History
As America's second oldest franchise organization, Arthur Murray International,
Inc. is known around the world as a prominent entertainment company with franchises
located throughout the United states, Canada and Puerto Rico, Europe, the Middle-East,
Japan, South Africa and Australia. With the beginning of a new millennium, social
dancing is again a significant part of popular culture for all generations. Today
the Arthur Murray Franchised Dance Studios continue a tradition for over 90 years
in teaching the world to dance. The history of the Arthur Murray Franchised Dance
studios began in 1912 with a man named Arthur Murray, an American symbol of entrepreneurial
success and social dancing. Murray was among the first to use advertising techniques
considered cutting edge at the time. His concept of selling dance lessons by mail,
one step at a time, took the use of direct mail to a new level.
Arthur Murray is credited with creating the steps of today's American Style Foxtrot
and American Tango. It is felt that he created most of the steps for most popular
dances that are danced today. Creating dance figures and teaching them was his passion.
In 1913 Arthur Murray was a student at Castle House in New York City. He learned
the dance style taught by Vernon and Irene Castle. He went on to assist the Castle's
as an instructor. With the onset of the First World War, Vernon Castle enlisted
in the service and Castle House was closed. Murray enrolled at Georgia Tech and
paid some of his college expenses by teaching dance to other students.
Murray's creative use of print advertising attracted national attention as did his
business acumen. In March of 1920, using students from Georgia Tech, Murray arranged
to have music transmitted to a group of his dance students a few miles away. This
was the world's first radio broadcast of live dance music for dancing. Prior to
World War II, Arthur Murray teachers were a regular part of every first-class steamship
cruise and during the Thirties, the studios introduced such dances to the public
as the "Lambeth Walk" and "The Big Apple." In fact it was "The Big Apple" that launched
Mr. Murray's one studio into the largest chain of dance studios in the world today.
In 1938 the first official opening of a franchised dance school occurred in Minneapolis,
Minnesota. In 1942 singer Betty Hutton with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra recorded
the big hit song "Arthur Murray Taught Me Dancing In A Hurry" for the movie "The
Fleet's In" and by 1946 there were 72 Arthur Murray Dance Studios across America.
Murray's first studio grew with the dance craze of the 1920s. He taught dancing
over the radio and people wanted his personal instruction at any cost. The solution
was to develop a studio. Around 1925, Murray had students the likes of the Vanderbilt's,
Hollywood stars, celebrities, the Prince of Wales and Enrico Caruso. The studio
employed hundreds of instructors and occupied 40 floors of a building in mid-Manhattan.
It even had an unmarked back door to allow celebrities to enter.
Arthur Murray was the first to realize the growing popularity of the Latin dances
in America during the 1950's. Many conventions were held in Cuba during that time
to give Arthur Murray dance trainers first-hand knowledge of the hot new Latin styles
and moves that were in vogue and becoming popular. In July 1950, Mr. Murray purchased
five fifteen-minute television spots on CBS and persuaded his wife Kathryn to do
the teaching. Before the third show, Arthur bought a half-hour summer series on
ABC. The show was called the "Arthur Murray Dance Party." By May 1952, the Murray's
had televised almost 100 programs. Their TV ratings climbed and in the summer of
1952 they signed with their first sponsor, General Foods. Millions of viewers all
over the United States fell in love with the show and flocked to the Arthur Murray
Studios throughout the country. This highly popular show ran for twelve years on
national television.
When Arthur and Kathryn Murray retired in 1964, a group of franchisees purchased
the company and brought a fresh new spirit and leadership to it. Under its new leadership,
the Arthur Murray Franchised Dance Studios has kept pace with the rapidly changing
"youth culture" and continues today to flourish as the world's largest dance instruction
organization. Arthur Murray dance teachers can be found not only in the studios,
but on the movie sets in Hollywood; backstage on Broadway; and partnering with major
entertainers to promote the music that the world dances to. Whenever a movie involves
dance, it's a good bet that AMI has been involved in some way, shape or form. Such
movies as Dirty Dancing, Dirty Dancing II, Dance With Me, Beautician And The Beast,
Flash Dance, An American President, True Lies, Saturday Night Fever, Scent Of A
Woman, Shall We Dance, and Mad Hot Ballroom are some of the films which have used
Arthur Murray instructors to either teach a dance to the stars and/or dance in the
film. The Arthur Murray Franchised Dance Studio's name appears regularly in major
national magazines that include Vogue, Martha Stuart Wedding, Smithsonian, Sports
Illustrated, Woman's Day and more. Wherever advertisers want to reach consumers
with a message of romance, intimacy or just plain fun, you'll see dancing, from
the Gap' now famous Khaki Swing commercials to dancing M & M's and gas pumps. Arthur
Murray International's commitment to dance goes even further, with senior management
heavily involved in the world of professional and amateur competitive dance, known
as DanceSport. Many of Arthur Murray's officials have contributed to bringing competitive
ballroom to the forefront as an Olympic Sport.
All Arthur Murray franchised Dance Studios are independently owned and operated
by individuals who started as dance instructors and worked their way up to the executive
level. By the time they are qualified to purchase a franchise, they have experienced
every phase of studio operations, from teaching and supervising to marketing and
managing. It is possible for an ambitious person to advance to a top executive job
and become eligible to be a franchisee within just a few years. Building from within
has kept the studio system strong, with franchisees that are committed to the Spirit
of Excellence which is the hallmark of the entire Arthur Murray system. Currently
there are approximately 180 Arthur Murray Franchised Dance Studios worldwide. *
Information derived from Arthur Murray International and an article by David Baker,
published in the July/August issue of Amateur Dancer - the publication of The United
States Amateur Ballroom Dancers Association.