Happy Centennial, Gene!

100 years ago today, in Pittsburgh, PA, Gene Kelly was born. A lithe and athletic dancer, he was innovative in film making as well as dancing: "If the camera is to make a contribution at all to dance, this must be the focal point of its contribution; the fluid background, giving each spectator an undistorted and altogether similar view of dancer and background. To accomplish this, the camera is made fluid, moving with the dancer, so that the lens becomes the eye of the spectator, your eye". The pictures he made with Frank Sinatra are still great entertainment.

(I confess in the Kelly vs Astaire fight I'm in Fred's corner all the way, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate Gene's style, too.)

And this is cool: "Umbrella dance at Pitt to mark Gene Kelly's 100th birthday" (thanks, Kathie!)

The University of Pittsburgh will attempt to break a Guinness World Record Thursday, Aug. 23, and simultaneously honor Gene Kelly on the centennial of the dancer's birthday, when 3,000 incoming freshmen will hold umbrellas and dance to overtake the record for "Greatest Number of People Simultaneously Performing an Umbrella Dance at a Single Venue.

I hope they pull it off!