A staple at parties and festivals: the Chicken Dance! Especially at German inspired festivals like the Wurstfest or Oktoberfest celebrations, you will find people dancing like a chicken.
But what is called chicken dance in English is a Ententanz or Duck Dance in German. And while you might think this dance is a German tradition, it isn’t even German in origin.
The Swiss Beginning
In 1955, Swiss musician Werner Thomas wrote the first version of the now iconic melody for his accordion. He tweaked it over the years and played it in skiing resorts for tourists. By 1963, he had developed a dance to go with the melody. You move your hands like the beak of a duck, flap your arms like a duck’s wings, and finally bend your knees to walk like a duck. Later he added the wedeling movement to the last part to imitate skiing. Werner was Swiss after all.
In 1973, Belgian music producer Louis Julien van Rijmenant saw and heard Werner perform when he was vacationing in Switzerland. He obtained the notes from him, produced the melody on a synthesizer, and released the song under the title “Tchip Tchip” in the same year. It was a hit in Belgium and also topped the charts in Switzerland in 1974.
Success in Germany
It wasn’t long before other musicians and countries took notice and brought out their own versions. In 1981, the Dutch instrumental “De Vogeltjesdans” (Little Bird Dance) by De Electronica made it into the German charts.
In the same year, Fred Sonnenschein aka Frank Zander released his version with German lyrics under the title “Ja, wenn wir alle Englein wären” (Yeah, if we were all angels) making it to the number 1 spot. His song is still one of the most sold Schlager songs in German music history.
Also, in 1981, comedienne Helga Feddersen recorded her parody of the song with the title “Gib mir bitte einen Kuss” (Please give me a kiss), and was also very successful. French and Italian versions were produced, and overall there are about 370 cover version in 42 countries.
From Ententanz to Chicken Dance
So, how did the chicken dance get to the US and why did the duck become a chicken?
According to TulsaWorld.com, the dance became the “Chicken Dance” in 1981 at the annual Oktoberfest being held in Tulsa, Okla. The event organizers wanted to engage the audience more and that’s when one of the German bands who performed there told them about the Ententanz – the duck dance.
To make it more appealing and fun, they needed duck costumes but only a turkey costume could be located. Turning the turkey into a duck proved impossible but they were able to make it look like a chicken. The “Chicken Dance” was born.
The movements to the song are basically the same as for the “European” Ententanz though the last part is often called ‘tail feathers’ and you rather wiggle your behind than bending your knees and shaking your bum from side to side as if you were skiing.
But however you dance the dance and whatever you call it, it makes for good and easy entertainment. The movements are easy to do and easy to remember. Because there are no lyrics you don’t have to sing along making the song ideal for international participants.
