Monday, March 22, 2010

Maybe it isn't only the music

We're getting close to the end of my list here. So, ever onward...

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


Danny Kaye may be a strange choice for #4 in that I've seen him dance very little. I decided to put him so far up, however, because The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing is one of my favorite dance numbers of all time. Why do we like watching male dancers so much? I think it's because we (and I'm speaking of female audience members, chiefly) wish we were dancing with them. When I watch Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, particularly in duet performances, I sigh and wish I could be the girl. It always looks so romantic and so classy. Well, Danny Kaye makes dancing look fun as well as romantic and classy. Amanda Cooper wrote a wonderful post on the matter in her blog a good while ago. You can read it here.


I've also heard somewhere that, in a duet, the guy's job is to make the girl look good. Basically, he has to be the support so that she can do all of her fun, frilly, fancy stuff. I think Danny does a wonderful job of this, allowing Vera-Ellen to show off her dancing prowess, and I think he partners well with her in general. He seems to be mostly considered a comedian, but I believe he had a lot of talent on the dance floor. And here is the dance:





Now, all that are left are my top three favorite male dancers. For those ones, I'm changing up the format just a touch. I'm going to include my favorite solo dances as well as my favorite overall dances. Although, I should warn you that I actually break this format with #3 because I don't really know any of his solo dances.

1 comment:

  1. Danny Kaye!!!!!!! This is a great tribute to the great comedian and dancer!

    Thanks for the mention!

    ReplyDelete

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