So I know I can't dance

If reincarnation is true, I want more than anything the ability to dance when I come back as another being. I don't care if I'm a frog or a piranha or a rock inside a cave. LET ME BE ABLE TO SAMBA! I could watch people dancing for hours. Forever, maybe. And when it's done right I get goosebumps and start to cry and feel like calling my mom to gush about the beauty of the earth because I know she won't go twitter about what a nitwit I am.

(plenty of Internet strangers already have that job covered)

I saw this on Kottke today and have watched it several times. And then I got goosebumps so badly that I had to go put on a coat. Maybe I'm being dramatic, but I am so envious of people with this talent.

Just, DAMN!

(also, seeing Patrick Swayze doesn't help the tears)

YouTube Video

Click to watch on YouTube

08.31.2010 Daily 81 comments


  • melnyc said:

    Love, love, love. It's embarrassing just how many times I have danced along with many of those movies. Alone in the living room, of course.

    08.31.10 - 10:32 AM / 1

  • RobynMD said:

    I adore dancing too, not dancing programs but movies in which characters spontaneously dance. That is my musicals are so fabulous, and certain improv troupes.

    08.31.10 - 10:38 AM / 4

  • TropicalPopsicle said:

    I have an interview today and this just made me calm and happy. I feel like I'll do a good job now! Heather, if you're ever on dancing with the stars I'll vote for you no matter how bad you think you are.

    08.31.10 - 10:46 AM / 5

  • Fifi Coon said:

    Don't you just love Jamie Lee Curtis??? And John Travolta in all those dancing movies??? And Patrick and Jennifer and on and on and on..........Thanks for that!!!

    08.31.10 - 10:53 AM / 8

  • luckymom22 said:

    Some great moments...if you haven't sat down and watched "Singing in the Rain" with your kiddos then their education is lacking. Go to You Tube, search on "Make Them Laugh" from Singing in the Rain and watch it now! Never mind, don't bother searching, here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW02c5UNGl0 Especially if you need a reason to smile!

    08.31.10 - 10:54 AM / 9

  • lovems said:

    Heather,

    I am with you - to be able to dance like that! I must also admit, I have always been envious of Jennifer Grey - ah to have been able to dance with Patrick Swayze:)!

    08.31.10 - 10:56 AM / 11

  • EliBailey said:

    That was amazing! I love dance movies. But did I miss it or were there no clips from Chicago in there? That's one of my favorites.

    08.31.10 - 11:04 AM / 12

  • Norabloom said:

    I wanted to like this, I really did, but then the music started - Kenny Loggins - and I couldn't get through it.

    08.31.10 - 11:07 AM / 13

  • paolouche said:

    Loved this video! I stink at dancing too Heather, but that doesn't stop me from goofing around in the living room with my kids on tunes we like. And the only reality show I watch is So you think you can dance! You want goose bumps? watch it!!!

    08.31.10 - 11:23 AM / 14

  • iWantBrownies said:

    Heather-

    Did you watch So You Think You Can Dance? If so, were you able to make it through a single episode without crying? I know I cried through at least every other episode this season! I'm always astounded by how talented all the contestants are.

    08.31.10 - 11:40 AM / 19

  • nova276 said:

    I couldn't stop smiling through that whole thing, thanks for that! Also, unexpectedly, I now want to watch Coyote Ugly. I never thought I'd type that sentence.

    08.31.10 - 11:43 AM / 20

  • EarlGreyHot said:

    I'd so love to see it, but they've blocked it here in Germany too. Why can't they just put some ads on it and be done with?
    Anyone know another place to watch it?

    08.31.10 - 11:48 AM / 22

  • missusclark said:

    I too would love to be able to dance well. Watching this brought all that yearning welling up. Plus.... Baryshnikov! Woof!!!

    08.31.10 - 11:49 AM / 23

  • bebehblog said:

    I suddenly have a whole list of things to add to my Netflix queue - except that I own practically all of those, from Singing in the Rain to Strictly Ballroom to Honey. Because I am THAT LAME.
    But can someone tell me what the movie the two guys dancing in the empty room is from? The one the screen is paused on? It is embarrassingly missing from my extensive dance movie repertoire.

    08.31.10 - 11:51 AM / 24

  • tiawaffs93 said:

    Never have I loved the art of dance more than on those days each June when I can sit in the audience at my daughter's dance recital. Every single routine whether she is a part of it or not is out-of-body awesome. Here's hoping that Leta, Marlo or both discover that they have your love for it too and let the dance classes begin! Well maybe a few more years before Marlo is ready to sign up =)!

    08.31.10 - 11:52 AM / 25

  • Chloe said:

    The movie with the two guys, if the two guys are Mischa and the late Gregory Hines, is White Nights, also featuring the fabu Helen Mirren.

    So many scenes from my all time fave, Strictly Ballroom, a wonderfully funny and campy movie from the '90s that I saw about 7 times after watching the execrable Indecent Proposal - that was a pantload.

    Tom King who was the Hollywood columnist for the Wall Street Journal (he passed away all too young) once asked for readers to let him know the names of movies they had seen at the theatre more than 1 time. I emailed him about my Strictly Ballroom habit, and he actually telephoned me so we could chat about the movie, one of his favorites as well. I think I was a gay man in a former life.

    08.31.10 - 12:09 PM / 27

  • Emerson_Jo said:

    Having studied dance since the age of 3, I love me a good dance movie montage! Thanks for the smile, Heather! Much needed today since sadly my BFA in Dance is not being put to much use...unless you can count all the moves I bust out watching Yo Gabba Gabba with the kiddos!

    And @bebehblog....the movie is White Nights :)

    08.31.10 - 12:10 PM / 28

  • LaurieML said:

    I too DESPERATELY wish I could dance.
    I could have done without Jamie Lee Curtis in that leotard though.

    08.31.10 - 12:20 PM / 29

  • Barking Mad said:

    Loved the compilation. Brought back some really wonderful memories of watching those films with my little sisters and brother, and then my older kids. I guess it's time to break out those films and introduce my 4 year old to them!

    08.31.10 - 12:20 PM / 30

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