Cock-A-Doodle-Doo!
May 14 is National Dance Like a Chicken Day!
by San Jose Cupertino REALTOR Michelle Carr Crowe
Who hasn't participated in the chicken dance, especially if one attended a wedding, Octoberfest or San Jose Sharks hockey game? Once that 
polka-style "Chicken Dance" music starts, anyone who's ever heard that tune knows it's time to "Dance Like a Chicken".
While the creator of "Dance Like a Chicken Day" on May 14 is unknown, the composer of the "Chicken Dance" is known-Swiss accordianist Werner Thomas. Written in the 1950s, Thomas' "Chicken Dance" first arrived in the United States in the 1970s.
Werner Thomas' tune was originally named Der Ententanz (The Duck Dance), which doesn't have the same ring to it as "Chicken Dance". It was rumored to have begun life as a drinking song for Oktoberfest. The song’s name was later changed to Vogeltanz (The Bird Dance). By the time the song arrived in America, it had acquired the fully-fledged choreography it's now famous for-replete with repetitive beak, wing, and tail motions as well as the new name, The Chicken Dance.
In 2006 "Weird Al" Yankovic started off his "Polkarama" accordion medly of polkas with the Chicken Dance.
On July 4, 2010, people in Mandan, North Dakota established a new World Record for the Longest Chicken Dance at their annual Independence Day Parade and Street Festival. The Mandan, ND “Chicken Dance” line covered twenty-four city blocks and was 1.627 miles long.
It's easy to observe and celebrate the Chicken Dance-simply play the tune and dance along! For extra fun, film a video of yourself, friends and family doing the Chicken Dance and post it on social media such as Facebook, Instagram and You Tube. Use #DanceLikeAChickenDay when posting on social media so others can track and enjoy it, too.
The Chicken Dance lyrics go something like this:
"I don't want to be a chicken,
I don't want to be a duck,
So that's why I shake my butt,
Quack, quack, quack, quack!"
Images courtesy of "Dance Like a Chicken Day" and "National Day Calendar".
Thanks for reading, "Cock-A-Doodle-Doo! May 14 is National Dance Like a Chicken Day!"
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