http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo7fEaOCDxY&playnext=1&list=PLF9A5280DC84F1889&feature=results_video

The dancers, Diego Benavidez & Natasha Agudelo, are married to each other. They’re the 2011 Argentine tango champions.

Cyd had this to say:

(on Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly) I can watch Astaire anytime. I don`t think he ever made a wrong move. He was a perfectionist. He would work on a few bars for hours until it was just the way he wanted it. Gene was the same way. They both wanted perfection, even though they were completely different personalities.

(on Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly) Fred could never do the lifts Gene did and never wanted to. I`d say they were the two greatest dancing personalities who were ever on the screen. Each has a distinctive style. Each is a joy to work with. But it`s like comparing apples and oranges. They`re both delicious.

Fred moved like glass. Physically it was easy to dance with him. It was not as demanding on me. I didn`t need the same vitality and strength.

“When you’ve danced with Cyd Charisse, you stay danced with.” — Fred Astaire

He’s also a decent actor outside of his dancing, too.

Inherit The Wind, about the Scopes Monkey Trial, is probably not historically all that accurate but is a good stage for him to show his chops.

LOL, you need to go back and watch that starting where I said. It’s a good 15-30 second grind, pelvis to pelvis. It’s subtle by modern standards but not by the standards of that era.

I’d bet there were some words said about such an overt display of sexuality in many circles at the time, and I’d bet some “decency leagues” registered complaints about it. Be fun to go back through old archival papers and see how many column inches expressed dismay about the movie outside of places like NYC and LA.

First off, this clip serves as a reminder that Gene Kelly is near the top of the list of most talented people ever to grace Hollywood. Other names that come to mind are Chaplin and Judy Garland (who else belongs in this pantheon?).

Second, although I’m not a huge fan of dance or musicals per se, it’s a shame that this whole genre has pretty much gone extinct. When the whole style of movies and acting lurched into “realism” (starting, I suppose, with John Cassavetes or French New Wave or something), it appparently spelled doom for musicals. These days we have a glut of serious actors who can convincingly portray people with disabilities, mental disorders, substance abuse issues, etc., but very few movie stars who can really exude glamour, wit, moxie, and sexiness the way they did back in the golden era of Hollywood. Where is today’s Ginger Rogers?