The Movies And Ballroom Dancing

Think dancing and you think Hollywood. Whatever kind of dancing you can think of – whether it is the gliding slow dances or the fast tap dances or the modern break dancing, the silver screen has it all. Not only that, it has immortalized both the dance and the dancers in certain movies.

Sometimes, the dance is just a part of the movie. Sometimes, it is the whole movie. Look at all the old Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly movies. It was the dance and the song that was the movie. The story line was present just to string the dance and song sequences together. What you remember are the flawless movements and the steps that never put a wrong foot anywhere. Ginger Rogers of course should probably have been even more feted considering she did all the steps in the highest of heels and backwards at that!

In the great epic movies like Gone With The Wind, even with such a powerful story you remember the great ballroom dance scene when Rhett makes a bid to dance with Scarlett. Then of course, we have movies like the Richard Gere-Jennifer Lopez starrer Shall We Dance where a simple guy learns to dance and prepares for the dancing competition.

There is also that wonderful movie Dance With Me, the story of Rafael, a young Cuban boy who comes to America and becomes a great dancer. The reason the ballroom dancers here look so authentic is because they used actual ballroom competition dancers in the movie. Another hit which received a standing ovation at the Cannes Festival was Strictly Wonderful where a professional dancer and an amateur pair up to enter a competition and all the comedy that follows.

So many movies over the years have had dancing sequences. Look at the old movies like West Side Story and the Little Colonel with Bojangles and Shirley Temple. And who can forget Dorothy dancing her way through The Wizard of Oz? Or the dances in The Sound of Music or Mary Poppins or My Fair Lady? Later, the dances grew more erotic like Flashdance and Dirty Dancing. Why today, you even have all the animated characters doing a great jig! From The Jungle Book to the Shrek series, dance has become part and parcel of most animated movies.

It's always been great to watch ballroom dancing. The great thing about the movies is that they have preserved the different dances or the different ways of doing certain dancing on celluloid so people can watch and enjoy them for years to come.

CALENDAR for the week of May 25, 2012

The Milpitas Public Library and the Milpitas Chinese Evergreen Club will host a series of six ballroom dancing sessions in the library's auditorium every Tuesday through June 12 from 1:30-3:30 p.m. Have fun dancing to western and Chinese music and learn from each other.

'Dancing with the Stars' leaderboard topped by Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas

Dancing with the Stars : 'Dancing with the Stars' leaderboard topped by Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas . Dancing with the Stars judges' leaderboard was topped by Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas during Monday night's broadcast of the fourteenth season's tenth performance show and finals round, which featured the Top 3 finalists each performing two individual ballroom routines -- a judges ...

'Dancing with the Stars' topped by Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas

'Dancing with the Stars' topped by Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas. Dancing with the Stars judges' leaderboard was topped by Jenkins and Ballas during Monday night's broadcast of the fourteenth season's tenth performance show and finals round, which featured the Top 3 finalists each performing two individual ballroom routines -- a judges' pick dance and a freestyle performance.

VIDEO and SPOTTED: Sun City dancers trip the light fantastic for fun

T-A-n-g-o. T-A-n-g-o. Step by step, Armando Aseneta and Melissa Newsted take their students through the moves for the spirited Argentinian dance and another Ballroom Dance Club evening begins.

Dancing With The Stars Finals Recap: Who Busted Out A Stunning Country Freestyle?

It was the most thrilling night of competition in Season 14 as the three celebrity finalists on "Dancing with the Stars" hit the dance floor on Monday night, causing a stir in the ballroom with two rounds of headline-making moves.