Arthur Murray Hosts 100th Anniversary Party

in Palm Harbor is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Arthur Murray Studios with a party.

The public is invited to the free celebration from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Wednesday, April 4. The party is free and will feature Good Times Swing Band, cake, champagne, dance lessons, and a showcase.

Dance icon Arthur Murray was a shy man who started his dance teaching career back in 1912. 

As a student in college, Arthur developed and marketed the idea of selling dance lessons one footstep at a time by mail. During the 1920s, he arranged for the first live radio broadcast of dance music, with the help of a group of young engineering students from Georgia Tech, bringing live music to a rooftop party in downtown Atlanta.

When steamship cruises became widely popular, Murray made sure that every first-class steamship cruise included dance teachers from his studio system. When travelers returned home, they wanted to continue their dance lessons, and relied on the familiar brand name to continue with their dance lessons.

In the 1950s, Arthur embraced television, still in its infancy, creating the celebrated Arthur Murray’s Dance Party television show. The show was a huge success, and ran for ten years on national television – enormously popular even by contemporary standards. These hugely popular TV shows were the precursor to today’s ABC mega-hit “Dancing with the Stars.” Indeed,many of the Arthur Murray’s Dance Party shows had well known celebrities paired with dance professionals as dance contestants - voted on by judges and the TV viewing audience.

Arthur Murray Dance Studio is located at 34930 US 19 in Palm Harbor (727) 786-2224