"I just dance."

She has been called the "queen of tap" and is said to have intimidated Fred Astaire with her skill. Honestly,  even as a die-hard Fred Astaire fan... I don't blame him. Here comes Eleanor Powell! I am going to bet that you haven't heard of this movie. I could be wrong! I have to admit that I hadn't heard a thing about it until I went to research Eleanor Powell and fell head over heels in love with this dance sequence. The film that our upcoming dance is from came out in 1942 and wasn't a big hit in spite of its great dances and star-studded cast. At the beginning of this clip, you can spot Bert Lahr (possibly better known as the Cowardly Lion) and the indomitable comedian Red Skelton. This film is also notable as one of the first films Frank Sinatra ever appeared in. He is seen very briefly as a singer in Tommy Dorsey's Band. Oh yeah, and this movie has the Tommy Dorsey Band! Big-Band fans rejoice! Trivia: Apparently, the Bro...

This dance is one of the most important in the history of film. How often do I get to say that? It marked the first on-screen interracial dance. "The Little Colonel" was the first movie in a line of films that featured both Shirley Temple and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. Yup. That Bojangles, like the song (not the restaurant... I don't think? That would be weird).  "Bojangles" is one of the most famous American dancers ever and completely revolutionized the art of tap dancing. but first some... Dance Background: There are several different forms of tap. They all basically spring from the original form which is now dubbed "Rhythm Tap." Rhythm Tap came primarily from older African-American dance forms and was an almost entirely black dance style. It is highly rhythmic (as the name implies) and was a big part of the development of the swing music style. I will get into that in a separate post. Rhythm tap became a popular form o...