"Put Me to the Test" from the 1944 film Cover Girl
The days of the good old knights are gone
But chivalry still carries on
The premise of this dance is that Gene works in a clothing store where beautiful women model those clothes and he tries to get them to give him the time of day by pledging chivalric love. They mostly pass him by until Rita Hayworth's character gives him a chance. I think the earnest lyrics and the premise of this dance is partly why I'm so enamored with it. It also features a really catchy, jazzy melody with Rita Hayworth more than a match for Gene's dancing. These two dancing in synchronicity is a beautiful thing. They whirl and twirl around the stage with such effortless beauty and the brisk and buoyant choreography accompanies this wistful and lively song perfectly.
"The Worry Song" from the 1944 film Anchors Aweigh
If you worry, if you worry, if you bother your head
It won't help you, it won't help you, it will hurt you instead
In this song, the plot of the film takes a fantastical turn as Gene's character is telling a story to some kids about visiting a distant land where he finds Jerry the Mouse it's unhappy ruler. This song is meant to bring some happiness and dance skills to Jerry and just epitomizes happiness to me. It's cool that this pioneered new techniques of melding live action with animation, but I'm mostly focused on the wonderful way Gene moves through this very large and surprisingly empty throne room. Okay, I should state unequivocally that everything Gene Kelly dances looks effortless (even though it's not) but this song really takes it to another level because watching Gene move from tap dance to jumps and twists just makes me feel like it is possible for humans to actually develop the ability to fly someday.
"Concerto Ballet" from the 1967 film Les Demoiselles de Rochefort
Je cherchais partout. (I looked everywhere)
Moi aussi, je vous cherchais partout. (Me too, I looked everywhere for you)
I talked about this film last year because it is one of my favorites, and probably this dance is my absolute favorite out of every dance Gene has ever done. It's romantic and subdued, with gorgeous visuals, set to a lush orchestral piece. The film sets up multiple missed opportunities for these two characters (and others) to connect and in this scene they finally find each other again. While it is patently unrealistic for them to immediately start dancing, it is really beautiful for their feelings to come out in dance, and it appeals to my romantic soul. The dance itself is pretty simple and more ballet focused than my two tap-infused earlier picks (Françoise Dorléac wasn't as skilled a dancer), but the way the two are connected in dance even when they are not touching is completely in keeping with the way all the romances in this film develop. They are connected even when they are apart. It makes me melt just a little. I love this dance so much!
