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Susan's avatar

Thanks for this great tribute article. And the link to the fabulous Hot Sardines video. And for the "and now for something totally different" newsletter!

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thellen levy's avatar

Thank you! I am delighted to read this piece on Dorothy Fields, a giant of American musical theater, diminutive as she was. A beautiful tribute.

And I couldn’t agree with you more about the perfection of Swingtime. According to the great dance critic Arlene Croce in her book about Fred and Ginger, the film is the apotheosis of their collaborations of the 30’s and the story’s juxtaposition of night time frolics and workaday struggles, perfectly encapsulates that decade - “top hats and empty pockets.”

Croce has this to say about the controversy surrounding the Bojangles number - “The we-don’t-do-these-things-anymore people, if they cared remotely for the art of dancing, might recognize the deep dignity of homage that is this piece — not the homage of one white man to one black man, but of one great artist to another.”

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