Hollywood has always had a love affair with dancing. That includes everything from Ballroom dancing to break dancing. Great music combined with talented dancers and flamboyant costumes makes for a hit whether it's Standard Ballroom dancing, Latin American dance, jazz or disco
In some movies the ballroom dancing comprises just a scene or two as in with Gone With the Wind, when Rhett bids for the honor of dancing the Virginia Reel with Scarlett or in The Shining when the hotel ghosts dance the night away in the grand ballroom.
For other movies the ballroom dancing is the basis of the story as in Shall We Dance, a Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez film about a family man who signs up for ballroom dance lessons in the hope of meeting the beautiful woman he has seen through the window of the dance studio on his commute home each night. He ends up truly falling in love with the dancing and finds himself having to do some fancy juggling to not let his secret out to his wife and co-workers as he trains for Chicago's biggest ballroom dance competition.
Strictly Wonderful is a romantic comedy about a rebellious ballroom dancer who pairs up with an amateur to practice for a big ballroom competition. This film received a 15-minute standing ovation when it played at the Cannes Film Festival.
The movie Dance With Me, is the story of a young Cuban, Rafael, who comes to America after the death of his mother where he meets his father who runs a dance studio. As fate would have it Rafael turns out to be a great dancer and becomes his father's best hope of winning a championship for his studio. The thing that makes this movie truly unique is that it is one of only a few movies that actually used ballroom competitors making for wonderfully realistic ballroom dance scenes.
Dance, ballroom or otherwise has played a large part in hundreds of movies. The Sharks and the Jets danced their way through West Side Story, Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze put Dirty Dancing on the map. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers awed the world with the beauty and grace of their dancing. There was even a joke at one time that Ginger Rogers should have gotten top billing since she did everything Fred Astaire did and she did it backwards in high heels! In 1935 Shirley Temple tapped her way through The Little Colonel with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and in 1939 after Judy Garland watched dozens of "munchkins" dance and sing to celebrate the wicked witches demise she joined with the scarecrow, tin man and lion and they danced their way to the land of Oz.. In 1983 Flashdance put the exotic in exotic dancing and 2004 saw the animated characters of Shrek dance the night away.
Ballroom dancing is exciting to watch in person and enjoyable to watch on television, however the big screen brings an added dimension to the grace, romance and passion that is ballroom dancing.
There are hundreds of ballrooms in the United States and throughout the world. There has been a renewed interest in holding weddings, and other important occasions in a luxuriant ballroom setting.
The Danceland Ballroom in Cedar Rapids is probably the best-known ballroom in Iowa and in 1957 it was the first ballroom to reach out to the teenage population by booking book the rock and roll band Bill Haley and the Comets. Darlowe Oleson, who owned five ballrooms and was considered Iowa's premier ballroom operator, owned the Danceland Ballroom, which remained an active ballroom right up until its demolition when it was replaced by the Cedar Rapids Five Seasons Center. .
In Illinois, on Chicago's fabulous Gold Coast you'll find the Germania Place, a landmark building that had been designed in 1888 and underwent a complete restoration in 1994. This gorgeous building houses two cavernous ballrooms. The Grand and Royal ballrooms both feature Victorian architecture, 35-foot ceilings, mahogany bars, crystal chandeliers, hardwood floors, 20 foot arched windows and inset, gilded domes. A masterpiece of a stained glass portrait crafted in Germany and first exhibited at the 1893 worlds fair adorns the entrance to the Grand Ballroom. A balcony large enough to accommodate 150 guests overlooks the Grand Ballroom. The Grand ballroom can serve up to 400 guests for dinner, the Royal Ballroom can seat and additional 250 and the two rooms can be combined by opening the set of double doors that separate the two.
In Columbus, Ohio the Grand Valley Dale Ballroom is significant in as much as it is one of the few nationally renowned ballrooms left from the big band era. In the 30's and 40's big name entertainers like Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby performed there. The Grand Valley Dale Ballroom has been admitted to the National Register of Historical Places and has been completely renovated. The restoration included the ballroom (which now boasts a 2000 square foot wood dance floor), a circular art deco bar, twin staircases, historic stage with velvet curtains, 13 chandeliers, columns, mezzanines, and a much-sought out bridal parlor among other improvements.
The Charles Ballroom in the Charles hotel in Cambridge has played host to such notables as The Clintons, Barbra Streisand and Gwyneth Paltrow. The hotel is decorated in a minimalist style so the bride and groom are free to design the wedding of their dreams. The 4700 square foot ballroom features dramatic double doors that open to a room with floor to ceiling windows, showcasing an interior courtyard and a view of the Charles River.
The Grand Ballroom in the Copley Plaza Hotel, Boston was opened in 1912 and features Louis XIV style furnishings, crystal chandeliers, and gold leaf accents. The room has a massive dance floor and a stage large enough for an orchestra. It has the capability of holding up to 1,000 people.
The Holiday Villa, Subang, Malaysia is home to the finals for the 2007 World Golfers. The hotel is set on 6.8 acres overlooking a beautiful lake. The Holiday Villa features three ballrooms along with 18 convention and meeting rooms and several sports and recreational facilities.
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