All about: Fred Astaire - Dance Saturday
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In continuation with my All about:_____ series, I'm going to be talking about our favourite dancer from the past, Fred Astaire!
Born in Omaha, Nebraska, United States on the 10th of May, 1899, Fred Astaire was a well-known dancer, actor, singer, choreographer, and TV-presenter. His stage and TV career through his lifetime, spanned a total of 76 years, which is why he is known as one of the greatest dancers in the history of film.
He began dancing, whilst following in the footsteps of his sister, Adele Astaire. Adele seemed to have natural talent in dance and singing and whilst she was taking many lessons in music and dance, Johanna, Adele and Fred's mother, began planning a brother and sister act that was common in Vaudeville at the time. She did this in the hopes that their talents would allow her to somehow escape Omaha and whilst Fred was initially hesitant at first to begin taking lessons, he soon grasped with the idea and began learning clarinet, accordion, and piano.
Later, the family moved to New York to launch Adele and Fred's epic sibling act after their Dad, Fritz, sadly lost his job in the brewing trade. Although this was unfortunate, Fred and Adele were able to enrol in the Alvienne Master School of Theatre and Academy of Cultural Arts, which was a renowned performance school, that kick-started their act and eventual careers in the entertainment industry. There, they learnt dance, speaking, and singing and rehearsed for their famous act that they ended up performing in Keyport, New Jersey. It was known as the Juvenile Artists Presenting an Electric Musical Toe-Dancing Novelty. Fred wore his famous top hat and tail suit and Adele wore a dress. Their performance was loved by many.
As the years went by, the Astaire siblings had some successes and some failures, after having to pause their shows for a while to allow Fred to mature a bit so that he was actually taller than his sister.😂 However, by 1917, Adele and Fred were able to perform for many US troops and their Allies in their musical performance and patriotic tribute, Over the Top. In 1918, they also performed their other musical performance The Passing Show of 1918, where Heywood Broun began to recognise Fred's talent in dancing and praised the performance that finished with a beautiful partner waltz at the end. By this point, although Adele was still shining through, Fred had began to improve in his own right and became known for his clean routines and sound tap dancing, that he began to incorporate in his routines.
In 1932, the siblings split as performance partners, when Adele married her first husband. This allowed for the growth in Fred's career. He began performing his musical Gay Divorce (later known as Gay Divorcee) in Broadway and London.
Throughout his entire career, Fred had performed in 10 Broadway and West End musicals, performed in 31 musical films, and made numerous music recordings. The shear amount that Astaire had managed to achieve in his lifetime was astonishing, which was why he gained so much praise from other dancers including the famous Gene Kelley who said, "the history of dance on film begins with Astaire."
I personally couldn't agree more. I have talked about my favourite Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers film Swing Time, before. It's about an aspirant dancer who tries to prove himself to his fiance but ends up falling in love with his dance partner (Ginger Rogers). Even though it's an old film and hasn't got the most exciting story in the world, you don't get bored of watching it. The pair have become classics as a duo and individuals. They have made their mark on history because for the first time, dancing was not just on stage but also on screen as well. All these music videos that feature dancers in them, their methods have really originated from artists like Fred Astaire. Without them, we might not even know what dancing on screen is like and that's why I think that Fred Astaire has changed the way we look at dance because he created a new way of looking at performances. That's probably why he and so many other amazing dancers became famous because there was a new way at looking at these talented artists, which so many more people could see.
I hope you enjoyed this post!
What's your favourite film or musical by Fred Astaire? Let me know in the comments below and I'll be sure to reply to them. I hearing from you!
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Bye,
XOX, Juliette
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