My name is Sharon Davis
I am an Australian dancer, based in London.
I dance Lindy Hop, Charleston, Blues & Burlesque
email / me@sharondavis.com.au
phone / (+44) 0777 444 6100 (UK)
As promised, I’m posting up all the video clips that I referenced during Stompology 2010.
Ballin’ The Jack, choreographed by Gene Kelly for a television special (with Donald O’Connor) in 1960:
And here are the numbers that inspired my Beatnik Routine! Firstly…
Steam Heat, from the film The Pajama Game (1957), with dancers Eddie Phillips, Carol Haney and Buzz Miller, choreographed by Bob Fosse:
Gwen Verdon singing Whatever Lola Wants, from Damn Yankees (1958), choreographed by Bob Fosse. Fun fact, Gwen Verdon was Bob Fosse’s wife!
Hand Jive with the Johnny Otis Band (1959):
Audrey Hepburn dancing in Funny Face (1957):
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Joannie Jacob
Thank you so much Sharon! Your classes were so much fun and gave me a lot of inspiration for my dancing. What was the title of the Beatnik song we danced to again?
admin
The song was Jump Did-Le-Ba, Dizzy Gillespie & Joe Carroll (1949)
Sarah
Thank you so much for posting these, Sharon. I spent a few hours scouring youtube for the Ballin’ the Jack routine and couldn’t find it on my own — but in the process got to watch so many vintage jazz routines that I’ve never seen before. Most of all, thank you for such an inspirational weekend of awesome.
Bronwyn
I love the Audrey Hepburn dance. I was trying to find it on youtube this weekend, but was couldn’t find it with it’s original score. Thanks for posting! And it was great to see you this weekend!
Laura
When I was 6 and 7 I took tap classes in my small NC coastal town and my elegant ballet and tap instructor taught us a version of Ballin’ the Jack. It was obviously not as elaborate as Gene Kelly’s version, but it was fun, nevertheless. It was so fun that we always wanted to do it instead of our tap exercises, so it became a special reward at the end of class – if we got through our exercises, Miss Myrna would let us do Ballin’ the Jack.