Record Bid at Dancing Twist Falls Short, But Chubby Checker Is a Hit

Story by Ken Stone and video by Chris Stone

Chubby Checker did the Twist—and hundreds of fairgoers swiveled along with the pop legend in a bid Tuesday to break the Guinness world record for the most performing the 1960s dance craze at once.

The Del Mar Arena crowd likely didn’t set a record, but it didn’t hamper the fun as the dance’s popularizer spoke several times and twisted with visitors old and young.

According to Guinness, the largest Twist dance was done Sept. 9, 2011, by 1,706 people at an event organized by WSYD-AM Radio in Mount Airy, NC. “Participants danced for 5 minutes to The Twist and Twist and Shout,” says the official site.

But Guinness rules are strict. Last October, a Twist record attempt in DeLand, FL, claimed more than 4,000 dancers near the Volusia County Courthouse.

Fair officials were hoping for 1,750 dancers—wearing white shirts—to do the solo dance on the floor of the equestrian arena.

Still, the San Diego County Fair may have set a record for twisting Transformers.  One big mechanical man approached Checker, 71.

“I want to see you work it. Can you work it?” Checker asked.

Said the Transformer: “You wanna little action?”

Then the blue alien robot danced the Twist.