Dances of the day, July songs

It started with Tap.

I saw a reference to the movie and looked it up. I knew Gregory Hines was in it, but not that it also had Sammy Davis Jr. and Savion Glover. What an amazing link between generations of tap dancing!

More than I knew.

The challenge scene brings in six other dancers between the ages of 62 and 71, and they are amazing. 

There were also pictures on the walls and in the credits of classic dancers. I was sure the Nicholas Brothers were in those pictures, but did not realize that was Harold Nicholas sliding into and springing up from splits as if no time had passed. I was thinking Stormy Weather was older than it was. It was "only" from 1943.

Harold Nicholas was 68 years old in Tap, 1989. I checked to see and his brother Fayard was still alive. Maybe he wasn't dancing? Well, there is a tribute to dance from 1990 that shows them dancing together, except that Harold tells Fayard to do the splits and Fayard says he won't because it hurts.

I believe him, but based on the level at which he was still moving, if you are a dancer, keep it up. Maybe even try starting now. It seems to do wonders.

Anyway, I started thinking about all of these amazing dance numbers, and decided that would be July's theme. 

There were some difficulties. I couldn't always find the clips that I wanted, of course, but also, choreography can be a tricky thing.

For example, in Stormy Weather, the choreographer is listed as Katherine Dunham. Well, that's fine; I know she choreographed at least one of the numbers and possibly two. I don't believe she choreographed "Jumpin' Jive". I suspect that was mainly the Nicholas brothers themselves, probably with some collaboration with the director and the set. 

In fact, Hines has an "improvographer" credit on Tap, because he was making up some stuff as he went along. That was definitely for himself, but maybe also for others in the Sounds of the Street sequence (for which I really wanted to find a good clip).

Also, with A Chorus Line, the movie choreographer was not the Broadway choreographer, but I have to believe there was an influence. It makes sense to adjust for having a camera; I just wonder about the process.

I wrote notes, sometimes copious, on almost every day... there is too much to say about them, except that I love dance.

Well, I love it when it's good. I was excited around 2006 when two new movies (Take the Lead and Step Up) came out, but they didn't make me want to dance or even buy the soundtracks. A little musicality, please! 

(That is one reason I have no interest in the Magic Mike franchise, though not the only one.)

When it works, it's magic.

Anyway, when a dancer or choreographer or song comes up more than once, I have underlined it. It covers such a wide time period that there aren't a lot of repeats.

Movies are mostly in chronological order, but Strictly Ballroom gave me such difficulty finding clips it ended up out of place. I hated the way the scenes on Youtube were cut, but how can you leave it out?

7/1
“Got a Feeling You're Fooling” from Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935), with choreography by Dave Gould and Albertina Rasch. Performed by Robert Taylor, June Knight, Nick Long Jr., and ensemble
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t29pGYd_X30

7/2
“You Are My Lucky Star” from Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935), with choreography by Dave Gould and Albertina Rasch. Performed by Eleanor Powell, with Roger Edens on piano.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1G9aQEmfyQ

7/3
“Jumpin' Jive” by Cab Calloway from Stormy Weather (1943), with choreography by Katherine Dunham. Performed by the Nicholas Brothers, Fayard and Harold Nicholas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNKRm6H-qOU

7/4
Audition scene featuring “Largo Al Factotum” and others from Tonight and Every Night (1945), with choreography by Jack Cole. Danced by Marc Platt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSx4fbSUWQ8

7/5
“Good Morning” from Singin' in the Rain (1952), with choreography by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen. Performed by Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O' Connor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyMU8O2B2Vs

7/6
“Saturday Afternoon Before the Game” from I Love Melvin (1953), with choreography by Robert Alton. Performed by Debbie Reynolds and ensemble.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoqdzT95wc4

7/7
“The Barn Dance” from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), with choreography by Michael Kidd. Performed by ensemble, including Mark Platt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbzJtP75NqM

7/8
“Zip” from Pal Joey (1957), with choreography by Robert Alton. Performed by Rita Hayworth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXr2rbI-qYg

7/9
“Step in Time” from Mary Poppins (1964), with choreography by Marc Breaux. Performed by Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, and ensemble.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSCdFVc6DoY

7/10
“The Laendler” from The Sound of Music (1965), with choreography by Marc Breaux. Performed by Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, and Duane Chase.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUFBOC6lQoo

7/11
“Everything Old Is New Again” by Peter Allen from All That Jazz (1979), with choreography by Bob Fosse. Performed by Ann Reinking and Erzsebet Foldi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRVv2b-hL_0

7/12
“The First Time It Happens” from The Great Muppet Caper (1981), with choreography by Anita Mann. Performed by Miss Piggy, Kermit, and ensemble.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWSba6qTTGk

7/13
“Footloose” by Kenny Loggins from Footloose (1984), with choreography by Lynne Taylor-Corbett. Performed by ensemble.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-OG0EyJyV8

7/14
“I Can Do That” from A Chorus Line (1985), with choreography by Jeffrey Hornaday (presumably inspired by Michael Bennett). Performed by Charles McGowan (and Greg Burge).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nZRjGKIbfM

7/15
“One” from A Chorus Line (1985), with choreography by Jeffrey Hornaday (presumably inspired by Michael Bennett). Performed by ensemble, including Charles McGowan and Greg Burge.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrLcbi68R_A

7/16
“Prove Me Wrong” by Robert Plant from White Nights (1985), with choreography by Twyla Tharp. Performed by Gregory Hines and Mikhail Baryshnikov.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImzkWZkaIIM

7/17
“Hands Off” by Maria Vidal, from Once Bitten  (1985), with choreography by Joanne DiVito. Danced by Lauren Hutton, Karen Kopins, and Jim Carrey.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyPc-1QdzSE

7/18
“Try a Little Tenderness” by Otis Redding from Pretty In Pink (1986), with choreography by Kenny Ortega. Danced by Jon Cryer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmKckJTwwzs

7/19
“(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life, by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, from Dirty Dancing (1987), with choreography by Kenny Ortega. Danced by Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, and ensemble.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpmILPAcRQo

7/20
“Challenge Scene” with stop-time piano being played by Henry LeTang from Tap (1989), with choreography from Henry LeTang and Chester A. Whitmore. Danced by Arthur Duncan (64), Bunny Briggs (67), Jimmy Slyde (62), Steve Condos (71), Harold Nicholas (68), Sandman Sims (71), Sammy Davis Jr. (64), and Gregory Hines (43).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Zd6GnFCfck

7/21
“Shall We Dance” sung by Taeko Ônuki, from Shall We Dansu? (1996), with choreography by Toshio Watari. Danced by ensemble.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=487Ps-TBKN0

7/22
“Fiesta Pa'Los Rumberos” by Albita from Dance With Me (1998), with choreography by Daryl Matthews. Danced by Vanessa Williams, Chayanne, and ensemble.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-gMGPbPCoo

7/23
“Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps” by Doris Day, from Strictly Ballroom (1992), with choreography by John “Cha Cha” O’Connell. Danced by Paul Mercurio and Tara Morice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzOtTXOVc9A

7/24
“Tango a Trio”, from Tango (1998), with choreography by Carlos Rivarola and Ana Maria Stekelman. Danced by Cecilia Narova, Mia Maestro, and Juan Carlos Copes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP8I8NIoAqI

7/25
Final dance, with excerpts from “The Way You Make Me Feel” by Michael Jackson; Mendelssohn’s “Symphony No. 4 in A, Opus 90”; “If I Was the One” by Ruff Endz; Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” and “Sleeping Beauty, Opus 66”; “We’re Dancing” by P.Y.T.; and “Canned Heat” by Jamiroquai; from Center Stage (2000), with choreography by Susan Stroman. Danced by Amanda Schull, Ethan Stiefel, Sascha Radetsky, and ensemble.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uywJ9hNa0fs

7/26
“Canned Heat” by Jamiroquai from Napoleon Dynamite (2004). Choreographed and danced by Jon Heder.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiAwpYIkRmU

7/27
“You Can’t Stop the Beat” from Hairspray (2009) with choreography by Adam Shankman. Danced by ensemble including Zac Efron.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZnt-0fEiT0

7/28
“You Make My Dreams Come True” by Hall & Oates from 500 Days of Summer (2009), with choreography by Michael Rooney. Danced by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and ensemble
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2VGpqq2-I8

7/29
“Dirty Tap Dancing” from The Artist (2011), with choreography by Fabien Ruiz. Performed by Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EC20KdIDiEY

7/30
“Rewrite the Stars” from The Greatest Showman (2017), with choreography by Ashley Wallen. Performed by Zac Efron and Zendaya
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yO28Z5_Eyls

7/31
“Rain on the Roof” from Paddington 2 (2017), with choreography by Craig Revel Horwood. Sung and danced by Hugh Grant and ensemble.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reyeX6ajeUw