<p>Brian Boitano’s 1988 short program from the US Nationals. (That is when my crush developed; I think this one is better than how he performed it at the Olympics). It starts at :33.</p>
<p>OP, you misunderstood my Astaire vs. SYTYCD comparison. The routines on SYTYCD have more tricks - tumbling passes, insane lifts - but Astaire was all about beauty and grace and of course he’s still fabulous to watch. (But Gene Kelly remains my favorite.)</p>
<p>One of the things that I think makes Astaire a greater artist than Kelly, though maybe only by millimeters, is his ability to make it all look so effortless. One of his most famous sayings was “dancing is a sweat job,” but think about it - have you ever seen Fred Astaire sweat? Yet he was well known for driving himself, rehearsing insane hours, and challenging many of his partners with his perfectionism. He was a true artist, who could not only dance any imaginable step, but hide how difficult it was. One of the things I love about Kelly is that he so cheerfully puts every ounce of himself into every step. Astaire did the same thing but could hide that he was trying.</p>
<p>I saw some of the videos posted in this thread and these are all tap dances. The tap dancers never last in SYTYCD because you have to be able to dance all kinds of style from hip hop to contemporary. I can see why one of the posters compared the SYTYCD dancers to Astaire and Kelly. The latter two have their movie star charisma but pls. look at the dances in SYTYCD. And while there are probably millions of tap dancing fans, nowadays the TV audience is transfixed to the kind of choreography shown below.</p>
<p>Pls. bear in mind the contestants are given the choreography only a week before. While they are not movie or even television stars, the talent, emotion and skill they put into the dance is outstanding.</p>
<p>My favorite. Mark and Chelsie dancing to Bleeding Love.<br>
[Mark</a> Kanemura and Chelsie Hightower dancing Bledding Love by Leona Lewis - YouTube](<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube)</p>
<p>Season 7 gave us this awesome routine from Alex and Twitch.
[SYTYCD</a> S7 Alex and Twitch hip hop “Outta your mind” - YouTube](<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube)</p>
<p>Krilies- I don’t really consider Fred Astaire and Gene Kelley as only tap dancers. On SYTYCD their routines would be under Broadway or Jazz. And yes, you showed some excellent clips, but Fred, Ginger, Gene and Cyd also learned those routines in a few days, because they were cranking out a lot of movies and studios just wanted to make money. </p>
<p>Gregory Hines (not sure why there are Chinese translations):
[Gregory</a> Hines - Tribute to Teddy Hale - YouTube](<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube)</p>
<p>Dstark, I guess what Im trying to say is that yes probably Astaire is the best tap and/or Broadway jazz dancer ever. I dont really know because I didnt watch him growing up. I wasnt born yet. I just based it on the video clips you pasted. </p>
<p>However, I understand why the poster thinks SYTYCD dancers are better because you have to able to dance ALL kinds of style. For me the difficulty level in some of the SYTYCD routines are way above what Astaire can do. But I stand corrected. There might be a video of him dancing a samba that I have yet to see.</p>
<p>The reason Fred Astaire is such a great dancer, is that when you watch him it seems effortless. His movements are so “natural” that we can mentally dance along with him. But he an his choreographer, Hermes Pan, worked tirelessly on EVERY “natural” hand movement, shoulder drop, glance, step, and hop. The dancers on SYTYCD would be the first to point out that making it look hard is easy and making it look easy is hard. </p>
<p>Here’s another moment (with the gorgeous and wonderful Rita Hayworth)
[Fred</a> Astaire And Rita Hayworth – “I’m Old Fashioned” - YouTube](<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube)</p>
<p>And Krillies…(“I wasn’t born yet”) .How old do you think we are? :)</p>
Musicamusica, 30-something who have great appreciation for dance legends? </p>
<p>My nana and grandpa will agree with you in regards to Astaire. My mom wouldnt care that we were talking about dancers and just say Elvis Presley and Julio Iglesias. I think my first exposure to a dance movie was probably Saturday Night Fever then Grease.</p>
<p>Love the Nicolas Brothers - I don’t know how they did all those splits. I loved the way they played with the set.</p>
<p>Gregory Hines was great too, but I wish they hadn’t dressed him in black against such a black background. It made it more about the amazing sounds he produces without seeming to move and less about the dancing. (But that seemed to be half the point of that particular routine.) (By the way that was Japanese not Chinese, presumably the clip came from Japanese TV.)</p>
<p>I thought the Savion Glover choreography was boring. Lots of smoke and lights does not make a show. The clips with Astaire and Gene Kelly and Astaire and O’Connor show how little you need to make a great dance.</p>
<p>dstark…thanks for posting a fun thread. It got our family talking last night. D’s boyfriend (a young conductor) pointed out one of the reasons why Fred Astaire was such a great dancer. He was a fantastic musician. And after all, a tap dancer is a percussionist.
Check out his jazz piano skills:
[Fred</a> Astaire & Ginger Rogers - “I Won’t Dance” - YouTube](<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube)</p>
<p>Fred didn’t need anything except a floor to create great dance. His work was always about the dancer and the music, not the tricks. But when he wanted to use gimmicks, he used them memorably. </p>
<p>The ceiling dance from Royal Wedding (the dance begins at about 2:32): <a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube;
</p>