The Legend of Fred Astaire
After seven decades with dozens of different partners on the
stage, screen, and television, Fred Astaire is world-famous as the heart and
soul of dance. He was the epitome of class and elegance. But who was he really,
behind the top hat and tails? Maybe a few of his friends said it best:
Martha Graham:
"Fred had an ability to surmount form and to seem to create at the same
instant a new form, which is the mark of an intrinsic dancer. Alone or with a
partner, his body was one with whatever he was performing."
Rudolf Nureyev:
"What was so extraordinary about Astaire was his musicality, his agility.
He was music in motion. He invented his own rhythm; he imposed his own
musicality, as if he wrote another instrument into orchestration."
Michael Jackson:
"Nobody could duplicate Mr. Astaire's ability but what I never stop trying
to emulate is his total discipline, his absolute dedication to every aspect of
his art. He rehearsed, rehearsed, and rehearsed some more, until he got it just
the way he wanted it."
Audrey Hepburn:
"He had style. His clothes were always very casual, and terribly,
extremely elegant, because he had such taste. Was he good-looking? I think so,
because charm is the best looking thing in the world, isn't it?"
Frank Sinatra:
"I only have one thing to say about Fred. He could have been the classiest
performer I have ever known in all my years in show business."
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