You'd have to say he was a good dancer. He was very graceful and always seemed to just let it flow.

one of the best. he was pretty inventive with his dance routines. famous for using props to dance with. i liked the dance where he appeared to be dancing on the ceiling in Royal Wedding. have seen a lot of his movies just to watch his dance routines.

Okay, I found it...the video where he plays the matador and uses his cape and umbrella as props. When I was 6, I found something mournful and sad about it, but that must have been the mood I was in at that time. Now, 50+ years later, it is standard Astaire, especially the use of props which, during the course of his career ranged from mops and brooms, to coat racks, gymnasium equipment, drums and even ceilings.

Why was he the greatest dancer in the film industry? Clearly, it was his elegance...and always a pleasure to watch.

5.00

In fairness to the others on the list so far he's the only dancer here to rate. The others are singers who simply did something with their bodies so that they people who came to listen to them sing wouldn't get bored watching them.

Astaire was the consumate dancer. In his films you see him do ballroom, tap, modern, ballet and he virtually invented the form for film. Aside from being able to do it all, the thing that set him apart from everyone else who hit the stage was that he never seemed to entirely land on the ground. If you look closely, at all times his feet are actually a full inch off the floor boards. He could literally walk on air. It also helped make up for his shortness of height.

The only dancer who even comes close for versitility and skill was Gene Kelly who had a very different style. Less featherweight he was much more physical and athletic. More a product of his time presumably, a generation later than Astaire and flashy as compared to Astaire's elegance.

While you could certainly go into the argument on dance styles, when I hear the word dancer I think of Fred Astaire.

(Comment under Irish's review.)

Here's the master.

No others need apply




Watching Astaire makes the argument about folks like Jackson or Hammer no longer moot.