Gene Kelly: Ballet Influenced His View Of Dance

“Where are you now, Gene Kelly?” asked poet Jeremy Bass, “The show’s still going, and we’ve forgotten how to dance” (Bass 76). A Pittsburgher in Hollywood, as he was known, Gene Kelly was an inimitable figure in the history of dance. Known for revolutionizing the world of movie musicals, Gene Kelly’s aura of commonality and ease within his art contributed to the assumption that he would be opposed to the structure of nineteenth century classical ballet. However, due to the nature of his artistic upbringing, his “Excalibur Ideology” and his staged opposition and appreciation of the nineteenth century dance conventions, one can deduce that Kelly, while having respect for classical ballet, believed in the progressing evolution of dance toward

Kelly could have passed off his exposure to ballet as mere dance training. But within his mission to revolutionize the Hollywood musical, he crafted the first American all-dance movie feature Invitation to Dance with a cast consisting solely of ballet dancers. Referring back to Kisselgoff’s New York Times article Gene Kelly: Ballet Influenced His View of Dance, Kelly often referred to his “Excalibur Ideology.” Born from his uphill battle with the medium, particularly his time as the first American-born choreographer for the Paris Opera Ballet, Pas de Dieux, Kelly metaphorically references King Arthur’s sword in the stone. This term suggests that Kelly sees himself as the knight in shining tap shoes attempting to save, or rather popularize, ballet in the 1950’s (Kisselgoff). It was thusly that Gene Kelly, a man of many hats, directed and starred in Singin’ in the Rain (Donen, Kelly), a film following the evolution of film and the production of an innovative movie musical. Regarded as the most popular movie musical of all time and inspire by Kelly’s work on An American in Paris (Minnelli, 1951), Singin’ in the Rain led the way for a generation of movie-musicals and inspired a generation of stage and screen artists of every creed and calling. Furthermore, Kelly was dedicated to remaining down to Earth, contributing to the surge of male dancers during and following his surge in