Patricia Ward Kelly: Reflections on a choreography "moment" of "An American in Paris" (1951)
Patricia Ward Kelly
Gene Kelly’s widow, has published this extremely interesting article on Facebook a while ago (to be quite precise, it was on February 28th, 2022). a t t i t u d e, whose “mission” is also to keep Story intact, as a guardian of the Arts for future Generations could not let this piece of history just pass unnoticed. You see, it must not only be “Swan Lake” or “La Bayadère”, for Dance is everywhere, especially also at MGM, a company known for binging exceptional talents together, as we may observe in films like “An American Paris” which combined the talents of Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant, Vincente Minnelli, Roger Edens, Artur Freed, Alan Jay Lerner, Orry-Kelly, Sydney Guilaroff, Preston Ames, Douglas Shearer to name just a few of those who helped magnificently immortalize once more, George Gershwin’s eternal music in this brilliant Academy Award Winner Film (which also brought Gene Kelly an Honorary Oscar for his choreographic contribution to the “celluloid World”. A more than deserved hommage for his intensive work.
In permitting her article to be published on “a t t i t u d e” Mrs Kelly gave us a beautiful contribution to in terms of knowledge. We thank you for your kindness!
“I just bought this small Hoyle Photo Trivia Card on eBay. I like to have copies of popular culture items in Gene’s collection, along with the photos, letters, manuscripts, etc. This one captures Gene as “Chocolat” in the American in Paris Ballet in a position that I doubt many of us would relish. Look at the placement of his legs, of his feet and at the strength in his thighs. Usually, you comment about how effortless Gene makes everything look. But this shot captures the effort involved in this particular step. The whole number is breathtaking for me, as I cannot imagine how he accomplished it. But I find the stress on his knees, ankles and feet in this move especially jaw-dropping. Leslie Caron, poised next to Gene, is dressed as the dancer Jane Avril. “Chocolat” was an interesting real-life character, but so was Avril. Born Jeanne Louise Beaudon in June 1868 in Belleville, in the 20th arrondissement of Paris, she lived in poverty and was abused by her alcoholic mother. After running away at 13, she was eventually admitted to the Salpetriere Hospital and diagnosed with the neurological disorder Sydenham’s chorea or “St Vitus’ Dance.” Ultimately taken in by a brothel, she ended up in the chorus line at the Moulin-Rouge and became one of its most popular can-can dancers. Known by various nicknames, including “La Melinite” after an explosive, “L’Etrange” the strange one, and “Jane la Folle” Jane the Crazy, she was also described as “an orchid in a frenzy” and made famous by portraits painted by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Costume designer Irene Sharaff and Gene, as director and choreographer of the ballet, did a lot of research into the lives and images of the jockey known as “Chocolat” and the dancer who went by the name “Jane Avril,” so it is interesting to compare the characters that emerged onscreen to the historical figures.”
Patricia Ward Kelly
