The "Chicken Dance", also known and recorded as Der Ententanz, Tchip Tchip, Vogerltanz, the Bird Song, the Chicken Song, the Birdie Song, the Bird Dance, Danse des Canards, the Duck Dance, El Baile de los Pajaritos, O Baile dos Passarinhos, Il Ballo del Qua Qua, Check Out the Chicken, or Dance Little Bird, is an oom-pah song; its associated fad dance has become familiar throughout the Western world. The song was composed by accordion player Werner Thomas from Davos, Switzerland, in the 1950s. The Chicken Dance is a well-known drinking and dancing song at American Oktoberfest events. It is also a popular dance at weddings, particularly in whose culture includes polka music. Over 140 versions have been recorded worldwide, including some that were released by Walt Disney Records, together making an estimated 40,000,000 records or more pressed.

Composer credits and publishing rights

The original name of the song was "Der Ententanz" (The Duck Dance), composed by the Swiss accordionist Werner Thomas in 1957. He played it in restaurants and hotels from the 1950s through the 1960s. During one of Thomas' performances, the Belgian music producer Louis van Rymenant heard the song. Van Rymenant had some lyrics created and in 1970 released it to the public through his publishing company Intervox Music (later co-publishing with his other company Eurovox Music) without much success. It first became a world-wide hit from 1980 through 1982, and was recorded in many countries. On some recorded releases of the music Werner Thomas is listed as the sole composer, while on others other composers are listed, e.g., as "Thomas/Rendall/Hoes." The name Rendall refers to Van Rymenant, who was listed as co-author under the pen name of Terry Rendall. The name Hoes refers to the Dutch singer/producer Johnny Hoes, who re-arranged the song for the Electronicas recording (which was released on Hoes' own record label, Telstar Records). Eurovox Music now manages the publishing rights worldwide, except for the US (September Music), UK (Valentine Music) and the Netherlands (Benelux Music), sub-publishers.

Description of the dance

The origin of the dance moves set to the music is not known. The piece is often notated in cut time and the key of C major. It begins with repeated dominant chords before moving into the main theme. The secondary theme features a contrasting rhythm. The two themes alternate. In some versions tempo shifts are introduced to confuse and amuse the dancers, and the final repetition of the main theme is often played as one continuous accelerando. The dance step has five discrete moves. The first four moves are done in place and are repeated throughout each verse: The fifth move persists throughout the refrain and involves the dancer and a partner. The performance of one or more dancers in bird costumes leading a crowd in the dance is quite common. A 1981 video recording of the Tweets performing the song before a live television audience in the UK shows all of the "musicians" in large, mascot-style bird costumes, miming to the recording, while a group of British teens perform the dance in a line behind them. Since then, many state fairs, Oktoberfests, German culture festivals, and even weddings feature at least one dancer in a bird costume. The live performances by Bob Kames throughout the upper Midwest during the 1980s and 1990s almost always featured bird-costumed dance leaders.

Notable recordings and title changes

Notable live performances

Dance Like a Chicken Day

May 14th is recognized as "Dance Like a Chicken Day." This is celebrated as a day to do the dance.