DANCE IN THE MOVIES

Dance in the Movies is devoted to my own personal insights of some of my favorite dance pieces from the incredible movie musicals of the 1930s, 40s and 50s. Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Eleanor Powell, Gene Kelly, Cyd Charisse, Vera Ellen, Ann Miller and the Nicholas Brothers are featured in some of the virtuoso film performances of their time. These dances never grow old. The technique and grace involved is unmatched even today. 

All of the dances you see here were filmed full framed with very few if any edits. You can thank Fred Astaire for that. He insisted that all his numbers be filmed without edit and without closeups so that the full effect of the dancing could be felt. Compare that to today's film fad of edits every 1 -2 seconds. 

If you click on the buttons below you will be taken to an analysis of the dances as well as the clips themselves. Most of these articles include other relevant film clips too. For instance, 5 of Ann Miller's dances are featured within her article. Once arriving on these different pages you will notice a button near the introduction. Those links refer to articles I have written on subjects pertinent in some way.
This is a list of the most wonderful and watchable movie musicals in Hollywood history. Each of these movies are great in their own right from start to finish. I have also provided a film clip of my favorite scene from each.

What follows now are detailed descriptions of some of the very best.

Gene Kelly is a Hollywood heartthrob as well as being a real man's dancer. The athletic Kelly took Hollywood by storm from 1940 through 1957. Many people's favorite dancer of all time, he had a prolific film career as dancer, choreographer and director. He and Stanley Donen had a prolific partnership which included the creation of the film musical masterpiece Singin' in the Rain (1952). Watch as Kelly dances his way through many different scenes. This is especially for those of us who are hibernating during the 2020 NOVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Who else would you want to quarantine yourself with? Included is much background not commonly known.
Ann Miller is a film dancer who all of us grew up with. She appeared in many movies, always displaying her incredible tap dancing as well as her singing, acting and comedic skills. She is an electric entertainer. Watch clips of her best dances from the fabulous movies Kiss Me Kate (1953), Easter Parade (1948) and On the Town (1949).
Begin the Beguine is the fabulous and momentous dance which paired the 2 greatest film dancers of all time. Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell make movie history in Broadway Melody of 1940. This extended dance sequence was filmed on a mirrored stage, creating indelible and timeless images that everyone will enjoy. Included are several clips of Eleanor Powell solos from various movies showing her dynamic dance style that still astonishes nearly 80 years later!
Baby You Knock Me Out is a dance from the movie It's Always Fair Weather made in 1955 staring Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse. The piece from the movie highlighted here is a dance Cyd did with a bunch of perspiring prizefighters in the renowned Stillman's Gym from NYC. It is one of the cutest, sexiest and most entertaining dance pieces I've ever seen. The sequence when she is thrown over the ropes is awesome. Watch this clip. You will just love it.
The Nicholas Brothers dance the finale from Stormy Weather made in 1943 with an all star all black cast that includes Bill Robinson, the divine Lena Horne as well as Cab Calloway, Fats Waller and Katherine Dunham. Fred Astaire called this dance sequence to Jumping' Jive the best ever filmed. The brothers never took dance classes. They also didn't rehearse. They were quite dismayed when Gene Kelly insisted on it for the trio they did together in 1948's The Pirate. Here from Stormy Weather are the virtuoso brothers. Click on the button below for an analysis of the dance and to watch the clip itself:
Slaughter on 10th Avenue with Gene Kelly and Vera Ellen from the movie Words and Music made in 1948. A film noir jazz ballet choreographed originally by George Balanchine but greatly updated by Gene Kelly, this 7 and a half minute dance tells the love story of a hoofer and dance hall girl that ends tragically. The music is by Richard Rogers and is timelessly magnificent. Kelly and Vera Ellen make an entrance down a staircase at the 4:08 mark that changes the dance world forever. Stunning.
Let's Face the Music and Dance is based on the unusual musical theme of depression and attempted suicide. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers are at their best in this clip from the 1936 movie Follow the Fleet. The dance is a stylish and moving piece in which the dance is only part of the story. Click on the button below to read my analysis as well as watch the dance itself.

The subject of dance in the movies relates strongly to the mission of improving balance and preventing falls because watching beautiful movement has a real effect on ability. Mental focus is 50% of dance and balance and fall prevention. When we visualize what we aspire to, our nervous system responds and the body learns. In other words, watching Fred Astaire move gracefully helps us to also.

Let me illustrate how this happens: In 2000 I had my own dance company. One of the dancers was not doing well. Her coordination was awful on this one dance. It was so bad that I was going to have to cut her out from an upcoming performance. I didn't see her for 2 weeks. She came back and her execution of the piece was perfect! I remarked that she must have been practicing. She had but in a different way. She did not physically practice the dance at all. What she did was to each day imagine the choreography while listening to the music. That approach caused her body to learn the movements exactly - without doing them!

The same is true for us as we age. We can imagine how we want to move and our body will learn. The key is in the specificity of the visualization that you conjure. The more detail, the deeper the focus, the more the nervous system learns.