Musical Theatre Film and the Choreographed Dance

Musical Theatre

Film and the Choreographed Dance Sequence

Entertainment based on film has been paramount in this country since the beginning of the motion picture in the early 20th century. The movie-going experience spread throughout the world in a few quick years, and was enhanced subsequently by technological developments. Today, movies range from action to musicals to drama and animations. One type of movie mentioned above, the musical, however involves not only talented actors and singers, but also talented dancers and choreographers to enable a musical to have all the elements necessary for a great entertainment recipe. This paper will discuss the choreographic aspect in movies how to this must be filmed by referencing previous history and work in the field.

The moving pictures were invented by Thomas Edison, and ever since, film has been utilized to capture actors, singers and dancers at work in fantastic movements. According to a short history of musicals, "early silent clips include cake walking minstrels and vaudeville 'skirt dancers,' as well as partial performances by such classical dancers as Anna Pavlova and Isadora Duncan." Music and dance clearly played a huge role in silent film industry, especially during the music-packed era of the 1920's. However, towards the end of this decade, sound became more and more popular and widely utilized, according to this history, and dance improvisation reached a peak. [1: Kenrick, J. (2004). "Dance in Screen Musicals." Retrieved May 28, 2011, . ]

Soon, Hollywood became packed with talented individuals who participated in movie musicals throughout the Golden Age. Perhaps two of the most widely known individuals are Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. These two, according to history, "made little headway in Hollywood until RKO Studios cast them as supporting players in Flying Down To Rio (1933)." According to a director their energy was fantastic and he states, "I'd never seen anything like it in my life. I'm not sure I have since. It was as if something had exploded inside me. . . I was mesmerized. I could not stop watching Fred Astaire dance. I went back to the theatre every day while the picture was playing. I must've seen it at least twenty times. Fred Astaire was so graceful. It was as if her were connected to the music. He led it and he interpreted it, and he made it look so effortless. He performed as though he were absolutely without gravity." [2: Kenrick, J. (2004). "Dance in Screen Musicals." Retrieved May 28, 2011, . ]

I have included this description above to state just how choreography and dance should be placed in films and how they should make a viewer feel when watching. Flying Down to Rio became quite a famous movie, but there were other musicals as well that became hits, including 42nd Street, Singing in the Rain, and West Side Story, who can be found on YouTube and provide a great background for how dance should be utilized in Film. Though these are old movies, they are indubitable classics that can teach important lessons. [3: Larson, B. (2010). "The 35 Best Dance Sequences in Film." Retrieved May 28, 2011, < http://flavorwire.com/74975/the-35-best-dance-sequences-in-film>.]

Soon after the magic of the 1930's and 1940's on screen, Broadway choreographers and other talented actors aligned to make great movies throughout the 1950's and 1960's. According to Kenrick (2010), "from the 1950s onwards, most of the important Hollywood musicals were screen adaptations of Broadway shows […], Broadway choreographers were given the opportunity of recreating their stage dances for the big screen." As a result of this process, there are movie versions of some of the most popular musicals of all time, including Oklahoma, The King and I, West Side Story, and many others, including Mary Poppins, which was a great and talent-packed hit in the 1960's. However, after these decades, dance became much less important in the decreasing numbers of screen musicals. Kenrick (2010) mentions the 1978 adaptation of Grease, which was quite popular at the box office, but states that "Patricia Birch's period spoofs did not rate as anyone's idea of inventive choreography." Eventually, the importance of musical choreography was relegated to the bottom, and was often enhanced with edition instead of true dancing. According to Kenrick, "fast, inventive editing and lots of electronic razzle dazzle made the most of the sometimes limited dancing talents of the performers. As the 21st Century dawned, live action screen musicals like Loves Labour's Lost (2000) and Moulin Rouge (2001) used such MTV-inspired techniques to make their non-singing, non-dancing stars look and sound like musical pros. The results were, at best, uneven." [4: "Dance Sequences in Film." (2011). Retrieved May 28, 2011, < http://www.hitormissmovies.com/2011/dance-sequences-in-film/>. ] [5: Kenrick, J. (2004). "Dance in Screen Musicals." Retrieved May 28, 2011, . ] [6: Kenrick, J. (2004). "Dance in Screen Musicals." Retrieved May 28, 2011, . ]