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Wednesday, May 07, 2008Dancing and romancing
One reason I love old Hollywood musicals so much is that the dance numbers. Well, really it's the reason, but there's something particular about those dances that you don't see in modern movies so much, even in many modern movie musicals: the restraints of the era, which prevented any serious intimacies between the characters barring the odd stylised clinch, means that the dances take the place of sex scenes. While being completely decorous, they're also completely physical - and in the interactions of the dancers, a wonderful and various chemistry takes place, that expresses a great deal about the burgeoning romances.
Take three particularly fine examples: Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in Top Hat, Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds in Singin in the Rain, and Judy Garland and Kelly again in Summer Stock. The chemistry between the actors is completely different. The relaxed, tender naturalness of Kelly and Reynolds is entirely unlike the sparky, spiky playfulness of Astaire and Rogers; Astaire flirts with Rogers, teasing and tapping at her, while Rogers sneaks up to him just as he's sneaking up to her, matching his steps in a sly refusal to be outdone; conversely, the deceptive simplicity of Reynolds' and Kelly's steps, almost like a traditional ballroom waltz in places, is graced by perfect synchrony and a locked, romantic gaze. When Kelly draws Garland out in dance, on the other hand, a different kind of flirtation is taking place, a struggle for propriety on her part combined with a mischievous invitation on his, more engaged than the mischievous showing-off of Astaire that Rogers rises to: Kelly is tempting Garland more than teasing her, and she flares up in self-assertion, only to give way to overjoyed exuberance on her part that leads him almost racing to match her in impressed delight. The Astaire-Rogers and Kelly-Garland dances follow the same basic structure: man begins the dance, woman joins him and matches his steps, and the two end up dancing together, but the knowing, humorous undercurrents of Rogers and Astaire's flirtation are entirely different from the outbursts and reunions of Garland and Kelly's. I'm having a busy week, so I don't have much more to add, but go look at those clips; they're a real treat... ArchivesJuly 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 December 2009 January 2010 February 2010 March 2010 April 2010 May 2010 |
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