Dance in Musicals and Film How one choreographer changed the whole culture

Great Depression During the Great Depression all people wanted was to be distracted so they turned to film for that. Busby Berkeley was known for some of the best distractions that time had to offer- SPECTACLE films that ooed and awed the audience and took them out of reality for a bit.

Films He participated either as a director or choreographer in over 40 films between 1930 and 1962 He was most famous for his work as a choreographer in: 42nd Street (1933) Gold Diggers (1933): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iN_JXwNudh8 (2:48) Footlight parade (1933)

Busby Berkeley He is a pioneer and icon to the way dance is now filmed in musicals. He had impeccable dancers, lavishly dressed and impressively arranged, creating a remarkable sight to see. He invented and perfected many of the dance hallmarks we use in musicals today: -The Top Shot -Geometric shapes -Making an image appear infinite -Chorus girls His approach to choreography for musicals was one that could only be done on film..

Busby Berkeley Busby Berkeley set the stage for dance in filmed musicals by realizing that camera angles were as much as the choreography as the choreography itself. He put cameras in motion with the dancers instead of having the dancers just dancing in front of a camera. His trademark was putting dancers in a kaleidoscope formations and filming from overhead, sometimes he would even cut through a roof if necessary to be able to get the right shots. 42nd street (1933) was one of his first musicals to use his new found vision: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM_Xjw4m0ro . (44 sec.)

Examples: Beauty and the Beast (1991): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afzmwAKUppU (2:44) Dancing with the stars (2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtjBCrrEe3Q (20) (1:28)

Sources https://www.musicals101.com/dancescreen.htm http://www.filmsite.org/musicalfilms.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busby_Berkeley http://www.dancefilms.org/2013/01/29/busby-berkeleys-enduring-influence-five- berkeley-style-numbers-in-contemporary-film/ http://www.starwars.com/news/the-cinema-behind-star-wars-busby-berkeley