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Hello. I'd like to see a full dances compilation of Vera-Ellen performances. It is so hard to fine the material I'd like to do it by myself. Pleeeeeeaseeee.... (However, well done kid. You did a job, really...)

She was the best of them.

Absolutely!

So few could hold a candle to her.

She was never really under rated at the time she was in film musicals. Everyone knew how good she was. But from what I gather, which includes a comment from Fred Astaire who thought she was a terrific dancer 'but a very strange, somewhat difficult girl,' the eating disorder that she had acquired, also ended her career. It was painfully obvious to the studio heads and her concerned co stars, that when she made White Christmas she was dangerously thin. She still had the high energy that she always had, but the cameras - which actually added visual weight, didn't lie - and all her costumes had to be re designed with high necklines to disguise the fact that her neck was showing the full extent of her illness. Astaire thought she was the best all round dancer he had worked with. Cyd Charrise was by far the best technically, and a gorgeous dancer to watch, but she couldn't tap dance, and Vera could do most of it well. She was exciting to watch. So, unlike some of her peers like Jane Powell, Ann Miller, and Debbie Reynolds, who could also sing and act and took on dramatic roles, and Broadway, she just stopped working. You can see in her early films with Danny Kaye how she should have looked. Healthy. She's almost unrecognizable in Wonder Man. The difference is alarming.

Vera-Ellen was a gifted, elite dancer….and incredibly cute!

Yep, same here, family tradition at my house. I love Vera-Ellen and my daughter loves Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. My wife doesn't understand our obsession and that's ok 😊

You have supreme taste.

It's Christmas again and have just had my fill of White Christmas and those glorious Vera Ellen routines. I will never never get tired of her genius.

BEST Legs ever.........

You do know that all film dance 'taps' are recorded on tap boards after the film and then added to the soundtrack is shot don't you? There's a bit of film trickery in filming taps. Vera Ellen and Ann MIller could do their own, and did. Other's who I won't name - didn't.

Vera Ellen suffered from Anorexia at the time, although they didn't know what it was at the time, her waist would fluctuate from 17 inches to 21 inches and she may have had ribs removed, so along side her slender co-stars she was so very scrawney!!!!!

@@kimberlyspence3610 Not true.

Everyone forgets Donald O'Connor. She was supposed to do more things with him, I read in a bio.

That should have been shown! It's amazing!!!!

When I first saw that, many, many years ago, I got chills that ran down my spine. “White Christmas” became my all time favorite Christmas show right then and there! ❤🎉❤🎉❤🎉❤

100% agree!! 👍👍👍

@@SamanthaN92 🤗

I watch it year round.

@@juanitadaleslusher9628 Im going to make it a tradition! 🤣👍❤️

I agree and think both those numbers belong in this list. Both performances were impeccable in that movie.

@@ShelleyWantiez-bq3fh agreed!

That Mandy, what a gal!

Thank you, I said the exact same thing!

You also need strict ballet training to dance like Vera.

Donald O'connor...she is with Danny Kaye in Wonder Man & Kid from Brooklyn

@@Cesteth OOps, I guess it's been a while since I've watched it!

Both their dances in Call me Madam were flawless and beautiful. Yes, that definitely was slighted.

I just said the same thing, didn't see this post until later. Agree both with the evaluation of the Cole Porter film, and O'Conner's work. There is a YT video of several male stars showing what I hadn't realized, which was his influence on the work of Bob Fosse, which makes sense but I had missed the crossover somehow. And we do still have excellent dancers and choreographers still working, some recreating previous work and others doing new work, inspired by, consistent with, and pushing the boundaries of the expected, just as these pieces did in their own time. Gotta dance!

Agreed! Those two duets from Call Me Madam were brilliant.

Which one of these was the number where she wore the long sleeve pink dress with purple gloves? It was maybe one of the most beautiful dresses ever and her dance in it should have been a top 3. I have the portrait of her in it hanging in my home.

@@jackoff1826 Was the dress from Call Me Madam? The two numbers I mentioned had Vera-Ellen wearing a long sleeved white formal gown and the other a red jacket/plaid skirt daytime ensemble. I have only seen one other daytime outfit and one other formal from video clips, but they are not pink either. I'm guessing her most famous pink dress (no gloves) was in White Christmas when she was dancing with Danny Kaye.

@@suebob16 I believe someone mentioned a water scene dancing with O'Connor. I believe that's the one with the dress I recall...I'll see if I can find it

Love that one as well.

She was so slender because she was anorexic.

Same but with my mom ☺️

gotta love Ivy Smith

This is adorable, real testament to how much you love the movie. It’s also my favorite Christmas movie!

Vera-Ellen as Ivy Smith would be my favorite too.

My thoughts exactly!

They say the original Barbie doll was made in her likeness.

I believe she dealt with anorexia most of her life; another dance historian mentioned to me that her costumes often had high necks and long sleeves to camouflage the degree to which her bones protruded at times. Knowing that, it makes me all the more respectful of the courage she showed in continuing to perform, and to such a great standard of work as well. Astaire and Kelly, for example, could have chosen any partner they liked, and there were many good dancers to choose from. She was dedicated and exigent of herself and others.

@@dellaroux Can't believe a dance historian would spread rumours as if they were fact. She was seen all the time without her neck and arms covered including at the White Christmas premiere and did photoshoots in bathing suits with no problems at all. There were only ever rumours of an eating disorder however the people in her life have spent years trying to dispel them, she had been thin her whole life and continued to be active taking dance classes and was an avid swimmer even after her retirement from the screen. Maybe people should stop spreading rumors about people not around to speak for themselves.

@@JellyBabie1984 It's good to know that was not true, but it was another dance historian who had done extensive work in film and stage dance who told me, and this person was not given to hyperbole. I don't see how it maligns her in any way, in either case; as I stated at first, if true, it means she was working under even more difficult circumstances and facing them with greater courage--as did Gelsey Kirkland (by her own admission) in fact. If not, so be it.

Sheesh. Do you know how many calories a pro dancer burns daily? An anorexic or bulimiac would not have the energy to crawl on to a sound stage, let alone put herself through routines as taxing as Vera-Ellen's. Enough of these dumb rumors.

@@JellyBabie1984 Thank you! It is so frustrating reading comments that continue to ignorantly spread this rumor.

Although I'm not a fan, Rita Hayworth is anything but underrated!