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- Title
Busby Berkeley, broken rhythms and dance direction on the stage and screen.
- Authors
Robbins, Allison
- Abstract
On the 1920s revue stage, dance director Busby Berkeley created 'broken' chorus numbers in which dancers performed rhythms that contradicted the metrical structure of the musical arrangement. This musico-choreographic aesthetic was influential in the filming and editing of Berkeley's subsequent Hollywood musical numbers. I demonstrate how his numbers in Whoopee! (1930) retain characteristics from his stage routines and examine how those elements shaped the way he filmed and edited tap choreography in the distinctly cinematic numbers from 42nd Street (1933) and Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935). Berkeley's cinematography is notable not just for its innovative camera angles but for continuity editing initiated by movement and music.
- Subjects
BERKELEY, Busby, 1895-1976; CHOREOGRAPHERS; DANCE; REVUE production &; direction; DANCE notation
- Publication
Studies in Musical Theatre, 2013, Vol 7, Issue 1, p75
- ISSN
1750-3159
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1386/smt.7.1.75_1