So in lieu of actual original content, here is Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers’ waltz from Swing Time, one of the finest dances on film ever:
I have always held that this is an excellent test to see if a person has a soul or not. If you do not like this, strongly consider the possibility that you are an emotionless android, secretly tasked to destroy all humans.
Related Articles
28 users responded in this post
haha, I showed my mother your post and she made me search through youtube until I found this clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYHZh-xnqhE
About 4 minutes in, the dance scene on the balcony. She said that’s her favorite dance scene of those two.
She has crazy good balance- look at those heels she’s wearing!
Officially bored @ 1:39
Excuse me, I have to get my tires rotated. Not my car, just me.
Swing Time is my absolute favorite of the Fred & Ginger films. AND an excellent tool in preventing the impending robopocalypse, as you point out!
As an emotionless android i take offense in your comment. Also, i take pride in my task to destroy all humans and would never keep it a secret.
Cheek to Cheek has always been my favorite Astaire/Rogers piece. (For overall Astaire goodness, I prefer Silk Stockings, but that was him and Cyd Charisse.)
See you and raise:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7166448883120539209#
I dunno, it’s something I cannot do, and they look great doing it, but… I’ve never found dance an evocative medium in conjunction with film or TV.
Jesus, Bird, you’ve got a lotta robots reading here.
We prefer the term Ferro-Americans. Well, those of us who are American do (and some of us who are Canadian–admit it).
They don’t seem to be dancing WITH the music for most of it. Anything could be playing and it would match about as well…
And all in one take, from the look of it. No edits or quick cuts to a closeup.
I always loved “Never Gonna Dance,” myself. That one got me to buy a pricey (for the time) double-set of Fred Astaire discs.
Very pretty, though I kind of agree that the music played with it didn’t really match the dance, and might have been better without it.
I always felt Fred got a bit unfairly maligned by that “Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did but backwards and in high heels.” Don’t use Astaire as a symbol of patriarchy. Dude just liked to dance.
Chromic-Canadian, thank you. I for one will never welcome manifest destiny.
Dance has never been a big part of my life, though I enjoyed being part of the coreography in local community theater. So whatever is there, it’s pretty much not *for* me. I can appreciate the skill, but I would more than likely fast forward through it to get to actual plot or acting.
MGK, I think Brad Hanon just called you out with that Stormy Weather clip. The first time I ever saw that movie I shed tears at that scene. That is beauty.
I’ve often found that some nerds can intellectualize their way out of feeling joy at anything. I weep for those people.
I just hope they understand why I cry, though it is something they can never do.
The coordination is impressive, and I like the little flourishes that they do (like that backslide thing).
Otherwise the waltz is just boring. It’s “Hey, so you like circles? Here’s several”
“And all in one take, from the look of it.”
The great majority of Astaire’s dance numbers were shot that way at his insistence. The “Never Gonna Dance” number in Swing Time (curiously not on YouTube) had 47 takes. Rogers’ feet were bleeding by the end and Astaire had to stop between takes to pop blisters on his feet. One take was scuppered when Fred’s toupee flew off.
I’ve always compared an Astaire-Rogers dance number to watching Michael Jordan in his prime. Supreme athleticism, grace and balance that would leave you wondering how something that seems physically impossible can be made to look so easy.
My sentimental favorite is “I’ll Be Hard To Handle” from the film Roberta. Despite their dancefloor chemistry, Rogers’ relationship with Astaire wasn’t warm and fuzzy. He was a notorious perfectionist, his rehearsals were physically grueling and she felt her solo film career was being submerged by the partnership. The recording of this dance was supposedly preceded by a chilly argument, but during the course of the dance she was having such fun she lets out an involuntary giggle a couple of times.
Anyway, for those interested:
Swing Time, “Never Gonna Dance” (wait out Fred’s singing, the good stuff is in there):
http://rutube.ru/tracks/2067940.html
Roberta, “I’ll Be Too Hard To Handle”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnUfY-URXzA
“secretly”?
Without even looking at it, I’m going to guess that this is that famous Nicholas Brothers routine. Tell me I’m wrong.
didn’t they just come out with a study that showed women were sexually attracted to guys who could dance?
/works on his Gene Kelly steps
Heh. Well spotted, MGK. Most clips online just show the dance, but I made sure to link to the one that has Cab Calloway’s intro song, because Cab goddamn Calloway. It was Astaire who supposedly called that number the best dance routine ever done. Dude had a point.
I believe that was the “No Shit” study.
The Nicholas Brothers routine was in every way better than the Astaire-Rogers one.
The Nicholas Brothers routine is much more inventive and their dancing is clever, but Astaire and Rogers dancing is beautiful.
I suspect many of these commenters also don’t understand that the most important ingredient in any baked good is love. This means I can also include a cake test in my robot-detecting.
Well, I had no intention of spending an hour watching Fred & Ginger clips, but I’ve had worse Saturday evenings!
Dancing, I cannot relate to. Cake, on the other hand, is something I understand. Perhaps I may be a predecessor to GLaDOS?
Zenrage: You should’ve held out a few seconds longer. I only started to get into it at about 1:45, when the music cuts and you just have the high string accompaniment to their tapping. And then I understood what people meant when they describe dancers as looking like they’re floating.
…Does that make me half a robot? Maybe I have some Ferro-American blood somewhere up there on my family tree.