do the shimmy

samurai-ninja batter

and who says the japanese don't have any individuality

happy birthday, fred

fred astaire, dancing,...at the 1970 academy awards

always...lovely

and...what a difference, a couple of decades make

they actually gave an award,...for a documentary on 'the prague spring,' and the winners speak of liberty

here's fred, with ginger, dancing to...and singing...'isn't this a lovely day' -- yes, indeed -- and...so cute, when he gets her...to join him

the incomparable louis prima...and keely smith

belly-dancer, copying loie fuller

oh, my god -- this belly dancer, from four years ago, copies what loïe fuller, an american dancer in france, did, 120 years ago -- toulouse-lautrec did abstract drawings of fuller, in mid-twirl -- i saw one...in the cleveland museum of art, a couple of months ago

i couldn't include the youtube video of the belly-dancer here, but it's at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLvFuBId0vY

the first movie, below, is from 1894, one of the earliest moving pictures -- by the lumiere brothers -- i don't think this is fuller, dancing

a film from 1899, with a bit of narration and information about the lumiere brothers

a possibly longer dance clip, of annabelle whitford, set to music for cello by philip glass

then there is this montage of serpentine dancers, by early filmmakers -- the dance, it is said, was a popular way of showing off the new technology -- i couldn't insert the youtube video here -- it's at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZcbntA4bVY