A sprung floor is a floor that absorbs shocks, giving it a softer feel. Such floors are considered the best kind for dance and indoor sports and physical education,[1] and can enhance performance and greatly reduce injuries. Modern sprung floors are supported by foam backing or rubber feet, while traditional floors provide their spring through bending woven wooden battens.
One of the earliest on-record sprung-floor ballrooms is Papanti's for dance lessons in Boston, built in 1837. There was also one in the New Zealand Premier House, when expanded in 1872–73.[2][3][4]
Dance halls with sprung hard wood floors date back to the late 19th century. The sprung floor at Blackpool Tower Ballroom dates from 1894.[5] The UK's Accrington Conservative Club, built in 1890, had a Grand Ballroom with a sprung floor.[citation needed]
Many other historical dance halls have sprung hard wood floors, such as the Spanish Ballroom at Glen Echo Park, Maryland (1933),[6] Willowbrook Ballroom in Chicago (1921), the Crystal Ballroom in Portland, Oregon (1914), the Carrillo Ballroom[7] in Santa Barbara, California (1914), and Younger Hall (1929) in St Andrews, Scotland.
Modern sprung floors are designed to dampen bounce and so are sometimes called semi-sprung. A spring floor on the other hand is a type of floor designed to provide bounce; they are used for floor exercises in gymnastics or for cheerleading.
- ^ Frederick O. Mueller (1991). Prevention of athletic injuries: the role of the sports medicine team. F.A. Davis. p. 142.
- ^ "Prime Minister's Residence, 260 Tinakori Road, Thorndon, Wellington". Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
Premier Sir Julius Vogel and his wife Mary took up residence in 1872. They found the modest Collins' house too small for their lavish functions and engaged an architect to extend the building. Mary Vogel's father, William Henry Clayton, Colonial Architect, is credited with the extensive alterations, costing £2885, that were completed in 1873. Only the southern wing of the original house was retained. In its place was a two storied, late Victorian Italianate style timber home with eight bedrooms, enlarged servant's quarters, a conservatory and a ballroom.
- ^ "Premier House". New Zealand Prime Minister's Office. 2004. Archived from the original on 4 July 2007. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
In 1865 the Crown bought the house as a Prime Ministerial home and in 1872 Sir Julius Vogel engaged an architect to turn it into an elegant two storeyed structure. This included a ballroom with a sprung floor and New Zealand's first lift.
- ^ "The first premier house - Housing the Prime Minister". New Zealand history online. Archived from the original on 2020-10-29. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
The house changed little until Julius Vogel and his wife, Mary, arrived in 1872. Within a year they had turned it into an eight-bedroom mansion complete with conservatory and ballroom. The ballroom got a hammering. They made 'The Casino', as critics dubbed it, the social centre of Wellington. In July 1876 Lady Vogel sent out 250 invitations to a calico fancy dress ball, 'the most brilliant of its kind yet seen in this city'.
- ^ "The Blackpool Tower Ballroom". Visit Lancashire. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ "Glen Echo Park: History of the Park". Retrieved 21 Mar 2021.
- ^ "(The Biggest Ever) Winter Dreams Ball Weekend: Santa Barbara's English Country Ball: Saturday, February 8, 2020". Santa Barbara Country Dance Society. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
cantilevered Sprung Floor