From the beginning this mentality integrated itself into Kelly’s dance style. His brother Fred relates that “Gene wanted to have a masculine image, so we [the studio] never wore tights or short pants on the boys” (Frank 174). Kelly fused his rugged personal attitude “with a muscular style of jazz tap dancing that was digging, loud, and strong” (Hill 185). The dancer’s Irish heritage shines through more than mere brute force; “some elements of the Irish tradition of jig and clog resonate in Kelly’s dancing” (Hill 185). Another source describes Kelly’s style of tap via a wide range of elements: “classical tap, acrobatic, roller skate tap, Soft Shoe, vaudeville, Broadway, movies (MGM)” (Frank 290). Kelly’s sporting pursuits during high school certainly aided him in added flashy acrobatic tricks into his routines, pushing the development of his uniquely athletic style even further. Even the casual observer can detect a more “down” center to his tap dancing, accompanied by looser limbs than those of his gentlemanly contemporaries. These elements provide Kelly’s performances a sense of exuberant youthful
From the beginning this mentality integrated itself into Kelly’s dance style. His brother Fred relates that “Gene wanted to have a masculine image, so we [the studio] never wore tights or short pants on the boys” (Frank 174). Kelly fused his rugged personal attitude “with a muscular style of jazz tap dancing that was digging, loud, and strong” (Hill 185). The dancer’s Irish heritage shines through more than mere brute force; “some elements of the Irish tradition of jig and clog resonate in Kelly’s dancing” (Hill 185). Another source describes Kelly’s style of tap via a wide range of elements: “classical tap, acrobatic, roller skate tap, Soft Shoe, vaudeville, Broadway, movies (MGM)” (Frank 290). Kelly’s sporting pursuits during high school certainly aided him in added flashy acrobatic tricks into his routines, pushing the development of his uniquely athletic style even further. Even the casual observer can detect a more “down” center to his tap dancing, accompanied by looser limbs than those of his gentlemanly contemporaries. These elements provide Kelly’s performances a sense of exuberant youthful