Dancers get back in the swing as M&S city archive goes back in time
SHOPPERS WERE treated to 1940s-style jazz dance demonstrations when M&S Company Archive returned to its roots in Leeds.
Members of Swing Dance Leeds performed the Lindy Hop at the city’s Kirkgate Market to raise awareness of a 1940s-themed event to be held this Saturday at the M&S Company Archive on the University of Leeds campus.
M&S has links with Leeds that can be traced back to its beginnings as a penny bazaar at Kirkgate Market in 1884.
The M&S Company Archive, which has a collection of more than 70,000 historic items, was unveiled at the University of Leeds’s Michael Marks building in 2012.
This Saturday the archive will be opening its doors to give visitors a chance to revisit the 1940s with dancing, 1940s fashion, talks, tea and cake. The archive team will be looking back at M&S in the 1940s, from wartime utility fashion to how M&S employees rose to home front challenges.
There will be talks on M&S and their customers during the Second World War and a chance to view the special display ‘RAF100: M&S and the Royal Air Force in the Second World War WWII,’ which commemorates the RAF’s centenary year. There will also be Lindy Hop demonstrations and classes for visitors to try the popular Swingera dance.
Often described as a jazz dance, Lindy Hop became popular when American troops were stationed in the UK and across other Allied countries during the Second World War.
Katharine Carter, M&S Company Archivist, said: “We’re excited to bring back our popular 1940s event this November, following its success in 2013.
“The 1940s was a time where cultures merged, perceptions of fashion were changing and dance provided some muchneeded light relief for the troops stationed here, as well as the families left behind. We look forward to welcoming wouldbe Lindy Hoppers and everyone with an interest in the 1940s.”