While most of Ken Russell's documentaries for the BBC's Monitor arts strand focused on a single creative figure, he would also occasionally make more wide-ranging surveys of the state of a particular art. The Light Fantastic (BBC, tx. 18/12/1960) was written and presented by Ron Hitchins, a Cockney barrow boy who has long been interested in a great many dance forms, and who has recently taken up Spanish dancing. Hitchins participates in some of the dance sequences, but his main contribution is an enthusiastic commentary that helps personalise what could have been simply a disparate collection of dance footage. He's not shy about expressing likes and dislikes, being none too keen on ballroom dancing (too choreographed), rock'n'roll (too monotonous) and Morris dancing (just doesn't like it), though anything genuinely spontaneous gets a thumbs up, even if it's a room full of people dressed in black swaying to the sound of a gong.
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Released on DVD as part of The Criterion Collection's "Martha Graham: Dance on Film" collection.
Movie and stage icon Debbie Reynolds hosts the making of "Singin' in the Rain". The short documentar...
The remarkable spirit of tap dancers and their history provides a joyous backdrop for intimate portr...
The first woman to appear in front of an Edison motion picture camera and possibly the first woman t...
A profile on Moses Pendleton, the founder of the Pilobolus Dance Theater and MOMIX.
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Profile of famed dance director Busby Berkeley's career, in particular "The Gang's All Here"
Documentary that reconstructs the professional life of the dancer through the thread of his own voic...
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A celebration of extraordinary choreographed moments in a countdown of TOP 25 of the most memorable ...
She now lives many miles away from her mother, who is waiting to hear from her. It is a bittersweet,...