Getting Deep About a White Christmas Dance Number

Today I am going to tell you all about my favorite movie dance number ever, gush over the many reasons why I enjoy it so much, and then get all deep about what I think it says about gender roles. In case you are wondering: Yes, I do tend to extrapolate large points out of frivolous movies. I also understand that Rom-Coms are actually horrible places to find any sort of truth about male-female relationships. However, I am just using this dance as an example to illustrate a larger point because I think it does so well.

Another disclaimer: I am no expert in dance so I cannot speak to the technical merits of this number. I can only talk about what I get out of it. As I address this, I’ll talk about the actors themselves, not about their characters as I think some of the things I address are best addressed to them, not their characters.

I’m really looking forward to this.

So, without further ado, I present,  “The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing” from White Christmas featuring Vera Ellen as Judy Hanes and Danny Kaye as Phil Davis.

Now that you have watched the clip.  Go and watch it again and again.  Really let it seep into your soul.

Long have I loved this dance number.  Perhaps what I love most is that the point of the song is played out in the choreography. You can express yourself and get to know someone through dance in a way that you cannot in any other way. It is a beautiful point that is only driven home all the more by the effect that this dance number has on Judy and Phil’s relationship throughout the rest of the movie. But what would this scene be without the beautiful dancing?

I have always fawned over Vera Ellen’s lightness and precision of movement in the number.  I have dreamed of such grace while wearing such a dress.  I have pined for the opportunity to shine so thoroughly, to express myself by doing the things I “would not do at home [but that would] come naturally on the floor.”  One day I will dance like that!

Recently, however, I noticed something different. I realized that I had only been watching half of this dance.  I realized that I had been totally ignoring Danny Kaye.

Admit it.  When you were watching this, you weren’t paying any attention to the guy were you?

After I had this realization, I immediately turned around and watched Kaye exclusively through the whole dance. If I did not love this dance number before, I am totally enraptured by it now.  Danny Kaye is so graceful, so suave. He looks entirely contented, as if all is right in his world. And his dancing is so smooth.

I think one of the great beauties of this number is that the dancers always show great restraint in their movement and, in that, they are really able to shine.  At parts it is as if they are savoring the moment.  At others, it is a frenzy of activity.  This is especially interesting with Kaye.  If you watch him throughout the movie, he is a high energy guy. Seeing this kind of restraint from him is marvelous and impressive. And how about their easy chemistry, though? It’s so perfect that no one in the movie ever doubts that they’re going to get married.  Except Bing Crosby’s character Bob.  He calls Phil a “Weirdsmobile” at the idea…because Bob’s a a bitter, lonesome old man.

The progression of the dance is also worth note. It starts off slow with Kaye singing and Ellen coyly following along to his lead.  As they move down to center stage, you can see the dance becoming more flowery.  Ellen has bigger, more complex movements.  At one point (my favorite point), Ellen drops into a beautiful deep dip in synchronization to the word “naturally,” as if to punctuate the point of the song.  As the song goes on, Ellen more frequently runs off to start her own bit, which Kaye will follow and synchronize with.

In the last part of the number, the part where they return to center stage after dancing on the bridge and boat, I really enjoy watching their faces.  You can tell that they are both high on the dancing.  Ellen is in a flurry of activity and Kaye is totally working it, enjoying every second.  By the way, did you see that she trips over his foot right at the very end?

While they are dancing, did you notice that Ellen is always acting towards the audience. Kaye, however, is always paying attention to her and he seems to be overjoyed to be a part of the experience.  I think this goes to show again that the woman is basically always the star of any couple’s dance and the guy’s role is to support that. If you watch, you can see he is always paying close attention so as to catch his next move or to anticipate her needs.

Okay, so here I’m going to pull a comparison about men and women’s relationships.  If you become uncomfortable or angry and preachy when people agree with traditional gender roles and use Bible verses to do it, then you might want to retreat to a corner of the internet that always agrees with you.

I’m Catholic.  Often, at Catholic weddings, the Bible verse about “Women, be subordinate to your husbands.  Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church and laid Himself down for her” comes up.  When I watch Danny Kaye dancing with Vera Ellen here, I cannot help but be reminded of this Bible verse.  According to this Bible verse, men have to be willing to support women and appreciate their God given beauty, even if it means dying to themselves.  Kaye doesn’t really get a lot of attention in this dance.  He’s doing a stellar job, but he's not really the star.  Ellen is.  His role in the dance is supporting her elaborate and elegant moves.

Ellen, on the other hand, is not enslaved by Kaye’s lead.  On the contrary, she works within his parameters and shines all the more brightly because of it.  If she had decided to preempt his lead to dip her, she might have wound up on the floor in an undignified heap.  If she was too good to be helped by him, she would have had a slow and ungraceful time of getting off that boat.  However, because she is willing to work with him, we get a ridiculously graceful and fluid product.

Think I’m full of it? What do they say right after they finish? Ellen: “I guess I got carried away.” Kaye: “And she carried me right along with her.”

Yeah, guys, leave it to me to draw a deep point about human relationships out of an Irving Berlin dance number.

Gandalf and Speech Pathology

“Look out for me, especially at unlikely times!” –Gandalf, "The Fellowship of the Ring"

I learned much about the field of speech-language pathology this week: presentations, CPR, paperwork, professional communication, and specialized computer programs are just a few topics that came up this week.

In the midst of this overwhelming sea of new information, I found my knees shaking a little.

Don’t misunderstand: I am excited to dive into this field and I believe this will be an amazing experience.

However, I also know that there is a lot for me to learn. I approach the coming months with confidence, but not entirely without misgivings about how smoothly the weeks will go.

But in the midst of this newness and change, I found encouragement for my speech pathology pursuits in an unexpected place: Gandalf, my favorite character from my favorite book series, The Lord of the Rings. (Props to Gandalf, by the way, for appearing at an unlikely time in this case, just like he did for Frodo and Bilbo.)

What does Gandalf have to do with Speech Pathology?

As I learned from a presentation given a few days ago, when a speech therapist works with a client, the intent is to help the client communicate or swallow more effectively.

Other than Gandalf’s obvious affinity for talking, there’s not much this evil-fighting, horse-riding, adventuring wizard has in common with a speech pathology student. What’s the connection?

The connection lies not so much in what we do, but in how we go about doing our business.

I’ll start by laying out what speech pathologists are supposed do when they have a client referred to them.

Before a speech pathologist sees the client, he or she does research prior to an evaluation. Speech pathologists find out why the client is coming to them and look at family history and medical history (as long as it is made available – medical privacy is important). If questions remain, the speech pathologist may seek more information from the family or the referring doctor. When they finally meet for the evaluation, the speech pathologist administers tests and/or examines the client and finds out what he or she (the client) can and cannot do. The speech pathologist, based on expertise and testing, then writes down their recommendation – the client should receive services, should not receive services, etc.

Guess what? Gandalf researched too. When Bilbo left his ring to Frodo, Gandalf decided he needed to find out what exactly this ring was. Taking on the roles of both concerned parent and knowledgeable professional, Gandalf notices something that might be a problem and looks into it. He has some pieces of the puzzle – Bilbo found this ring, had it for x many years, ring appears to have y magical qualities. This is clearly a ring of power, Gandalf decides. But which one?

Thanks to his research, the wizard learns the history of a certain One Ring (which the bad guy is desperate to reacquire): after passing hands multiple times, it went missing. Also, he discovers that placing the One Ring in a fire reveals an inscription that proves it to be the One Ring that controls all the other rings of power. Finding this ring was kind of a big deal.

Gandalf returns to the Shire, has Frodo perform the fire test, and bam – Gandalf has some recommendations to make.

Research, tests, diagnoses – turns out Gandalf and speech pathologists engage in pretty similar activities. Let’s not forget that, like Gandalf, speech pathologists make a journey with the people they work with. Gandalf travels to the Lonely Mountain and across Middle Earth with specific groups, and speech pathologists “travel” through therapy with their clients.

And finally, when the time comes for clients to move on without services anymore, the professionals take their leave: professional speech pathologists dismiss their clients, and professional world-savers let go of the reins and travel across the sea.

Speech pathologists may not perform on as novel-worthy a level as Gandalf, but it is encouraging to me to know that exciting events can be rooted in what originally appears as mundane and ordinary tasks.

Give Me the Lobster!

It's an integral part of human nature: we always want what we can't have.

I recently viewed an episode of "How I Met Your Mother," in which a main character, Robin, wants to pursue a relationship rather abruptly because she's been told the other party has given up trying to win her over. Her friend, Lily, draws a parallel between this situation and the "Lobster Incident": Robin was told she was allergic to lobster and could never, ever have it again. Though it almost killed her, she immediately went out and ate a giant plate of lobster. Lily's point was that Robin only thinks she wants this relationship because she wants what she can't have, now that the door has been shut on a possible future.

What is our obsession with the forbidden? Why do we have a compulsion to do what is bad for us, especially when we know it's bad for us? Two reasons: 1. We remember the experience of past pleasure as better than it actually was, and 2. We are constantly seeking happiness; that frequently translates into gratifying, instantaneous pleasure.

Regarding the first point
Our memories are flawed; we tend to romanticize the past. For example, when Robin was told she could no longer eat lobster, she probably wanted it because in her memory, the brief experience of satisfaction and pleasure was so great that she gave it precedence over her health. When we recall minor pleasures, even if they had negative effects, we tend to maximize the memory of the pleasure and minimize, if not eliminate, memories of the negative consequences.

Regarding the second point
We instantly want things we have been told to avoid--but have not experienced for ourselves--because we imagine a pleasurable outcome. We become curious to try things people have told us to avoid. We imagine the experience will somehow be different for us, or that the other person is (for some reason) trying to prevent us from having a new experience of pleasure. We are constantly seeking happiness, and foolishly believe this happiness will come from experiencing pleasure. We operate under the error that pleasure and happiness are equivalent.

In fact, the reality of happiness--joy--is quite different, and the journey toward it often is quite lacking in pleasure. We have to suffer for it. It seems contrary to rational thought, but we didn't make the rules--we simply follow the example of the person who did it first: Christ. As St. Elizabeth Ann Seton said, "Can you expect to go to heaven for nothing? Did not our Savior track the whole way to it with his tears and blood? And yet you stop at every little pain."

It is a truth universally acknowledged that joy, pleasure, or accomplishment achieved without effort is worthless and unsatisfying. We cannot go anywhere without moving; we cannot ever have the experience of true joy without first knowing true sorrow and pain. We would have nothing with which to compare the experience, and the moment would be worthless. It is the biggest conundrum of life that we have to deny ourselves the instantaneous pleasures within our reach that are bad for us in order to grasp at the beginnings of real, hard-won joy.

No matter how much you think you want that lobster, it will never be enough.