Fred Astaire Research Paper

1301 Words6 Pages
Fred Astaire was an esteemed singer, choreographer, dancer, and actor. He stared in many famous musical comedies such as Funny Face and Band Wagon. He was popular for starring in films and his singing, but what really attracted people to him was the way he moved and how his dancing would instantly bring happiness especially in a time of depression. Fred Astaire started his career as a child actor and was paired up with his sister Adele. They started in Vaudeville and pushed on until reaching Broadway. Once he reached Broadway he tried for Hollywood but because of his looks he was not accepted for any roles. Once his sister retired, he tried to go about dancing and singing alone before trying Hollywood once more and finally gaining a role.…show more content…
Fred Astaire played Dick Avery who is a famous photographer who meets Jo Stockton (Audrey Hepburn) at a bookstore when he tries a new concept for the magazine he works at. Jo is seen in the background in a photograph and gets Dick’s attention. He tries to make her become a model which she refuses until he mentions a fashion show in Paris where she wants to go to attend a lecture of her favorite philosopher. Once there Jo forgets the fashion show and goes tries to find the philosopher. Dick becomes angry and storms tries to head back home. He realizes that he cares for Jo and tries to find her. He finds her in front of a church and the scene ends with a kiss. This film was originally a musical that Astaire performed with his sister. It did not make as much profit as wanted, but after Hepburn’s film My Fair Lady was released, it grew in immense…show more content…
This song consists of Fred Astaire dancing in a Top Hat, White Tie and Long Tail blazer. With his toe taps and cane, Astaire has an uplifting joy in this short dance that draws the audience in with his movements. One of the most memorable parts of this dance is when he constantly moves from left to right tapping his feet up and down across the stage while using his cane as a pretend gun and shoots his dancers who are all lined up in a row. Once they are shot, they would turn in a circle with their hands up and tap their feet from left to right. The sounds of his shoes represented the sounds of the gun as well. This dance was very different from other dances because the camera barely moved. If it did it would only show closer shots of the dance. Instead of having the camera move around and show different shots of the dance cut up into pieces, he would demand that the camera stay still so that all the dancers could be in the shot at all times. Not only was the camera not allowed to move, but it was also to be taken in one shot so that the audience watching the film would know that the dancing was real and not just a bunch of editing thrown
Show More
Related

  • Fred Astaire Research Paper

    1184 Words  | 5 Pages

    Another significant artist of the 1930’s and 1940’s dance in film era was performer and choreographer Fred Astaire. Berkeley and Astaire were already contrasting since one had never danced before and the other had danced his entire life, but also, Astaire drew from a completely different motivation than Berkeley when performing and choreographing dance for film. Since Astaire’s background included several varieties of dance, he pursued advanced partnership choreography as opposed to large-scale choreography

    Read More

More about Fred Astaire Research Paper

Open Document