Douglas Messerli | "Shall We Dance? : Some Masterpieces of Film Dance"

shall we dance ?: some masterpieces of film dance

by Douglas Messerli

 

As a lover of dance, I have been wanting for some time now to write about my favorite film dance numbers. I began this project rather innocently, without imagining just how extensive my list might ultimately become. I little expected the problems about this genre that I discovered.

    From the start, I determined not to include balletic performances transcribed to the screen. I also, somewhat arbitrarily, decided not to include filmed song videos, which also meant that I had to ignore wonderful dances on film such as those by Michael Jackson; but I felt that I was more interested in dance that interrelated to the story, the music, and other elements of film than to a promotional effort to sell music.

    With perhaps even more regret, I decided to exclude ice dancing (by energetic performers such as Sonja Henie) and water dancing (by graceful beauties such as Esther Williams). In some ways these two dancing genres seem more related to sports to me than to the numerous elements of cinematography, even though they often make for dramatic cinematic images.

     Finally, and here, so to speak, is where I may be skating on the thinnest of ice, the reader will note I have included no films after 1968.  That is not to say, obviously, that there have been no interesting dancers and dance performances in films after that date. But something notably changed. The majority of the musicals and films after that period did not responsibly represent their dancers; by cutting every few seconds, portraying the dance through focuses on various body parts instead of the entire body, directors seemed more interested in the illusion of dancing than in a portrayal of the actual dance. Some performers in these films were clearly professional dancers, but it would be hard to know that without prior information. In a work like Footloose, for example, or Grease, or, most particularly, in Chicago, the camera cannot come rest on a figure long enough to represent a real dance. The actors may be dancing, but the film seems to indicate that their dances are made up of a thousand of cuts that cannot allow anyone to perceive if they are really dancing or moving into various positions that give the illusion of dance.

 

   There were tricks of the trade among even dancers I have included, and I mention some of these in passing. But when one can no longer determine whether or not a dancer, trained or otherwise, can really dance, I feel it demeans the whole event. How can I point to a great dancer or a great moment of film dance, when it may be all an illusion of the camera. The best of the early dancers, Astaire, Kelly, etc. went out of their way to show their talents, often insisting that their directors portray their work in long, one-shot sequences. Most of these directors also understood the importance of seeing the entire body as opposed to torsos, thighs, and feet segmented from the whole.

     Accordingly, it is not dancers that have disappeared, but directors who might properly represent their talents.

     Finally, I am sure that each reader will find several of their favorite films and dance numbers missing. I plead guilty of excising many of my own favorites, simply because I determined not to have more than a few devoted to each performer. I might have selected 15 or 20 of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly works alone! But I felt that would not reveal the richness of the genre. I am certain also that I may have simply overlooked numerous worthy dancers and films. Someday I may return with a second installment.

      As an aside I should admit that I have always loved danced, and as a delusional youth I was convinced by Paul Taylor that if I moved to New York, I should study dance. I did, working with the Joffrey Ballet Company for a half-year in 1969, before I finally realized I did not possess, perhaps, the ideal dancer's body and had come far too late to the task. 

 

Los Angeles, September 9, 2011