Campaign Updates
Campaign Discussion
Rewards
$75
Your Choice -- Ballroom Tour or Private Dance Lesson
Donate $75 per person for 2 and receive your choice of a behind-the-scene tour of Uptown Butte's Ballrooms or a one-on-one dance lesson for 2 from a Montana dance instructor who competes regularly in swing and ballroom dance events.
$100
Receive a signed copy of my book and a personal 2-hour writing workshop from Renata.
If you have always wanted to refine your writing skills, this reward level is the primo choice for you. Donate $100 to receive a signed hard copy of the book and a personable 2-hour writing workshop from Renata.
$500
VIP Evening with the Author --
Donate $500 allows you and 3 guests to spend the evening with Renata, the author. Includes your choice of 1 photo print from the book for the donor and for the group, an engaging live reading, dinner and rousing discussion. Each guest will also receive a signed copy of my book.
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