Happy Feet

We have a confession to make. Those of us who have grown up to be thinking women started out as thinking girls who loved to put Broadway albums on the hi-fi (yes, kids, this was in the days before CDs, cassettes, and even stereos), dress up in mom’s old evening dresses and dance. It didn’t even matter whether we had seen the musicals, all that mattered was the dancing.

Later, we got to know the real thing through high school drama clubs, regional performances and late-night babysitting viewings of those dashing hoofers who leaped and twirled in old MGM musicals. Let's face it: it was impossible not to have a crush on Gene Kelly.

It gives us real pleasure when the things we loved as kids and thought were gone forever, return. So we are tickled pink to see the renewed interest in dance, thanks, in large part, to the Brits. First came ABC's smash success last summer, "Dancing With The Stars," which pairs celebrities with professional ballroom dancers, and shows us the process of training a non-dancer to compete with the pros.

Then, the brilliant Nigel Lythgoe took the formula he developed back home in England, and brought it to America, first as "American Idol," and then this summer's hit, "So You Think You Can Dance."

In a blockbuster finale, the winner of "So You Think You Can Dance" was a young man from California named Benji Schwimmer. His lively personality, lovable goofiness and awesome dancing talent won him the hearts of America and gave Fox the highest rated program this summer.

But it wasn’t just young Benji – who reminds us of another Benji we know – who dazzled America. He was accompanied by nine other young dancers who reminded the nation of the athleticism, poetry and excitement of the art form. As they tackled everything from hip-hop to Viennese waltz to Broadway with stops in between for salsa, contemporary and swing, the young dancers reawakened interest in moving to the beat.

The outcome has been phenomenal. Programs that feature dancing are proliferating. "Dancing With The Stars" starts its third season in a couple of weeks, and hopes to repeat last year’s ratings. A new movie about a street dancer and a ballerina opened big at the box office last weekend. And the recently announced national tour of the top ten contestants on "So You Think You Can Dance" sold out in 11 minutes in New York.

Can a renewed appreciation of such classics as "Top Hat" and "An American in Paris" be far behind? We can only hope that a new generation will appreciate Gene Kelly tap dancing on roller skates, Fred Astaire dancing on the ceiling, or the legendary Bill Robinson showing Shirley Temple how it’s done.

All of this does more than give us pleasure. It makes us feel like putting on our dancing shoes.

Dancing, anyone?