
Zadie Smith: dance lessons for writers - tintinnabula
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/oct/29/zadie-smith-what-beyonce-taught-me
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yesbabyyes
"Sure, [Fred Astaire] was great, but don't forget that Ginger Rogers did
everything _he_ did, ...backwards and in high heels."

[http://www.reelclassics.com/Actresses/Ginger/images9/ginger_...](http://www.reelclassics.com/Actresses/Ginger/images9/ginger_frankernesttoon.jpg)

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WalterBright
I know the famous quote. But I also know many professional ballroom dancers,
and how good a couple looks is mostly determined by the man. The man drives
the dance. It's his job to make his partner look good, and that means
adjusting things to the skill level of his partner. A very good woman will
have a much harder time making her man look good if he isn't, because she
cannot backlead.

Ginger Rogers was a very good dancer. But she just isn't as good as Astaire.
If you watch closely, for example, he is always perfectly positioned, Ginger,
not so.

Astaire also developed the dances in parternship with Hermes Pan, who would
play the female. They'd work it all out to perfection, and then bring Ginger
in to teach it to her.

Also, stepping backwards is not a problem for professional dancers, and women
ballroom dancers spend thousands of hours dancing in heels, so those present
no special difficulty, either.

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WalterBright
> People will be dancing like Michael Jackson until the end of time.

There's a curious quality to MJ's dance. His moves look simple, and are
endlessly copied, by amateurs and pros alike. But none of them come off
looking like MJ. All I can say is it's that last 2% of the move that makes it
work, and nobody has been able to copy that. I know his poses and moves are
all very carefully laid out and practiced, but they look so natural on him,
they look like they are him.

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dominotw
Didn't Beyonce give dance lessons to Gaddafi too? How do these people turn
into feminist icons while at the same time cozying up to monsters with
grotesque harems. What a strange world to live in.

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wojcech
Don't know how much that applies here, but there is no inherent moral or
egalitarian negative to a "harem" (or "unicorn" arrangements if I remember my
polyamory lingo correctly) if everyone involved is actively and consciously
consenting. But Gandhi is probably not in that camp

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munificent
Gaddafi != Gandhi

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gandolfinmyhead
man ... how is this on hacker news?

