Dancers

I don't know exactly why I'm thinking about dancers today - male dancers in particular - but I suspect it's because I just watched a movie with two of my favorite dancers in it. I know this verges on the edge of an Adopt-A-Fox post but it's not, not really. I'm a huge fan of dance movies - not musicials as much, but movies about dance. So maybe that's where this comes from.

So here goes -

The dancer that made me think about dancers in general was Gregory Hines - who I loved, both when I saw him in person and in two dance movies. The movie I saw yesterday was Tap (and it has dozens of fabulous tap dancers from the 40s and 50s backing up Hines - including Sammy Davis, Jr.). The other movie that I love him in is White Nights, which brings me to another of my favorite dancers - Mikhail Baryshnikov - who is in White Nights with Hines and who I've also seen - two or three times - in person. You have to see White Nights - it's one of those obscure movies that got terrible reviews but that I loved. It's a thriller, has a great soundtrack and great dancing.

And then there's Gene Kelly - An American in Paris is one of my favorite films, partly because of Kelly and partly because I absolutely love Gershwin. And who wouldn't love Fred Astaire? Not only a fabulous dancer but a pretty darn good singer too - especially when he's singing Cole Porter songs.

And finally, and top of the list for me, Rudolf Nureyev. An incredible dancer with absolutely gorgeous lines (and body!), a creative choreographer, a clever and fascinating man. I never did see him live but I have kissed the stones of the house he lived in for many years in Paris.
Obviously, I'm not the only person who loves dancers. Look at the incredible popularity of the TV shows about dancing and learning to dance.

As you can see, I'm a pretty eclectic lover of dancers - tap, ballet, those great guys from Stomp. But if I were going to learn how to dance, it would absolutely definitely without a single question be the tango. I love that dance.

Kate