Freed Acclaims New 'Lampoon' Dance

Alan Freed, Former dean of New York City disc jockeys and originator of rock 'n' roll, has recently acclaimed the Lampoon's new dance, the Penguin, as a dance sensation that will sweep the nation.

Freed, who is starring in "Alan Freed's East Side Twist" at the Camelot Club in New York City, conducted a Penguin contest after several 'Poonish enthusiasts turned up at his show and began startling the other patrons. The Camelot Club then featured the Penguin every night for the last week in December.

The Penguin originated several weeks ago with the release of the Lampoon's long playing record, "The Harvard Lampoon Tabernacle Choir Sings at Leningrad Stadium." The record featured, among other Lampoon-type-humored rock 'n' roll songs, the Ivy League's answer to the twist fad.

The basic dance is essentially a shuffle, danced very quickly to shuffle-sounding music, with a shuffle beat. In order to take the form of a penguin, each dancer keeps his arms at his sides with palms extended in a position parallel with the floor to imitate the flippers. When the music stops, the dancers poke each other in the stomach and yell, "Whee!"

Earl Wilson, columnist for the New York Post, mentioned the Penguin in his column recently, calling it "a new Harvard dance gaining in popularity." He said it was evidently the latest product of the twist craze.

Christopher B. Cerf '63, composer of the Penguin, reported that the Lampoon's record was well received in Cambridge. The entire first pressing was sold out within three weeks. A 45 r.p.m. version of the record was cut soon after the original record gained its popularity. Music Suppliers, Inc. of Boston have been handling publicity for the record and are currently distributing it to major radio stations throughout the country.

Boston disk jockey "Woo Woo" Ginsburg has been playing the record frequently on his night show (WMEX 1510), calling the dance a future hit. "It's the first record I've come across where the singer is worse than I am," he comments every so often.