[NOTE: This is part of a series I’ve done. So far I’ve featured dance teachers Stanley Holden and Finis Jhung. There are plenty more I could write about.] Last night I was musing about the changes in dance in my … Continue reading →
In 1957, we see why Elvis was nicknamed The Pelvis. We also see – or at least I think I see – the roots of his dancing in James Cagney. “James Cagney?” you ask, puzzled. Not in Cagney’s tap dancing … Continue reading →
I often complain about how ballet has lost much of its charm and art, sacrificed to ever more spectacular technique and tense gymnastics. The greatest of the olden-day dancers didn’t raise their legs as high, and didn’t perform as many … Continue reading →
[nOTE: Part I can be found here.] Singing while doing much dancing is rare for several reasons. The first is that unless the dance is very simple and slow, the dancer gets out of breath (that also can be a … Continue reading →
Let’s have a happier discussion. In this thread, I was asked to give my opinion on Fred Astaire versus Gene Kelly. So here it is. Kelly was excellent. Astaire was transcendent. Kelly was a strong and very good dancer. Astaire … Continue reading →
Sometimes the great and the famous are arrogant, or they become arrogant. But not Fred Astaire: His perfectionism was legendary, but his relentless insistence on rehearsals and retakes was a burden to some. When time approached for the shooting of … Continue reading →
I’ve periodically searched and searched for a video of this particular dance by this particular dancer, and I’ve finally found it. Blurry though it may be, it captures at least some of the qualities of the mesmerizing, uniquely beautiful and … Continue reading →
The news of the death of Italian ballet dancer Carla Fracci on May 27th has made me sad. Fracci didn’t have the perfect physique, she didn’t have the most solid technique or the highest extensions or the most spectacular turns … Continue reading →
I’ve gotten fascinated by the process of songwriting, something I don’t understand. I think I can safely say I will never write a song. But there are people who do it from childhood on, over and over. Sometimes they never … Continue reading →
[Hat tip: A whole bunch of readers sent me links to this.] Heather Mac Donald is a writer I admire who knows a lot about the anti-racist movement as it relates to policing. Now she tackles the subject of how … Continue reading →
In this season of holidays that feature light in the darkness of the darkest time of year, we also have the political shadows that have descended on America. I’m going to assume that most of us are doing what we … Continue reading →
If you’re of a certain age, you may remember Señor Wences from the Ed Sullivan Show. I loved him, and would watch the show every Sunday night, always hoping he’d be on: Wences (real name: Wenceslao Moreno) had a pretty … Continue reading →