Posted on 05/16/2022 9:37:08 AM PDT by Kaslin
As I watched old Fred Astaire movies, I was struck by the sheer perfection of his movements and his flawless syncopation. I had the conscious thought that America would be so much better off if Fred Astaire's work ethic and search for perfection were applied to our own culture.
One Fred Astaire dance, in particular, stands out as the quintessence of hard work and purity of effort: "Puttin' on the Ritz." Astaire, in his iconic top hat and tails, takes the music and reshapes it to his dance. He doesn't merely dance to the music; the music dances to him. With almost four million views, this clip is quintessentially Astaire. It is sheer perfection. Effortlessly (or so it appears), he moves every part of body and mind, using a cane as a prop, to create a syncopated flow that is sublime and strikes the appreciative viewer somewhere way back in the lizard brain. It is primitive while being sophisticated beyond belief.
According to John Mueller, an American political scholar and expert on the dance, the wow factor in "Puttin' on the Ritz" is the
use of delayed rhythmic resolution: a staggering, off-balance passage, emphasized by the unorthodox stresses in the lyric, suddenly resolves satisfyingly on a held note, followed by the forceful assertion of the title phrase.
Mueller's description is a long way of saying that what Astaire did in this particular number was impossible in anyone else's hands. Or feet. Astaire created from whole cloth a way of dancing that forevermore would have his elegance stamped on it.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
Amen!!!!
While the “Puttin’ on the Ritz” piece perfectly merged the throbbing dynamism of a big-band gallop with synchronized human athleticism and grace, I’ve never been so mesmerized by a dance interlude as I am every time I see Fred and Cyd “Dancing in the Dark” in the Band Wagon film.
My jaw is on the floor in wonderment each time I watch it.
Think ‘Singing in the Rain’. Fred had a long talk with a 19 year-old Debbie Reynolds About putting in the effort to be great. She was ready to quit as I read.
Fred Astaire had the gift of being able to make his dance partners look amazing...including the time he danced with a hat stand!
Ginger made more than the hat stand, legend has it.
Don’t recall the name of the movie - but he was hitting golf balls while dancing - unreal - no gimmick photography- shot after shot - solid and down the middle
That disparaging old joke about Ginger doing what Fred did backwards and in heels was patently unfair. Astaire was a genius.
Fred Astaire may have developed his work ethic in vaudeville where he started. There, you either stood out, or you and your family starved, literally.
“Ginger made more than the hat stand, legend has it.”
The hat stand was the better dancer.
Ginger did everything Fred did. But backwards. In heels.
I’ve never been so mesmerized by a dance interlude as I am every time I see Fred and Cyd “Dancing in the Dark” in the Band Wagon film.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
My hubby’s favorite dance sequence. (Of course it has nothing to do with Cyd Charisse’s beauty.)
Actually, this is false. For one thing, Fred was the leader in every dance. He made her dancing look much better than it would have looked otherwise. He forced her to nearly the level of perfection he achieved naturally.
Cyd does have it goin on, doesn’t she? What a magnificent and talented woman! The moves she did with Gene Kelly are not to be missed.
How about tap dancing on roller skates?
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rcRwvVg68FM
Donald O’Connor
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jiuwrB652F8
“Don’t recall the name of the movie - but he was hitting golf balls while dancing - unreal - no gimmick photography- shot after shot - solid and down the middle“
- That was in “Carefree”, one of my favorite movies.
Yes! - the way he just spins, comes back to the tee and swings without really taking aim… and he nails a PERFECT drive EVERY time!
I bet he could’ve been a golf pro too if he wanted to.
I liked Rita Hayworth better, her father ran a dance studio and she’d been dancing for many years before she met Fred. Sadly, she drank too much and couldn’t keep it up.
Fred Astaire’s fabulous dance to “Smooth Operator” was outstanding. Michael Jackson did an updated version in color based on Fred’s moves. Astaire said the Michael did it better.
I watch Smooth Operator at least once a year on YouTube. Both versions. Prefer Michael’s. He was a crazy pedo, but I put that aside when I watch that video. He died soon after he made the vid. I was at my daughter’s house when Michael’s death was announced and we both cried. She was, in her youth, a professional dancer, now a staid sheriff’s wife.
Steve Martin and Gilda radner back when SNL used to be comedy...
https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=940bcf38d8b4abe651501197f591d9626c0849a1702860eb628345fe88acd55cJmltdHM9MTY1MjcyMjY1MCZpZ3VpZD0wMGFkNzFkZi1mODhhLTRjZmQtOTJiNS02MjZmY2VmNmQ5OWImaW5zaWQ9NTQ0Mg&ptn=3&fclid=dc384933-d53e-11ec-9d3d-f1eeb1db5d47&u=a1L3ZpZGVvcy9zZWFyY2g_cT1TdGV2ZStNYXJ0aW4rR2lsZGErUmFkbmVyK0RhbmNpbmcraW4rdGhlK2Rhcmsmdmlldz1kZXRhaWwmbWlkPTE3RDNCNDBBRkJGRTRCODE4NDlDMTdEM0I0MEFGQkZFNEI4MTg0OUMmRk9STT1WSVJF&ntb=1
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