Swing Time Astaire, Fred performer Rogers, Ginger performer Film 1936-09-27 RKO The title of this musical by Jerome Kerns was a misnomer; despite Astaire's desire to have at least two of the numbers in this musical to be thoroughly contemporary, to swing, the more traditional Kerns was not able to deliver. Still, the musical in which Astaire, missing his wedding to Betty Furness, meets and is enamored with Rogers, a dancing instructor, has the usual ABC plot (attraction, breakup, conciliation), and some striking tap dance numbers, among them, "Bojangles of Harlem" a tribute to Bill Robinson in which Astaire in blackface makeup (and backed by a chorus of 24 women, 12 dressed in black, twelve in white, all in sepia makeup) appears to be dancing with shadows of himself; this musical number which won an Academy Award nomination remains an anomaly (as Astaire did not particularly admire Robinson's upright and on-the-toes style of tap dancing, and--given the flurry of stutter steps that hover close to the floor in his solo, suggest that he was more a fan of the rhythm tap dancing of John Bubbles). "Pick Yourself Up" a dance instruction lesson gone awry, set to a bouncy polka rhythm, has the couple bouncing in partnered hops and shows Rogers at her best at dancing a cascade of tap scamperings around the floor, ever more looser and more spirited than her usual cool reserve; the rhythmic idea is varied with tap barrages and impertinent little kicks. "Waltz in Swing Time" the couple's most virtuosic duet on film, noted for its speed and for the sheer number of steps, has an almost baroque intricacy with interlaced steps that retain clarity despite its swinging waltz-time syncopation; the dance is presented all in one shot with a superbly-controlled camera that captures the dancers hurdle across the ballroom. "Never Gonna Dance" a landmark in Astaire's development as a filmer of (tap ballroom) dances, is shot in one take; one section which is a fast and raucous duet that blends stylized sweeps across the floor with hurtling jumps and partnered hopping that steps that materialize the unison of percussive stepping and ballroom dance. Pick Yourself Up, vocals and dance by Astaire and Rogers The Way You Look Tonight, Astaire Waltz in Swing Time, Astaire and Rogers A Fine Romance, vocals and dance Astaire and Rogers Bojangles of Harlem, vocals and dance by Astaire Never Gonna Dance, vocals Astaire, dance by Astaire and Rogers 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). Mueller, John: Astaire Dancing: The Musical Films. New York: Knopf (1985). 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.113