What was unjust about the Cotton Club?

Black performers entertained a whites-only audience

What was a taxi dance hall?

A hall where customers paid per dance with a hostess

Jazz Age Dance Halls Quiz: The Savoy, Cotton Club and More

Harlem's Savoy Ballroom let Black and white dancers share a floor while other clubs did not, and this jazz age dance halls quiz explores the venues that powered the 1920s and 1930s. Play 10 interactive questions on the Savoy, the Lindy Hop, Chick Webb, Ella Fitzgerald, the Cotton Club, Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, the Charleston and dime-a-dance halls.

Start Jazz Age Dance Halls Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Savoy
In which neighborhood was the Savoy Ballroom?
Nickname
What was the Savoy's nickname?
Lindy
Which dance was born at the Savoy?
Webb
Which drummer led the Savoy's famous house band?
Ella
Which singer rose to fame with Chick Webb's band?
Cotton
Who led the Cotton Club's house band from 1927?
Segregation
What was unjust about the Cotton Club?
Calloway
Which bandleader made Minnie the Moocher a Cotton Club hit?
Charleston
Which 1923 song launched the Charleston dance craze?
Taxi
What was a taxi dance hall?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: In which neighborhood was the Savoy Ballroom?
Answer: Harlem
It opened on Lenox Avenue in 1926.
Q2: What was the Savoy's nickname?
Answer: The Home of Happy Feet
Its huge floor drew top dancers.
Q3: Which dance was born at the Savoy?
Answer: The Lindy Hop
It was named after Charles Lindbergh's 1927 flight.
Q4: Which drummer led the Savoy's famous house band?
Answer: Chick Webb
He won legendary battles of the bands.
Q5: Which singer rose to fame with Chick Webb's band?
Answer: Ella Fitzgerald
Ella sang A-Tisket, A-Tasket with the band.
Q6: Who led the Cotton Club's house band from 1927?
Answer: Duke Ellington
Radio broadcasts from the club made him famous.
Q7: What was unjust about the Cotton Club?
Answer: Black performers entertained a whites-only audience
The Savoy, by contrast, welcomed mixed crowds.
Q8: Which bandleader made Minnie the Moocher a Cotton Club hit?
Answer: Cab Calloway
His call-and-response hi-de-ho became famous.
Q9: Which 1923 song launched the Charleston dance craze?
Answer: Charleston by James P. Johnson
It debuted in the musical Runnin' Wild.
Q10: What was a taxi dance hall?
Answer: A hall where customers paid per dance with a hostess
They were also called dime-a-dance halls.

Jazz Age Dance Halls Quiz – Where the Jazz Age Danced

In the 1920s and 1930s, dance halls fueled the jazz age. Harlem's Savoy Ballroom opened in 1926 on Lenox Avenue, welcomed Black and white dancers and became known as the Home of Happy Feet.

The Lindy Hop, named after Charles Lindbergh's 1927 flight, was born there. Chick Webb led the house band, Ella Fitzgerald rose to fame with him and battles of the bands drew huge crowds.

The Cotton Club featured Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway, but its audience was whites-only. The Charleston swept the nation after 1923, and taxi dance halls charged customers per dance.

What This Quiz Teaches

Music and dance fans will enjoy these questions.

Where the Savoy was
Which dances were born there
Which bands played
How segregation shaped venues
Which crazes swept the nation

Did You Know?

Frankie Manning was a famous Savoy Lindy Hopper.
The Savoy closed in 1958.
Roseland Ballroom was a popular Manhattan dance hall.
Speakeasies served illegal alcohol during Prohibition.
Swing dancing revived in the 1990s.