I hope those of you who might be a little offended by the title of this video, will watch it anyway. Not only does it represent an amazing accomplishment, but I love the way it brings so many cultures and so many of God’s children together in a silly, but surprisingly touching display of cross-cultural connectedness.
I believe that dance is part of our human soul and represents a fundamental part of what it means to be human and a child of God.
Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.
Hat tip: North Temple
A while ago I wrote about my fascination with Vaudeville and the talent of that era.
This mashup of video of some fellows dancing the Charleston in the 1920s’ with the electronic dance music of Daft Punk is too cool not to share:
Those of you who have known me in person for any significant amount of time know that I love to dance, though it wasn’t always so. Dancing is an important part of our family culture. I’m not talking about competitive ballroom dance or anything intense like that, though many of us have taken ballroom dance classes casually, and some have even competed on a novice level. When I was growing up it wasn’t uncommon for my parents to put on some music and dance, just for the fun of it. Now that we are all grown, when we get together we often dance—and it is blast.
Some of you know that I have a fascination with Vaudeville and the roots of modern entertainment. We often forget that many of those who first established the conventions of movies, television, and popular music performance were first vaudevillians. I am also a big fan of swing music, both early and the neo-swing revival of the 90s. I have sometimes daydreamed about opening a modern vaudeville theatre.
The artists of that era were truly amazing performers and their energy and talent is often missing from our modern entertainment industry.
Watch the amazing video above, from the film “Stormy Weather.” It showcases the extraordinary talents of some of my favorite performers from that bygone time: the fantastic Cab Calloway and the stupendous Nicholas Brothers . Fred Astaire said this sequence was the finest piece of tap dancing ever filmed.
