I think this is why the name “Random Connections” is so appropriate for this blog. Two seemingly unrelated events come together to form a semi-coherent thesis, and for some reason I feel compelled to write about it. Here’s what happened…
Last Thursday Laura was in the mood for a French Dip sandwich. We were amazed at how difficult it was to find one from online menus, but finally decided to try the “Best French Dip in Greenville” at Bailey’s Sports Bar on Laurens Road. The sandwiches were OK, but the most entertaining part were the large screen TVs showing music videos. Now understand, I haven’t really watched many music videos since the mid-80’s and MTV. One video by Prince featured some excellent dancing. I particularly like synchronized choreography with a larger group – think Michael Jackson’s Thriller. I didn’t catch the name of the song, but this Prince video had plenty of that type of dancing.
Fast forward a few days…
Stephen Worth was guest-blogging on BoingBoing.net, and wrote a series entitled “Adventures in Music.” Each post included a YouTube video and Worth’s analysis of the piece. His final post was an amazing tour-du-force from the movie Stormy Weather. The piece featured Cab Calloway and his orchestra, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Lena Horne, Fats Waller, and many others. This display of musical talent was incredible, but what blew me away were the large choreographed dance moves. Here’s the entire video…
The whole video is one of those great feel-good pieces with lots of music and dancing. However, 2 minutes and 48 seconds into the video they start a massive dance number to the song “Ain’t That Something to Shout About.” Even though this was made in 1943, the dance moves were quite innovative, and it’s easy to see where performers like Prince, Michael Jackson, and Janet Jackson got their inspiration. Compare this to Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation” music video…
Even though it’s a completely different music style and much darker in nature, those same types of dance moves can be seen here. I wish I could post the video from Prince that started this terpsichorean exploration. But, alas, Prince doesn’t permit his videos on YouTube.