Cavalcade of Dance (1943)
Ballroom dancers Veloz and Yolanda perform the various dance fads of the first half of the twentieth century.
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A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.
if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.
It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.
. . . or dances that first started when really old people alive today were kids, such as the Twist or Monster Mash. But it is interesting to watch this for the cultural history of our great grand parents, and not just for the dance moves, but also the costumes (the dancing pair wear many different ones; this 10 minutes, 45.26 second short most likely was not shot in one take). The guy wears a Zorro suit for the Tango section (only without the mask), and a really wide sash or belt that looks totally crazy by today's dance floor standards. The chick's shining black dress for the final Rhumba segment is pretty slinky and appealing, though the catchiest song is the Mexican waltz, the Chapanakis, what with all the clapping and mariachi band and everything. So kudos to the antiquarians of long ago who preserved this film till it could be digitized and show young people of today what their ancestors did for fun in Millard Fillmore's day.
Narrated by Art Gilmore and directed by Jean Negulesco for Warner Bros., this is a short illustrating the various dance tempos throughout the '20s to '40s era.Among the dances, the Tango and Rhumba stand out as the most exotic displays of ballroom dancing--but there's also the One Step (1917), Charlston ('20s), Black Bottom, a popular Mexican waltz, and the Jitterbug.Veloz and Yolanda give all the dances some extra flavor with their darkly Latin looks and body movements that flow with the music in a way that all great dancers are capable of. But the best segment is the exotic movements to the Rhumba.Strange to see Jean Negulesco, a director later known for his strong dramatic films (JOHNNY BELINDA, ROADHOUSE), rather than musicals, but this must have been at the start of his career at Warner Bros. There is no story angle at all, just the dances.