Fred Astaire, the greatest dancer ever in musical movies?

[BikeWriter]

Inquiring minds want to know your opinion.

[Tikki]

1. Astaire was amazing...

....and another great dancer was the late Gregory Hines.



He made movies where he did dance...and some where he did not dance.


Tikki

[BikeWriter]

2. Gregory Hines was inarguably a superb tap dancer, yes.

[mac56]

3. Astaire took more complicated moves and made them look easy.

Kelly took less complicated moves and made them look complex.
Both were masters.

[BikeWriter]

7. Fred did have an amazingly graceful poise about him.

;)

[WI_DEM]

4. If you watch the few times Astaire and Kelly appeared together

I think that Astaire is technically the best--even when he was 77 and Gene was 64 and they did a couple of dances in "That's Entertainment Part II" --but no matter, they both had different styles and both were outstanding dancers.

[terrya]

5. Apples and oranges when comparing Astaire and Kelly, imo

I always thought Astaire was a more graceful dancer. Kelly was a more physical dancer.

I thought both had different styles, which made it difficult to decide which was "the best"

In my opinion.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

10. Beep! THAT is the correct answer!

Fred and Gene were two totally different dancing animals! Their dance backrounds, styles, expression were completely different -- it would be like comparing a break dancer to a ballroom dancer. When judging between Fred and Gene it is purely a matter of taste as opposed to talent.

I adore them both, but I admit I am driven insane by Gene's thighs. Sigh. :loveya:

[Deep13]

6. Cyd Charisse

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=&imgrefurl=http://www.jennworks.com/Cyd%26Gene.html&h=351&w=432&sz=43&tbnid=3Yu6Coj-IEPMPM:&tbnh=99&tbnw=123&hl=en&start=1&prev=/images%3Fq%3DCyd%2BCharisse%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26sa%3DN

[BikeWriter]

8. I'm glad to see Ginger Rogers is appreciated for her talent, too!

I felt the remark about her dancing those complicated routines with Fred backwards and in high heels (and elegant costumes) an apt one, as our women posters can probably attest to.

[kwassa]

9. The Nicholas Brothers beat everybody!

[Hell Hath No Fury]

11. They were AMAZING!!!

It is just sad that we don't have more of their work on film to appreciate what masters they were.

There's an interesting story about them and Gene Kelly. When they appeared with him in "The Pirate" he insisted that he be allowed to perform a dance with them. Back in the day it was common for black musical performers to be shot alone when they appeared in white films -- that way their musical scenes could be cut from the film when it was shown in the South! Gene wouldn't have that shit, and we were treated to one of the coolest dances in film. :)

[ariesgem]

12. I second that....

Those guys were in a league of their own.

[July]

14. I third it. No one else comes close to them.

Which is not to say that there aren't other good dancers out there. But the Nicholas Brothers are gods.

[edbermac]

13. Gene Gene The Dancing Machine from the Gong Show!