Your Favorite Dance Numbers

[johnm001]

So many great dance numbers in musical films. You might like it because of the dancers, or the choreography, or both! What are you ten favorite musical numbers, involving dancing? For me, in no particular order:

 

1. He's My Friend - THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN

2. Dancing - HELLO, DOLLY!

3. Begin the Beguine - BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940

4. Abraham - WHITE CHRISTMAS

5. A Lot of Livin' To Do - BYE BYE BIRDIE

6. Not Since Ninevah - KISMET

7. Prologue - WEST SIDE STORY

8. Marion - THE MUSIC MAN

9. Chop Suey - FLOWER DRUM SONG

10. Barn Raising - 7 BRIDES FOR 7 BROTHERS

[Suzanne1228]

I came up with over 50 great dance numbers, narrowing it down to 10 was hard.

 

In chronological order:

 

1. Bolero from Bolero (1934)

2. Let's Face the Music and Dance from Follow The Fleet (1936)

3. The Juke Box Dance from Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940)

Fred and Eleanor at the cafe. (Since Begin The Beguine was already mentioned.

4. One For My Baby from The Sky's The Limit (1943)

5. Limehouse Blues from Ziegfeld Follies (1946)

6. Slaughter on Tenth Avenue from Words and Music (1948)

7. Sunday Jumps from Royal Wedding (1950)

Fred dancing with the hat rack.

8. An American In Paris Ballet from An American In Paris (1951)

9. Dancing in the Dark from The Bandwagon (1953)

10. Luck be A Lady from Guys and Dolls (1955)

 

I think honorable mentions should also go to:

Forty Second Street from 42nd Street (1933)

Stormy Weather from Stormy Weather (1943)

Pass That Peace Pipe from Good News (1947)

There's Got To Be Something Better Than This from Sweet Charity (1969)

Portobello Road from Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)

 

There are many more, you'd already mentioned a few of my favorites.

What a great topic!

[ayresorchids]

These are not all of my faves, but they are the first 10 that popped into my head (and are rendered in no particular order):

 

1. Hallelujah?Ann Miller's tap dance at the end of Hit the Deck

2. Pass That Peace Pipe?Joan McCracken and Ray McDonald in Good News

3. From This Moment On?Bob Fosse, Bobby Van, Tommy Rall, Carol Haney, and Jeanne Coyne (Ann Miller briefly dances with them, but they are the ones who take my breath away)?Kiss Me Kate

4. Never Gonna Dance?Astaire and Rogers in Swing Time

5. (We've Got the) Red Blues?Cyd Charisse and dancers in Silk Stockings

6. An American in Paris Ballet?Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron in AAIP

7. Dancing in the Dark?Astaire and Charisse in The Band Wagon

8. The Jumpin' Jive?The Nicholas Brothers in Stormy Weather

9. Singin? in the Rain?Gene Kelly in SITR

10. Slap That Bass?Fred Astaire in Shall We Dance. He does 29 consecutive spins at the end of this number before there?s a cut.

[johnm001]

From This Moment On?Bob Fosse, Bobby Van, Tommy Rall, Carol Haney, and Jeanne Coyne (Ann Miller briefly dances with them, but they are the ones who take my breath away)?Kiss Me Kate

 

Tommy Rall and Carol Haney were superb dancers. Among the very best. Rall, also had an incredible singing voice, which went mostly unheard. Bobby Van, who I once toured with, was one of the nicest people I ever knew.

[Cinemascope]

I loved Bobby Van in Small Town Girl. I believe that's the one where he did the human pogo stick routine.

[SueSueApplegate]

Bobby Van seemed like such a genuinely nice man, and fun to watch

as he moved on the screen...

[Cinemascope]

Oh I think he was, I love watching that clip from his pogo number whenever I watch That's Entertainment. Wonder how long he rehearsed for that one!

[metsfan]

-Bojangles' step routine in "The Little Colonel".

-Betty Grable and Cesar Romero twirling around like a bottle in "Springtime In The Rockies".

-Jerry Lewis "floating" down the stairs in "Cinderfella".

-Gene Kelly's "Singin' In The Rain" routine and on stage when he broke a newspaper in four parts in "Summer Stock".

-Fred Astaire's "Puttin' On The Ritz" in "Blue Skies" and also the "Clap Yo' Hands" routine with Kay Thompson in "Funny Face".

-Ricardo Montalban's dance in "The Kissing Bandit".

-Judy Garland and George Murphy's doll routine in the beginning of "For Me And My Gal".

-Jane Powell and Cliff Roberts' "Crazy Horse" in "The Girl Most Likely".

-The Nicholas Brothers in "Kid Millions".

-Doris Day's "Que Sera, Sera" in "The Man Who Knew Too Much".

-Eleanor Powell's dance routine before she loses her shoe in "Honolulu".

[Cinemascope]

-Ricardo Montalban's dance in "The Kissing Bandit".

 

I think you should also credit Cyd Charisse & Ann Miller for that number!!

[johnm001]

-Doris Day's "Que Sera, Sera" in "The Man Who Knew Too Much".

 

Not a dance number. If we change the thread to favorite numbers from film musicals, my choices would most likely be quite different. Do you like any other Doris Day numbers?

[Cinemascope]

Getting nitty-picky, are we?

 

metsfan don't let yourself be fooled by anyone with a "001" in their username pretending to be something they are not.

[GildaHayworth]

Que sera sera is like, one of the greatest numbers ever!

[ricky1]

One of the best-Donald O'Connor in Make 'em Laugh from Singing in the Rain

[malkat]

I agree, although I winced every time he hurt himself. My other favorite is the ballet at the end of An American In Paris.

[Cinemascope]

I don't think there's ever been a better number to, well, make 'em laugh!

[shearerchic04]

1. Ann Miller- Shakin the Blues Away

2. Gene Kelly & Donald O'Connor- Fit As a Fiddle

3. Eleanor Powell & Fred Astaire- Begin the Beguine

4. June Allyson, Peter Lawford, & Tate College- Varsity Drag

5. Rita Hayworth & Fred Astaire- The Shorty George

6. Gene Kelly & Jerry- Anchor's Aweigh

7. 42nd Street- 42nd Street

8. Gene Kelly & Vera Ellen- Slaughter on Tenth Avenue

9. Shirley Temple & Bill "Bojangles" Robinson- scene on stairs in The Littlest Rebel

10. Cyd Charisse- Baby, You Knock Me Out

 

Honorable Mentions

1. Ginger Rogers & Fred Astaire- Cheek to Cheek

2. Fred Astaire & Janis Paige- Sterephonic Sound

3. Greta Garbo- Chica Choca

[Cinemascope]

That's an awesome list, shearerchic.

 

You just made me wish I could edit a montage of all of those numbers put together!

[shearerchic04]

Thanks, I actually had to re-edit a bit when I read that it was just dance numbers. Now if it's musical numbers, it would be a different story.

[Cinemascope]

Did you take out Carmen Miranda and "Lady in the Tutti-Frutti Hat"?

 

I just watched The Gang's All Here jus the other night, isn't that the one with all the dancers and the giant bananas? Is chorus choreography not enough to qualify as a "dance number"?

[shearerchic04]

Yes I did. I haven't seen the movie in so long, I couldn't remember if it was a dance or muiscal number. I ordered my Alice Faye collection, but it's yet to arrive.

[Cinemascope]

It's a good set, but the colors in All the Gang's Here are pretty disappointing for a Technicolor movie.

 

I turned the color all the way up and it still didn't look quite natural. Reds were too strong and yellows very pale. All the color schemes seemed out of whack -- very different from usual Technicolor movies. (I watched it right after Coney Island, another Technicolor musical from Fox from 1943).

 

Ironically there is a Busby Berkeley documentary in that same DVD which shows a few clips of the movie, in FULL Technicolor glory -- and those clips look 100 times better than the movie itself.

[shearerchic04]

I read the review on DvdBeaver and that was one of the complaints the had about the film. I heard they really went all out in terms of extras for this set.

I really hope Fox decides to release a second Betty Grable set. When AMC used to show her films, she was actually one of the first classic stars I came into contact with.

[Cinemascope]

I would have preferred to do without any extras if they could at least have done a decent job of transfering The Gang's All Here and not ruining the beautiful colors.

[shearerchic04]

Well you know it's just a hit and miss with Fox sometimes. I'm just glad we have it. The Pin-Up Girl transfer wasn't anything to write Ma back at home about. Those Technicolor films are harder to do. I wasn't that impressed with WB's Till the Clouds Roll By, but I'd rather have them on dvd even if the transfer isn't perfect.

[Cinemascope]

Oh I thought Till the Clouds Roll By looked wonderful -- considering we'd been stuck for years with horrible PD copies.