Ginger: Backwards, in high heels, & in long skirts
I've been very good about not attending concerts or listening to my CDs during my aveilut (year of mourning) for my mother, though not quite as good about not watching videos. But I'm a dancer, and I decided even before my mother died that I wasn't going to give up Israeli folk dancing for a year.
It's also hard for me to pass up opportunities to watch old Fred Astaire or Gene Kelley movies, other movie musicals, and/or music or dance events on TV. This past weekend, we were watching a couple of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies, and I was struck by how dangerous dancing can be for women. There's an old saying that Ginger Rogers not only did the same dances as Fred Astaire, she did them backwards and in high heels. Nobody seems to have noticed that she also did many of those dances in skirts so long that barely more than her shoes was visible. How she managed to dance in skirts that long without tripping and breaking a bone or two is beyond my comprehension. I don't recommend this, or similar stunts, for amateurs.
It's also hard for me to pass up opportunities to watch old Fred Astaire or Gene Kelley movies, other movie musicals, and/or music or dance events on TV. This past weekend, we were watching a couple of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies, and I was struck by how dangerous dancing can be for women. There's an old saying that Ginger Rogers not only did the same dances as Fred Astaire, she did them backwards and in high heels. Nobody seems to have noticed that she also did many of those dances in skirts so long that barely more than her shoes was visible. How she managed to dance in skirts that long without tripping and breaking a bone or two is beyond my comprehension. I don't recommend this, or similar stunts, for amateurs.
posted by Shira Salamone at 8:11 AM
2 Comments:
I went back to your post on skirt length. I've always thought that performing sport activities - especially hiking --in skirts can be a risk to life, safety, modesty (yes, modesty -- try hiking up a hill while the rest of the group lingers below), and often, a reasonable comfort level.
For me it also reached a level of personal discomfort and a feeling of restricted mobility.
Sounds like a difficult year, losing your mother and, in mourning, many of the things that are a natural part of you.
I agree that skirts are not always the most modest, or the safest, clothing for a girl or woman involved in sports activities or some work activities. They can be too revealing, too restrictive, and/or outright dangerous.
It has, indeed, been a difficult year. Thank you for your kind thoughts.
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