Beyond “Waltz in Swing Time”, I’m partial to “I’m Putting All My Eggs In One Basket” simply because when you watch it, you have to understand what it takes for two people to work together so well to try and make it look bad. Even their mismatched steps look better together than almost any other dancers who were getting it right.

Fred’n'Ginger spread joy, light optimism in one of the nation’s darkest periods….and they achieved something that to my knowledge, no other actor or actress can claim. They actually affected society. As Leonard Maltin said: They didn’t invent social dancing, but they made it so attractive, that millions of Americans emulated them. Just imagine the 1930s, with its 25% unemployment…and many feeling depressed and afraid,about their futures…and then imagine the electric excitement when Fred and Ginger danced….in 9, 1930s classic films. It is hard to imagine their just stunning impact today. There was applause in the dark, inside the movie theaters all over America…and the world! It’s no exaggeration to say that , when Fred and Ginger danced together, something magic happened for all audiences, that was like a guided missile to the human heart. And then…amazingly…many of their audiences went dancing themselves…in the dance halls that sprinkled the country.

In one of their greatest dances: “Let’s Face the Music and Dance”, a suicidal couple meet, and literally dance their way out of their despair. This immortal dance partnership led the way for the whole nation. They are a timeless fundamental of Hollywood greatness….and literally, part and parcel of American history itself.

Astaire and Rogers inspired the great composers as well. The music of these films is of a very high quality. Gene Kelly said that all modern American dancing begins with Fred Astaire. They were good friends in real life. And Ginger, according to Hyam, Croce,and Mueller, the world’s three greatest experts of their dancing, was Fred’s greatest dance partner….hands down….though she was not as technically proficient as three or four of his other partners. But it didn’t matter, for she was by far the greatest dramatizer of their dancers….and inspiration for Astaire’s greatest all-original choreography, which he designed for her extraordinary and unique skills.

And I fully agree too, that her individual career was inspiring too. There is not enough time this morning to dwell on this too…but Ginger Rogers, was also one of the finest comedienne’s of her age as well.

I’m glad you have this blog. It’s good to see that there are others who appreciate the extraordinary and timeless achievements of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire.