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The Movies And Ballroom Dancing

Think dancing and you think Hollywood. Whatever kind of dancing you can think of, whether it is the gliding slow dances or the fast tap dances or the modern break dancing, the silver screen has it all. Not only that, it has immortalized both the dance and the dancers in certain movies.

 

Sometimes, the dance is just a part of the movie. Sometimes, it is the whole movie. Look at all the old Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly movies. It was the dance and the song that was the movie. The story line was present just to string the dance and song sequences together. What you remember are the flawless movements and the steps that never put a wrong foot anywhere. Ginger Rogers should probably have been even more feted considering she did all the steps in the highest of heels and backwards at that!

In the great epic movies like Gone With The Wind, even with such a powerful story you remember the great ballroom dance scene when Rhett makes a bid to dance with Scarlett. Then of course, we have movies like the Richard Gere-Jennifer Lopez starrer Shall We Dance, or the original Japanese version by the same name, where a simple guy learns to dance and prepares for the dancing competition.

There is also the wonderful movie Dance With Me, the story of Rafael, a young Cuban boy who comes to America and becomes a great dancer. The reason the ballroom dancers here look so authentic is because they used actual ballroom competition dancers in the movie. Another hit which received a standing ovation at the Cannes Festival was Strictly Ballroom where a professional dancer and an amateur pair up to enter a competition and all the comedy that follows.

So many movies over the years have had dancing sequences. Look at the old movies like West Side Story and The Little Colonel with Bojangles and Shirley Temple. And who can forget Dorothy dancing her way through The Wizard of Oz? Or the dances in The Sound of Music or Mary Poppins or My Fair Lady? Although the dance sequences in these movies did not always include ballroom dancing, the choreography certainly incorporated aspects of ballroom dance steps. And later, the dances grew more erotic like in Flashdance and Dirty Dancing. Today, you even have animated characters doing a great jig! From The Jungle Book to the Shrek series, dance has become part and parcel of most animated movies.

It's always great to watch ballroom dancing. The great thing about the movies is that they have preserved the different dances or the different ways of doing certain dancing on celluloid so people can watch and enjoy them for years to come.

Bookmark and Shareshare

 

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Ballroom Dance Movies News

'So You Think You Can Dance' recap: Top 6 (or so) perform - Baltimore Sun (blog)


Reuters

'So You Think You Can Dance' recap: Top 6 (or so) perform
Baltimore Sun (blog)
He tells Lauren she could have a future in ballroom. Mia says she's so pleased with Robert's performance because he looks like a samba dancer for real, ...
Stepping, samba and more damaged goods on "SYTYCD"Salon
'So You Think You Can Dance' - 'Top 6 Perform' RecapTV Squad (blog)
So You Think You Can Dance Recap For July 21, 2010TVGrapevine.com
Digital Spy -Cinema Blend -Rochester City Newspaper (blog)
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Things to do: July 22, 2010 - Ashland Daily Tidings


Things to do: July 22, 2010
Ashland Daily Tidings
BALLROOM DANCE PARTY: Dancing will be held from 8:30 to 10:30 pm Friday, July 23, at Evergreen Ballroom, 6088 Crater Lake Ave., Central Point. ...

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Spare Times: For Children - New York Times


Spare Times: For Children
New York Times
The movie stars about to walk the red carpet at the Directors Guild of America Theater never make the tabloids. They don't drive drunk, paint obscenities on ...

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Grande benefit will help fund film about storied venue - Detroit Free Press


Grande benefit will help fund film about storied venue
Detroit Free Press
Infamous poster artist Carl Lundgren -- known for creating some of the highly collectible Grande Ballroom posters -- is behind the poster for the movie and ...

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Special to MSN Movies - Wonderwall


Kansas City Star

Special to MSN Movies
Wonderwall
Check out these smaller but no less important panels if you need a break from the frenzied crowds in Hall H or Ballroom 20. There's also online series, ...
San Diego events this week: Del Mar Race Track, Comic-Con 2010, Salt premier ...San Diego Entertainer Magazine (blog)

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