Fred Astaire Trivia

During last month's conference on Fred Astaire in Oxford, England, scholars from around the world shed more light on America's favorite dancer of all time, Mr. Fred Astaire:

• Fashion writer G. Bruce Boyer presented on how Astaire’s soft-collared shirts and comfortable suit jackets replaced the customary European wardrobe of high starched collars and restricted jackets.
• British record producer Ken Barnes recalled how he persuaded Bing Crosby and Astaire to duet on an album in the 1970s. When he heard that Barnes wanted the sound of tap dancing for one of the tracks, Astaire said, “Nothing sounds like feet but feet,” and did the steps himself.
• Astaire perfected and improved upon the “wraparound” movement in his routines - a series of steps originally described in Vernon and Irene Castle’s dance manual - in which he encircled his partner with one arm, then unwraps her and returns to their initial position.
• Astaire used jazz motifs borrowed from African-American musicians like Fats Waller and Lionel Hampton.
• Film and television historian Patricia Tobias demonstrated how Astaire made sure that camera tracking always complemented body movement, keeping the dancing figure within the central third of the frame.
• Famous choreographer George Balanchine incorporated Astaire’s movements in his work with the New York City Ballet. In one clip shown, a Balanchine ballerina is heard telling two young dancers to “make it more Astaire.”
• Astaire's daughter, Ava, admitted that while dancing at her debutante ball, she and her father were the only couple moving in the wrong direction!