Flying Down to Rio Astaire, Fred performer Rogers, Ginger performer Film 1933-12-29 RKO Thornton Freeland, dir. Dave Gould, dance director; Hermes Pan, asst. to dance director Fred Astaire's first musical film appearance with Ginger Rogers. In "The Carioca" Astaire's eclectic dance style is evident in the very first phrase of the duet, which deftly blends tap and ballroom figures; it includes a brief tap warmup, a demonstration of the Carioca pose without use of the hands, a quick lift, a coordinated spin, and a development of the Carioca idea as the dancers whirl around, pressing their foreheads together. The rest of the dance involves some close partnering leading to a series of fast ballroom spins, and some rhythmically complex tap phrases in which the dancers trade off complimentary barrages. and a bit more Carioca-ing with some shimmying of the shoulders. Performing Arts Encyclopedia http://www.loc.gov/performingarts Frank, Rusty E.: Tap! The Greatest Tap Dance Stars and their Stories 1900-1955. New York, William Morrow. (1990). Smith, Ernie: Selected List of Films and Kinescopes. In Jean and Marshall Stearns' Jazz Dance (1968). Tap Dance America http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/tda/tda-home.html Fred Astaire (biography) loc.music.tdabio.16 tda IHAS 151216 loc.music.tda.61