How did Elvis influence dancing?: Elvis Presley is well known as the King of Roll and Roll, but this man had an influence in the areas of movies and dancing as well. If you aren’t aware of his influence over dancing then you definitely need to keep on reading. It is hard to imagine that when Elvis first was on TV, appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show, shaking his hips to his music outraged many people. They felt his moves were too sexual in nature and they also believed that he was a white man trying to dance like he was black.
For a while it became quite a controversy for him to be on shows. In fact, many of the producers only wanted to show him from the waist up so that they wouldn’t offend their viewers. Even so, there was no stopping the following that Elvis developed in part due to his amazing dancing abilities. It seemed that people all over the world just couldn’t get enough of him.
His concerts in Las Vegas and other venues around the world always sold out. Many of those that came to see him made it clear that while they loved his voice they were there for many other reasons. Among them was the fact that they loved his dance style and it was wonderful to see him offering something so new and so energetic to the crowd before him.
Many teenagers loved this rock and roll man, and it also offered them a way to freely rebel against their parents. They also found his style of dancing gave them something new to work with that wasn’t a rehash of what their parents had been dancing to. The fact that they could call this their own was magical and it allowed it to really take of. There aren’t many people who were teenagers in that era that don’t remember dancing to Elvis music and loving it.
Many of the movies that Elvis played roles in included music and dancing as well. These roles set a new boundary for what could be seen on the big screen. It helped to pave the way for the public to take an interest in dancing at a new level as well. They were willing to take those moves that they saw from Elvis and try them out on their own in many instances as well.
Unfortunately, a great deal of the dancing that Elvis did wasn’t really appreciated until after his death. Many believe he was decades ahead of his time with the visions that he had. He wasn’t a rebel as so many critics back then labeled him. Instead he was an artistic genius. If you ask any great dancers or musicians out there today many of them will tell you that one of their inspirations has always been Elvis.
Today there are many people that try to successfully impersonate both the sounds and the dance moves of Elvis. You can find plenty of them in Las Vegas at shows as well as being offered for weddings. Of course it takes a great deal of skill to be able to pull this one off successfully. The critics are very tough on these impersonators so only the best of the best are hired.
There is no denying that the legacy of Elvis is alive and well today. There are so many remarkable things that he was able to accomplish in his lifetime. History will always remember him though as a man that was able to balance music with dancing, and who was creative enough not to let society or the industry limit his talents. (Article, Source: BB Articles)
source: http://www.elvisinfonet.com/
What I can say from my own experience is that before Elvis when I saw singers live
in concert, they just stood at the mic and sang their songs. One singer that I do recall,
Frankie Laine, did shuffle his feet to the music and we thought this was very cool. Then
Elvis came along and, boy! We learned what cool really was!
"talk about the good times"
He let what was inside roll out, like smooth hot silk..............not nasty or dirty though he had those charges from some parents, but he walked on, and life as we knew it walked right out the door. Though the "Jitterbug" was cool...many dances are great, so I have to think of it that Elvis provoked an attitude of soul that made you want to get up and Rattle those pots and pans! lol
"I just wanna be......your Teddy Bear"
Elvis movements are so natural, a part of him , he didn't dance with pre designed movements or no one didn't tell him how to dance ! It was his innerself rolling out ! coming out of instinct . When he dances it seems that he is drawing ! It seems like a beautiful flow of sea waves . Nature and art combined together.
He was the firstest with the mostest.
Look at Michael Jacksons moonwalk. To me it seems a lot like an update of Elvis' moves in the Mean Woman Blues scene in Loving You.
And when Michael stands up on his toes, Elvis did that 30 years before in his Jailhouse Rock promo pics.
I think Elvis inspired and influenced a lot of people and they in turn have passed that influence on.
I never looked for trouble but I never ran.
I don't think he did that much.
I think what Elvis did was more wiggling.
Originally Posted by mistymorning
You phrase things so well, honey. Well said, I agree
he did his thing and it drove the ladies wild, so he stuck with it!
elvislady
he did his thing and it drove the ladies wild, so he stuck with it!
elvislady
It must have been right
As great as Elvis Presley was and is, he didn't influence the world of dancing one iota.
Saying he did is like saying Gene Kelly influenced singing!
They both did sing and dance, but they only influenced one of them each.
Getlo - cute'n'cuddly
I'm just listening to this as I write (MWB)
Dance sequence in the cafe is superb
"NO-ONE, BUT NO-ONE,IS HIS EQUAL, OR EVER WILL BE. HE WAS, AND IS SUPREME".Mick Jagger
I think Elvis influenced "freedom to be yourself"
-on the dancefloor, in singing, in dress.......my mother use to complain that Elvis was not a good dancer-like Tom Jones (my mom loved TJ) but I pointed out Elvis was not a dancer in the traditional sense-he was a mover and a shaker-someone who moved in his own way to the music. Some called it bump and grind, some called it shaking a leg and gyrating-but whatever it was it was his and his alone.
Work in Progress!
Agreed, he did influence a freer atmosphere in other's dance...wasn't his mother known to be quite a dancer in a bump and grind sort of way too and I'm sure part of it came from the church they attended.
But mostly I think what Elvis did came from how the music moved him deep inside.
Diane
I saw this clip the other day and loved it I think it gives Elvis some due...
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK1DBx_hf0E"]YouTube - Chris Brown on Movie's Rock: Jailhouse Rock[/ame]
I read that Alex Romero helped Elvis to coreograph the Jailhouse Rock dance scene and he kinda sharpened-up Elvis's unique style into well coordinated dance-like moves. By the way Gene Kelly was watching Elvis perform the Jailhouse Rock dance scene on the set. Elvis's dance steps and moves are timeless, he could easily get away with his '50s and '70s style even today, it's so powerful and iconic. It's not strict coreography it's just free and total self-expression through music. Before Elvis there was no wild self-expression, just coreographed moves and dance-styles (charleston, swing...) which all had a set of rules to work from. Elvis created his own palette of moves which were completely his, free, creative and spontaneous. That's one of his secrets I think.
Poke a little sock salad...
The girls Elvis took to proms said they didn't even dance while they were there, because he always said he didn't know how to dance!!
When he sang he said he just moved to what he felt.....
Elvis was no dancer. He gyrated.
You read in My Mind My Sweetheart!
Don`t really think you can credit Elvis with having a big influence on dancing.He certainly influenced the performances of singers and made people more willing to be more natural when performing.If anything his influence on dance came as part of the cultural and social revolution that he was such a big part of...... so,I guess, he encouraged people to shake their funky thing...but in their own way! Better still though...he made music that made you want to jump up and shake it....and dancin` without music aint no fun anyway....well, a little bit maybe.
Elvis changed and influenced the thing called Stage Act big time and forever.
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