Resources in the Library
Library of Congress Subject Headings:
Choreographers--United States--Biography
Dance--United States--History--20th century
Dance in motion pictures, television, etc.--United States--History
Dancers--United States--Biography
Musicals--United States--History and criticism
For films in our collections, click on the link beside the Library Catalog search box for "DVD/Video Search."
Photo caption: Vandamm Studio, [Gene Kelly], 1939, photograph, Francis Robinson Collection, Vanderbilt University Special Collections
Dance on Film
“Either the camera will dance, or I will.” Until Fred Astaire, dance in film was epitomized by Busby Berkeley extravaganzas, where hundreds of dancers stood still and the camera swirled around them. The consummate showmen, Astaire, Gene Kelly and other dancer/choreographers depicted dance as an integral part of the narrative.
Photo credit:RKO Radio Pictures, Stopped in Action, c. 1936, photograph, Francis Robinson Collection, Vanderbilt University Special Collections
Online Resources
CBS Evening News, Astaire Death June 22, 1987, Vanderbilt Television News Archive
ABC Evening News, Astaire Death, June 22, 1987, Vanderbilt Television News Archive
ABC Evening News, Kelly Death, February 2, 1996, Vanderbilt television News Archive
CBS Evening News, Ebsen Death, July 7, 2003, Vanderbilt Television News Archive
Photo Caption: Fred A. Parrish, Radio Pictures, Wanted: 24 Dance Partners for Fred Astaire! 1936, Francis Robinson Collection, Vanderbilt University Special Collections
Special Collections Resources
Francis Arthur Robinson Papers
Photo Caption: RKO Radio Pictures, [Bill "Bojangles" Robinson], 1935, photograph, Francis Robinson Collection, Vanderbilt University Special Collections
Contact
For more information about this exhibit, please contact Celia Walker.
