Monday, March 29, 2010

I think you show real tendency to terpsichorean excellence

First off, I'd like to give away the answer to the quote of the week. Sadly, nobody guessed it. The answer was Percy Blakeney in The Scarlet Pimpernel. I highly recommend this movie. It's really funny. Leslie Howard is hilarious in it and has Percy's character down to a T (to a tee?). Delightful!



As promised, here is my complete list of favorite male dancers. I'm linking to the posts so if you click on their names, you can read more about them and watch videos - in case you haven't done that yet and would like to. Thank you everyone for reading this list! I'd love to hear about your favorite dancers. I know I left a few out and I'd be curious to see what order you'd put each one in. But at any rate, here's mine:

1. Fred Astaire
Favorite solos: "Let's Say It With Firecrackers," from Holiday Inn "Don't Let It Bother You," from The Gay Divorcee and "The Hat Rack Dance" from Royal Wedding.
Favorite ever dance: "Pick Yourself Up" from Swing Time.

2. Gene Kelly
Favorite solos: "Singin' in the Rain," from Singin' in the Rain, "You Wonderful You" from Summer Stock and "Tra-La-La" from An American in Paris.
Favorite ever dance: The "Broadway Melody" jazz ballet from Singin' in the Rain

3. Bob Fosse
Favorite dances: "From This Moment On" from Kiss Me Kate, "Who's Got the Pain" from Damn Yankees, and his duet with Tommy Rall in My Sister Eileen.

4. Danny Kaye
Favorite dance: "The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing from White Christmas

5. Tommy Rall
Favorite dance: "Bless Yore Beautiful Hide" (barn dance) in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

6. Ricardo Montalban
Favorite dance: "Dark Duet" from On An Island With You

7. Donald O'Connor
Favorite dance: "Make 'Em Laugh" from Singin' in the Rain

8. Bobby Van
Favorite dance: "Take Me To Broadway" from Small Town Girl

9. John Brascia
Favorite dance: "Frankie and Johnny" from Meet Me In Las Vegas

10. Dick van Dyke
Favorite dance: "Jolly Holiday" (the penguin dance) from Mary Poppins

11. George Murphy
Favorite dance: "We Should Be Together" from Little Miss Broadway

12. Russ Tamblyn
Favorite dance: "Dance at the Gym" from West Side Story

13. Buddy Ebsen
Favorite dance: "The Codfish Ball" from Captain January

14. Bill "Bojangles" Robinson
Favorite dance: the stair dance from The Little Colonel

15. Bert May
Favorite dance: "Get Happy" from Summer Stock



So, what did you think? Was this list entertaining? How did the daily posting thing work for you? You can be honest. I mean, please don't tell me it was the most boring thing you've ever read and you were sick and tired of hearing from me. But, if you liked it, please let me know. I think I gauge the success by the amount of positive responses I get. Basically, I'm wondering if I should do it again. I was planning on doing a list of top female dancers. Would you like to have another series of posts or do you prefer a tidy, short-and-sweet read? Let me know! And thank you!

4 comments:

  1. No way...brilliant! I feel like I have a whole list of films I need to check out! Looking forward to the lady's list!

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  2. To answer your questions, I did enjoy reading your list one by one as well as getting the summary with everything in one post. I hope you continue!

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  3. I thought it was a great series! It was a perfect mix of well-known stars, and perhaps less familiar ones. I know I definately gained a few new interests from reading :-)

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  4. I love your daily posts! Haha my favorites on your list are of course Fred and Gene, and Donald O'Connor's Make Them Laugh dance (so hilarious!) and Bill Robinson and Buddy Ebsen's dances with Shirley Temple! Ahh I agree with so many favorites on your list, it's difficult to pick one! I can't wait to see your female dancers list!

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