1988 Portrait by Rob Bogaerts, Wikimedia Commons September 5, 1912– John Cage: "I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones." The "John Cage Piano" app takes meticulously sampled sounds of actual material Cage used in … [Read more...]
#WomenWeLove: “Backwards & In Heels” with Ginger Rogers
Publicity still for Tender Comrade (1943), public domain "After all, it's not as if we were Abbott and Costello. We did have careers apart from each other." Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (1911- 1995) was a very versatile dancer/singer/actor of the stage and screen. She … [Read more...]
#QueerQuote: “Live Like You’ll Die Tomorrow, Work Like You Don’t Need the Money, & Dance Like Nobody’s Watching.” – Bob Fosse
Bob Fosse (1927 - 1987) celebrated the sexuality of female dancers, but he didn't ignore the attraction of men in his projects, creating compelling, sexy roles for male dancers in Damn Yankees, Pippin, and Chicago, musicals where he caught the complexities of sex and … [Read more...]
#QueerQuote: “I Wasn’t Really Naked. I Simply Didn’t Have Any Clothes On.” ― Josephine Baker
Baker in Banana Skirt from Folies Bergère production Un Vent de Folie, 1924, Photograph by Lucien Waléry, public domain Endlessly fascinating, but still without a first-rate film biography, Josephine Baker (1906-1975) was born Freda Josephine McDonald. She grew … [Read more...]
#RIP: Tina Turner
Tina Turner, one of rock's great vocalists and most charismatic performers has taken her final bow, gone at 83 years old. 39 years ago, in the wake of divorce, debt and dismal record sales, Turner came up with a sensational comeback. At 45 years old, an age when most pop … [Read more...]
Remembering Style Icon Fred Astaire on His 124th Birthday
Studio publicity still for Daddy Long Legs (1955), public domain Fred Astaire: "I just put my feet in the air and move them around." The Husband and I have compared the many attributes of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly over the years. It became a Kelly vs Astaire thing, but … [Read more...]
Remembering Filmmaker, Stanley Donen on His 99th Birthday
At the 70th Academy Awards in 1998, via YouTube screen crab Stanley Donen (1924 - ) "Sound was still a fairly new thing when I came into movies. And the reason musicals happened is because of sound. They could put music in the picture! That's how it all began." Without a … [Read more...]
Remembering Dancer Rudolf Nureyev on His 85th Birthday
Photo via YouTube screen-grab March 17, 1938– Рудо́льф Хаме́тович Нуре́ев: "The main thing is dancing, and before it withers away from my body, I will keep dancing till the last moment, the last drop." I remember my mother sitting me down on an early summer day in … [Read more...]
#QueerQuote: “It’s Not Just Steps…” – Entertainer, Cyd Charisse
In The Band Wagon (1953), screen-grab via YouTube Here is the full quote from Cyd Charisse (1922 - 2008): "I think that in all my dancing I play a role. To me, that's what dancing is about. It's not just steps." Fred Astaire: "When you dance with Cyd Charisse, you stay … [Read more...]
#QueerQuote: “My Mission in Life is to Make Everybody as Uneasy as Possible. I Think We Should All be as Uneasy as Possible, Because That’s What the World is Like.” ― Edward Gorey
The Harvard University educated, mostly self-taught Edward Gorey (1925-2000) had a unique imagination and he put it to use it in his work. He has delighted me for nearly my entire life. He is one of the most aptly named notables in American art and literature. With his large … [Read more...]
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