#31DaysOfDanceRoutines

The 31st routine.

It is the Nicholas Brothers! The hands-down best American #dancers of the 20th century.

I am using the clip of another great dancer, Gregory Hines, talking through the Brothers' most famous routine from the film Stormy Weather.

Hold on to your hats and marvel at what the human body can do

👞 👞

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPQ32PTmQc0

#31DaysOfDanceRoutines

Second last routine.

This is the woefully under-estimated Jane Russell from Gentleman Prefer Blonds.

Really, all of the routines in this movie are fabulous! Especially given the fact that neither Russell nor Monroe were professional dancers.

That fall into the pool at the end was not choreographed - but everyone kept in character so the cut was included in the final film.

https://peertube.nz/w/fLSHUvKWxhL7jZTwXNKT2n

#31DaysOfDanceRoutines

The next routine is for all you #Book lovers out there!

Marion the Librarian from The Music Man

#Bookstodon

https://peertube.nz/w/xz9yRx8URVwgaC3oYiiat6

#31DaysOfDanceRoutines

The next routine is the "picnic dance" from Pyjama Game.

More of the wonderful Carol Haney, and more Bob Fosse choreography.

https://peertube.nz/w/v8RHAXfRqY76Gkt4CaBSwo

#31DaysOfDanceRoutines

The first routine is #DannyKaye from one of my favourite movies of his, although it's not well known: On The Double.

https://freeradical.zone/@ihaywood/110099664345303436

#31DaysOfDanceRoutines

Back in March, I was tooting a daily favourite dance routine, with a little blurb.

But then my computer died and it was 4 weeks until I was able to get a replacement.

And I feel like I have been playing catch up ever since.

So I never finished tooting all the dance routines I had in mind

#31DaysOfDanceRoutines

Day 27 = J Lo

A very different kind of dancing today.

I am not a J Lo fan. I couldn't tell you anything about her music... Her movies... etc I just know that she exists, and that she is a multi-talented performer and business woman.

However, I *did* watch Hustlers last year and agree that it is an excellently made movie, with a lot to say.

And, of course, a lot of pole dancing!

I am in awe of the skill and strength required to do these routines.

Jennifer Lopez's routine is the first 2:20 of the clip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xh4Oe3ATOvQ

#31DaysOfDanceRoutines

Day 26 = Swing Dance

So I haven't seen the movie Swing Kids... And, in fact, I only heard about it 15 years after it was made 🤣

But these clips are making me drool!

Get those toes tapping!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YibBVIYwQWs

#31DaysOfDanceRoutines

Day 25 = Danny Kaye

Danny Kaye was not a trained dancer.

However, like Dick Van Dyke and Charlie Chaplin he was a gifted and graceful mover.

Although Kaye did do actual dance routines and partnered proper dancers, this is one of the funniest dance routines he did.

The movie is On The Double - one of my all time Faves.

#31DaysOfDanceRoutines

I realise that I missed yesterday and have yet to toot today...

I am trying hard to figure out how to share the remaining dance routines that I love, but that do not appear to be anywhere on the net :skellysplode:

Stay tuned...

#31DaysOfDanceRoutines

Day 24 = Rudolf Nureyev

#TheMuppets were famous for giving performers the opportunity to show off skills that the public did not normally see.

I really wanted to have the link to Mark Hamill tap dancing and some of the Star Wars cast dancing with The Muppets but I could not find a good enough quality video.

So here is the great ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev tap dancing.

I have to say, I prefer to watch Fred Astaire or Gregory Hines but it's really interesting to see Nureyev dance in another discipline.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLwolzO_Llc

#31DaysOfDanceRoutines

Day 23 = Jerome Robbins / West Side Story

I confess, I don't think I have seen the whole movie of West Side Story.

And the re-make is sitting in my TBW pile...

(I HAVE seen it on stage at least twice.)

I could pick any dance routine from the show - Jerome Robbins was an amazing choreographer! And he outdid himself for this show and movie.

But the America number is *fun* - it's filled with skill and joy.

I just want to get up and dance along 💃

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhSKk-cvblc

#31DaysOfDanceRoutines

Day 22 = Get Happy

So last month I shared the video clip for the Judy Garland version of Get Happy.

This time round, it is the House version.

Back from when there was a craze for serious TV dramas to have a "musical" episode.

It's fascinating to observe how differently the song is treated and realised.

And BTW, I have two of Hugh Laurie's blues albums - the guy is soooo talented!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X56GPTpgm04

#31DaysOfDanceRoutines

Day 21 = Cyd Charisse

I confess, I don't know much about Cyd Charisse.

And I only have one favourite performance of her's. (Happy to be directed to some other good dance routines of her's.)

But what a performance!

Singing in the Rain is a good movie overall, but has some very low bits that I fast forward through.

(I shall highlight Gene Kelly soon.)

For instance, the loooooong Broadway Melody interlude. However, this sexy vampy dance I can happily watch again and again.

And again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz-nR8ThNQo

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Day 20 = oops I missed it!

Day 20 = Mary Poppins

While I knew the soundtrack to Mary Poppins from when I was a kid, I never actually got to watch the movie until I was an adult.

And I love it! It is Disney perfection *chef's kiss*

Would you believe that Dick Van Dyke was not a professional dancer?

It makes watching Step In Time an even more remarkable experience.

Enjoy 👞 👞

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSCdFVc6DoY

#31DaysOfDanceRoutines

Day 19 = Carol Haney

She is the awesome Bob Fosse interpreter you never heard of.

(So another Bob Fosse entry today - and if I get my way there will be yet another one)

Unfortunately, Haney died of diabetes related complications way too young.

She was an extra in several big musical productions but it's her partnership with Fosse that caught my eye.

Quite literally she was his dance partner in his first onscreen choreographed dance in Kiss Me Kate.

(That is, the first dance that Fosse was allowed to choreograph himself that appeared in a movie.)

And then Haney was one of the co-stars in the filmed version of The Pyjama Game.

I'm afraid I don't know anything about the two - very excellent - male dancers who accompany her.

Enjoy Steam Heat...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZaTsNjhTYs

#31DaysOfDanceRoutines

Day 18 = Dirty Dancing

No, I am not going to nominate the cliched end dance sequence

I *am* going to shout out to Patrick Swayze. He has been compared to Gene Kelly and for good reason.

However, I am going to direct your attention to all the dancing that happens "behind the scenes" at Kellermans, and especially this sequence - where Cynthia Rhodes slays it.

I am also going to shout out to the feminist underpinnings behind this movie - there are some great interviews and reflective pieces about it from when the movie turned 30.

Anyway, watch this and get your hearts pumping on this Carturday morning people 🩰

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCioEEHmHA0

#31DaysOfDanceRoutines

Day 17 = White Nights

What could be better than Gregory Hines or Mikhail Baryshnikov?

The both of them together!

White Nights is a classic 80s Cold War movie that held up well when I first saw it in the 90s, and continues to be good on repeat viewings. (Admittedly it's been a few years since I last saw it - time for a movie night! 🍿 )

The production of the movie is a really interesting story in its own right.

But the highlight has to be seeing two incredibly talented dancers from two very different traditions dancing up a storm in a rare male duet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qDGVHy5iTM

#31DaysOfDanceRoutines

Day 17 = watch this space...

I am trying hard to figure out the technology to capture a clip from one of my personal videos and post it here

I have gone old school and filmed the clip as it plays on my laptop...

And I have (finally!) been able to get my Mac to recognise the file created on my Sony camera...

And I have copied the file onto my desktop...

But the file is too large to attach to a toot!

Any suggestions for the next step would be appreciated

#ITHelpDesk

#Help

#31DaysOfDanceRoutines

Day 16 = Charlie Chaplin

While Charlie Chaplin was not a dancer, his physical movements were full of grace.

There are several iconic dance scenes peppered throughout his movies (dancing bread rolls... dancing and singing waiter...) but The Great Dictator is in a class of its own.

This globe ballet is an amazing scene. Both beautiful and chilling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jj-PaqFrBc