Routine Rewind - Heatwave & Stars Above

Welcome to the Routine Rewind series on the Diamond Dolls blog!

Image Source: Steve Hwan

Image Source: Steve Hwan

We will be taking a look back at some of our past routines and giving them a historical and cultural context covering things from song inspirations, artist highlights, discussing the origins of the dance styles, and more. Join us on the first of every month right here to follow this new series.

This month we are taking a look back at the inspiration behind our routines “Heatwave” and “Stars Above” that feature dancing inspired by chorus girl dancers in movie musical production numbers.

The Ziegfeld Follies Image Source: https://blog.samys.com/ziegfeld-ruled-stage-long-influential-life-ziegfeld-follies/

The Ziegfeld Follies
Image Source: https://blog.samys.com/ziegfeld-ruled-stage-long-influential-life-ziegfeld-follies/

A Brief History of the Chorus Line 

It’s hard to pinpoint an exact origin for the chorus girl. According to some literature, it may be from the Ballet Russes, widely regarded as the most influential ballet company of the 20th century, or from the can-can dancers of the 1800’s. In vintage jazz it’s often associated with the Ziegfeld Follies and Goldwyn Girls, well known music and theater troupes from the early 1900s. Many famous female actors got their start dancing backup in these chorus lines such as Lucille Ball, Ginger Rogers, Josephine Baker, and Joan Crawford.

The way to spot a chorus line routine is to look for the extreme synchronization of footwork and movements that are typically exaggerated by having the dancers in complicated shapes or one long line. In early musical films or dance clips you will often see props, elaborate costumes, and overhead camera shots to show off the formations of dancers.

42nd Street Advertisement, Image Source: https://www.filmsite.org/fort3.html

42nd Street Advertisement, Image Source: https://www.filmsite.org/fort3.html

The Golden Age of Hollywood 

The Golden Age of Hollywood is a term that is used to describe the narrative and visual styles of American film-making from the 1910s to the 1960s. Many of the filmmakers and actors had roots in the theater or vaudeville stage productions. At the end of the 1920s films began to have synchronized sound added to them, also known as “talkies”, and more sub genres were developed such as westerns, comedy, cartoon, biographical, and musicals.

After all the film studios had spent time and money to convert to talkies there was a large increase in the number of musicals being made. In 1930 over 100 musicals were produced from these studios, many of low quality. As the Great Depression began, the studios began to lose money. In 1931 only 13 musicals were made. The studios even began to cut music out of films that were already made to try to save costs. The musical genre seemed to be fading, but in 1933, “42nd Street” became a smash hit and restored the financial situation of Warner Brothers Studio. The direction for the musical numbers in the film was the breakout hit for choreographer Busby Berkeley. The studio went on to make “Gold Diggers of 1933” and “Footlight Parade” that same year, both choreographed by Berkeley and they were also huge successes.

Busby Berkeley, Image Source: https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/where-begin-busby-berkeley

Busby Berkeley, Image Source: https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/where-begin-busby-berkeley

Musical Movie Magic of Busby Berkeley

Busby Berkeley was an American film director and musical choreographer. He got his start directing musical numbers on Broadway and was said to be more concerned with the formations and geometric patterns he could make his dancers into than their actual dancing ability. His musical numbers became well known for beginning on a real stage and then moving into a realm that could only be cinematic, including his famous top shot technique where he would position the camera above the dancers to capture their changing formations and kaleidoscope patterns. He would also move the camera around the dancers on custom built booms or monorails. His numbers involved creative costumes, props, and even moving stages.

He became popular to the Depression-era audience, choreographing 5 back to back musicals for Warner Brothers in the early 1930s. He also did work for 20th Century Fox where among other accomplishments choreographed “The Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat '' starring Carmen Miranda. He then moved on to create the finales for MGM’s studios Esther WIlliams films. His final film was in 1962 after which he did some directing on Broadway and for commercials.

Watch some of Busby Berkeley’s movie musical choreography:

Not Quite so “Golden” Age

While Busby Berkeley became one of the most well known and celebrated names in Hollywood,  some of the actors and dancers who worked with him had different opinions. While he was known as a creative genius, he was also reported to have worked his dancers as if they were just pieces in his machine instead of humans. In interviews actresses Judy Garland, Ann Miller, and Esther Williams said he was heartless and worked them too hard - shouting at dancers, having no concerns for their safety in dangerous situations on set, and not giving breaks even when their feet would bleed. Actor Mickey Rooney described the exhausting rehearsals, saying Berkeley was relentless in his quest for perfection which oftentimes meant shooting and reshooting scenes all through the night. Berkeley would also see some dark times in his personal life. In 1935, he was the driver in a collision that claimed two lives. The subsequent trials would result in two hung juries and an acquittal, but after this he struggled with getting hired and would never quite top his early success. 

In addition, the “Golden Age” of Hollywood was not so golden for women. In a study that collected data from the American Film Institute and IMDb to analyze the numbers on female representation in cinema from 1911-2010, they found that “female representation in positions such as actors, directors, and producers suffered a dramatic decline following the birth of the Hollywood studio system in 1922. This period lasted until 1950 and is characterized by a monopoly in which a few major studios controlled all the aspects of the movie-making process.” Source This study reveals long time trends in gender imbalance in Hollywood.

Hollywood also adopted many of the racist and discriminatory practices of the time and the lack of diversity in these films and musical numbers is obvious when looking at them. There were many pioneering Black actors of the time that were fighting for their chance to perform amidst racial stereotypes and institutional oppression including Dorothy Dandridge, Etta Moten Barnett, Eartha Kitt, Ethel Waters, Pearl Bailey, and Lena Horne. The chorus line dancers seen in Hollywood films were actually considered to be a different genre of dancing according to some of the Black dancers of that time who coined their own style. We highly recommend watching the film “Been Rich All my Life” which is a documentary about the Silver Belles, a troupe made up of some of the original dancers from the Apollo Theater chorus line, to learn more about the history and unique style of this dance.

Still from OK GO “I Won’t Let you Down”

Still from OK GO “I Won’t Let you Down”

Modern Adaptations

There is no question that the Busby Berkeley style changed cinema and made a lasting impression. You can see his style being adapted in the media even today from music videos to TV shows and theater. Here are just a few examples:

Image Source: Denver Diamond Dolls

Image Source: Denver Diamond Dolls

Watch the Diamond Dolls perform some routines inspired by chorus lines and production numbers of the golden age:

  • Heatwave choreographed by Melissa Mullins

  • Stars Above choreographed by Marisa Garcia and Lauren Netherton

Sources:

  • https://dancewithhistory.wordpress.com/chorus-girl/

  • http://www.hollywoodsgoldenage.com/history.html

  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_Hollywood_cinema

  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busby_Berkeley

  • https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/where-begin-busby-berkeley

  • http://www.hollywoodsgoldenage.com/moguls/busby.html

  • https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/busby-berkeley-wowing-em-with-excess

  • https://www.musicals101.com/1930film2.htm

  • https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jan-25-ca-11799-story.html

  • https://www.courthousenews.com/golden-age-of-hollywood-not-so-golden-for-women-study/

  • https://screenrant.com/best-black-actors-old-hollywood/

  • https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BusbyBerkeleyNumber