In theater, there is no other relationship quite like that between dance partners. Whether it’s ballet, tap, contemporary, ballroom, or fusion, a bond forms between two people who dance together that nothing else can replicate.
A Beautiful Partnership
In 1930, 19-year-old Ginger Rogers was cast in the Gershwin musical “Girl Crazy.” Stage veteran Fred Astaire, at 30 years old, was called in to help the dancers with their choreography. This was the first meeting of the couple who would dance their way into American’s hearts three years later.
Whatever she did, it worked like a charm. After one brief dance by the two, audiences were hooked. RKO Radio Pictures starred them in their next movie. They made seven more films until 1939, when they parted ways, reuniting after a 10-year hiatus in 1949. Every time they danced together, they made magic, and filmgoers couldn’t get enough. As Astaire put it, “She got so that, after a while, everyone else who danced with me looked wrong!”
‘Roberta’ and ‘Follow the Fleet’
At the top of my list are two in which they weren’t the lead couple, 1935’s “Roberta” and 1936’s “Follow the Fleet.” Both starred Randolph Scott as the leading man and Fred as his toe-tapping friend. With Scott and his leading lady carrying the story, Fred and Ginger were free to focus on what they did best: making people happy with their feet.
In both films, Fred and Ginger play former friends who are reunited under unusual circumstances. In “Roberta,” bandleader Huck Haines encounters his hometown sweetheart, Lizzie Gatz, in Paris, masquerading as Countess Scharwenka, and they rekindle their romance. It’s set to a gorgeous Jerome Kern score. In “Follow the Fleet,” seaman Bake Baker looks up his former dance partner, Sherry Martin, while on shore leave, and they restart their partnership both on and offstage, dancing and crooning through a dreamy Irving Berlin score.
“Roberta’s” climactic number is the dramatic ballroom duet “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” but the number which epitomizes Fred and Ginger is the playful tap duet “I’ll Be Hard to Handle,” which they start together before trying to outdo and answer each other’s taps. This impromptu dance by the characters was carefully rehearsed, yet they seem like they’re just fooling around on the dance floor.
The number was recorded on a wooden floor, so their actual taps are on the soundtrack; this is their only film which used this technique. As a result, their laughter and vocalizations are audible. Rogers later stated that their laughter was not scripted; they just enjoyed dancing together that much.
“Follow the Fleet” also has a fun, comedic tap number performed on a ship’s deck, “I’m Putting All My Eggs in One Basket.” In it, Astaire leads Rogers in a series of steps, which she keeps getting stuck on until he physically stops her.
‘Swing Time’ and ‘Shall We Dance’
My third and fourth picks are “Swing Time” (1936) and “Shall We Dance” (1937). In both, two people from different walks of life are thrown together into seemingly doomed romances. “Swing Time” brings gambler Lucky Garnett to New York City, where he meets dance instructor Penny Carroll; although she tries to get him arrested and he almost gets her fired, it’s clear they’re on track to dance through life together to this standard-filled Jerome Kern score.In “Shall We Dance,” ballet dancer Peter P. Peters, aka Petrov, falls in love with tap dancer Linda Keene, who wants nothing to do with him, until a publicity stunt claims they are married. All is underscored by the inimitable George Gershwin.
“Swing Time” was Ginger’s favorite of their movies. When Lucky pretends he can’t dance so Penny will teach him, she disgustedly says no one could teach him to dance. To keep her from getting fired, he demonstrates how much Penny taught him with the fabulous, virtuosic routine “Pick Yourself Up,” to Penny’s shock and delight, ending with a joint leap over the low gate surrounding the dance floor.
There also is the tragic farewell duet, performed in a deserted nightclub after they’ve both decided to marry someone else. Fred serenades her with the heartfelt “Never Gonna Dance.” Then, they segue into a stunning, melodramatic ballroom duet to the melody of “The Way You Look Tonight,” which Astaire sang earlier. At the climax, they dance up opposite sides of a curving double staircase before reuniting at the top, only for her to spin out of his arms and disappear through a doorway.
“Shall We Dance” features two notable duets, the first being “They All Laughed.” Ginger begins by crooning the song, only to be interrupted by Petrov’s cheeky parody of ballet dancing. When she just stares at him, he instructs her to “twist,” so she challenges his leaping and twirling with fancy taps. He quickly proves he can match her, and they slide into an energetic, perfectly synchronized tap duet. He ends it by setting her on one of the two white pianos on the side stage, then jumping up beside her.
The most memorable routine is “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off,” an astounding tap dance on roller skates! Donald O’Connor and Gene Kelly tapped on skates in the 1950s, but Fred and Ginger set the standard, as they go right from tapping to rolling. The number, reportedly Ginger’s idea, took 150 takes to perfect. When they end by crashing down on the grass, they look pained as they struggled to get up due to bruises from previous takes.
Magic in the Making
Beyond dancing, so much skill went into creating onscreen magic. Fred, a perfectionist, oversaw every production detail, always having last say on which takes were used, as well as costumes, sets, and cinematography. Before this, dance footage cut around a lot and closed up on the dancers’ upper bodies or faces frequently. Astaire pioneered the one-shot, wide-angle technique to showcase the dancers’ athleticism and talent, proving they could do it in one take, perfect from head to toe.Astaire himself choreographed all of their films, alongside choreographer Hermes Pan, lending unmistakable continuity without monotony. Every dance is unique and unforgettable.
From “Roberta” on, Ginger’s gowns were usually designed by Bernard Newman, her personal favorite designer, Irene Lentzor (or simply Irene), with input from Ginger, who was very interested in design herself. The gowns were often challenging for dancing; the infamous ostrich-plumed dress had Astaire dancing “cheek to cheek” with more feathers than girl, and the 25-pound dress with weighted sleeves and hemline had him facing the fabric as much as the music. Nevertheless, they always photographed beautifully and added another dimension to the dances.
The Secret
What truly made Fred and Ginger so magical together? I don’t think there’s a simple answer to charisma. Everyone finds something special about them. Besides being matched in height and coloring, they shared something special. Their hearts seemed to beat to the same rhythm, and it shows onscreen. Ginger stood up to Fred in a way none of his other partners could, and, sometimes, a little thing like that makes all the difference.When Fred’s memoir was re-released in 1981, Ginger wrote the foreword, saying, “For each one of [our] ten films, I can’t think of any performer of the screen or stage I would rather have performed alongside than You, Mr. A!” They were always complimentary of each other in later years, despite publicity’s constant assertions during their heyday that they didn’t get along. You can see the fondness they had for each other on film.
