My Favourite Dance Numbers (well, some of them...)

I love dancing. I love participating in it, and I love watching it - I get so caught up in it that I have been known to join in the barn dancing in Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, and MANY of the scenes in Singin' In the Rain. Therefore, I thought it high time I shared with you some of my favourite dance numbers. Prepare to be blown away!

Pick Yourself Up (Instrumental) - Swing Time (Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers)

This is my absolute favourite Fred and Ginger number. The energy, the grace, the music, the way Ginger glides over that fence...perfection.

The Barn Dance - Seven Brides For Seven Brothers

This is just EPIC....and I wasn't kidding when I said that I've been known to get up and dance to this ;D Can you imagine this scene in a modern film? *laughs*

Make Way For Tomorrow - Cover Girl (Rita Hayworth, Gene Kelly, Phil Silvers)

I'd actually completely forgotten about this scene (I haven't seen Cover Girl for quite a few years...the DVD arrived today though, so I'll be remedying that ;D ) but Sara, whom I'm sure some of you know, asked me if I was going to put this in...so, thank you, Sara, for making sure this amazing dance number got onto the list! :D

All of You - Silk Stockings (Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse)

UGH. A huge chunk of perfection right there. *drools*

Moses Supposes - Singin' In the Rain (Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFxWkUkUsQA

(None of the Singin' in the Rain videos will embed, so, if you want to watch them you'll have to click ;) )

HAVE YOU SEEN THEIR FEET MOVING? Tap dancing mesmerises me...probably because I'm rubbish at it. Kudos to Donald for keeping up with Gene!

Rich Man's Frug - Sweet Charity

Fosse. Fosse. Fosse. That is all.

The Red Blues - Silk Stockings (Cyd Charisse)

I've said this before, and I'll say it again, Cyd Charisse is my favourite dancer. She is AMAZING. This is one of my favourite "Cyd Scenes" because she makes it so utterly FABULOUS without any flashy costumes/scenery. Also, her skirt mesmerises me...

Abraham - White Christmas (Vera Ellen and John Brascia)

I still WOW at this scene, even though I've seen it many, many times. They make dancing so terrifyingly fast look so easy!

Let Yourself Go - Follow the Fleet (Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers)

Do I really need to say more? It's Fred and Ginger, Ginger and Fred, Amazing and Brilliant, Brilliant and Amazing. Don't you agree? :D

Audrey Hepburn's Interpretive Dance - Funny Face

This is such an ageless number. It's always going to feel as complete as it does now, I'm sure. Audrey is fabulous, both in her dancing and her costume. I just adore this!

Broadway Melody - Singin' In the Rain (Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YWBOfsXsDA

This was the first film I ever saw Cyd in, and I've adored her ever since. I love the whole dance sequence, but it's 15 minutes long and there aren't any videos of it all on youtube, unfortunately. Oh, and then there are the intriguing missing frames around 2:40 - 2:45 - I'd love to see the dance with those few frames intact!

Puttin' On the Ritz - Blue Skies (Fred Astaire)

Only Fred can pick up a stick without bending down. Fred doesn't go to the stick, the stick goes to Fred. Fred is a god. This is why his dance numbers need no reason to be A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

Dancing In the Dark - The Band Wagon (Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse)

The elegance, grace and beauty this dance number conjures up is astonishing. I have no words to describe it...just a huge amount of love! :)

Dem Bones Cafe Scene - The Band Wagon (Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse)

This dance number is from the same film as the previous one and it couldn't be more different. It's snappy, it's colourful...and it's utterly fantastic! :) Cyd is astonishing...

Good Morning - Singin' In the Rain (Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bU2zoQ8gV-s

A couple of years ago I used to listen to this song every morning to get me ready for the day ahead! It mostly did the trick!! It's so sunny, cheerful, and optimistic that you can't help but feel a little brighter when you hear/see it! :)

Waltz In Swing Time - Swing Time (Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers)

I know this is supposed to be on of the greatest Fred and Ginger routines, and, well, I don't know about that as I'm no dancer/choreographer, but I do know that it gives me chills watching this. All those days spent perfecting the number certainly paid off...it's absolutely magnificent!

THE END

;D So, that took up quite a large amount of my time, but I think it was worth it. There you have 17 of my favourite dance numbers. Why 17? I'm not entirely sure, they're just the first ones that came to mind. There are MANY more dance numbers that I love, so perhaps I'll make another list about them sometime :D