12/03/2011

RA-NDOM THOUGHTS - DANCING RICHARD

Saturday night. I'm watching "Ballando con le Stelle"on TV,  Strictly Come Dancing here in Italy . I'm sure my friend Karen/V. is rolling her eyes and turning up her nose. But what can I do? Even the best have got flaws. Mine is watching people dancing. I just love it. And if they are good, I can't resist. It's admiration, envy, for these lucky individuals doing something which I've always liked and thought magic. Dancing!
This week I've spent some time watching Richard Armitage dancing. I've discovered these clips (thanks to RA fans posting about them on facebook) from a musical staged in London in 1994 in which he danced and sang, Cats. I couldn't believe my eyes. I  had read  he had been in that show from 1993 till 1995,  dancing and singing as Macavity /  Admetus (see picture on the left)  before enrolling at LAMDA,  but seeing it with my own eyes was ... unbelievable pleasure. Richard is very young  in these videos and wears a trendy pony tail, sexy blue undershirt and sweats, with a jumper tied at his waist, he is in the foreground downin the shadow  on the right of the screen at the beginning. Later, slowly and sinuously he starts moving and,  incredibly for such a giant,  he moves all  around the stage , light and agile as a feline. He's playing a cat, in fact. Just have a look. Once you focus on him, you won't lose contact with him among the crowd of dancers. He's stage presence is unique. This is a clip from a rehearsal.







Well, he's good , isn't he? In this interview by Allison Pearson  there are several references to Richard's skill at dancing:
"Aged 22, he enrolled at drama school. It is at this point that he casually drops into the conversation that his best dance was the Argentinian Tango. Omigod. The thought of Richard Armitage doing the tango is too much to bear.
I am acting on behalf of the entire Armitage Army when I squeak, 'Go on, do some dancing for me. Pleeeaase.'
'You must be joking,' he says, that soothing baritone rising a few notes in protest.
But you'd be perfect on Strictly Come Dancing, I insist.
'One thing I can promise you is that you'll never see Richard Armitage on Strictly Come Dancing.'
Why? 'Because Richard Armitage will never appear as Richard Armitage on TV.' 
And there we have the conundrum. The all-singing, all-dancing star who hates the spotlight for its own sake"
If only he changed his mind  ...
 So you see? No hope to see him dancing for now. We are going to see him singing with his fellow dwarves  in The Hobbit, it seems. But as to dancing,  he promised no public performance , no Striclty Come Dancing.

The dwarves sing, they don't dance.

However,  he has recently danced on stage  at The Old Vic, acting in “The 24 Hour Plays” on November 21st, 2010. Richard played the role of Dennis in The Third Wish, by Stephen Beresford.

Simone, the lucky lady who was there among the audience and later on sat near him on the bus leaving the theatre, tells in her blog:
"...Didn’t know RA can do comedy! He was hilarious! He then goes to Debbie and they start a dance routine that left the audience practically in stitches. I remember reading that he studied dance in LAMDA so this must be all second nature to him."
Shall we dance?

They are going  on dancing on TV. Usually they go on till very late at night. I've  been a bit distracted in the last minutes. Never mind. I've been dreaming of seeing someone else dancing. Oh, how much I'd love to actually see RA dancing now, an Argentinian Tango or any other dance of his wish. Oh! By the way, some time ago, I even dreamt of going to a masked ball with him! At a masked ball with Lord Armitage. Not as myself, of course, but as young beautiful  Gaia De Blanche. Ok. Dreams cost nothing and colour our lives. I'm off to dream. Also because it's almost midnight. Have a great weekend! MG

If you click on this image, you'll see RA dancing.
Thanks to Bluecabochon who created this!

13 comments:

JaneGS said...

What a treat that was--it took me awhile to pick out RA, but when I did, he was great--you were right. My son is going to be in a production of CATS this summer, so I'll have to get him to watch this clip.

>The thought of Richard Armitage doing the tango is too much to bear

LOL

BTW, just rewatched N&S and that picture you have of RA near the end is just perfect.

Musa said...

Oh yes, so fabulous to see him dancing so beautifully, how very special to be able to see him so young and lovely and such a talented dancer and such an unexpected find,whoever found the vids first.
I hope someday soon someone writes a movie for him that has him dancing the tango. I think that's the only way he would do it.

Maria Grazia said...

@JaneGS
Is your son at drama school, Jane? Great, a family of talents! To think of Richard Armitage doing the tango is ... fabulous! I would bear it so willingly. :-) Have a nice Sunday!
@Musa
I didn't say I found the clips,they had been already seen and discussed by others. But I myself only happened to see them this week, in the last few days, thanks to some posts I read on facebook.
Another "Shall we dance"? , Musa? That would be great! Not Jennifer Lopez this time, please. Thanks for passing by and commenting. MG

Anonymous said...

Gosh, MG, can you remember the Masked Ball last year with Lord Armitage and others. It seems a lifetime ago. And like a dream. And RA has come so far since then, hasn't he? My mother (85) started watching Strikeback last night and wanted to know why i liked RA. i tried to explain the voice, the screen presence but she still has a soft spot for William Holden, so it was difficult. Having said that, she worked out immediately that John Porter was Done Over by his MI6 boss! I daren't agree as I want her to enjoy the next two eps.

Maria Grazia said...

@mesmered
Well, Prue, maybe your mother may understand why you like him if you show her his Mr Thornton in North and South. I can understand she's puzzled. My sons and husband couldn't believe their eyes when they saw me watching Strike Back. I could only see it because Richard Armitage was John Porter and I appreciated the man and the actor he is. I would have never seen it, otherwise. The same is going to happen with The Hobbit. Not my kind of stuff. Yes, I know it's totally different for you. I'd love to see him in a comedy, a musical, something light for once! Enjoy the rest of your Sunday! Hugs. MG

Anonymous said...

As you've imagined, I've rolled my eyes :P
I agree, he danced wonderfully, and I can't wait to see him dance in a new production, possibly period drama, but not necessarily. A dance on stage would be much appreciated, too... ok, I know, but a girl can drem, can't she?
Only, I ardently hope he won't break his promise about SCD!
K/V

JaneGS said...

My son is in high school but wants to major in theatre in college, and he is doing a dinner theatre camp this summer and is hoping to get the part of Rum Tum Tiger.

Maria Grazia said...

@K/V
I still wonder how we can be friends! Though we can say we know each other quite well. You see? I guessed, you did it! You rolled your eyes! What about your nose? "I ardently hope he won't break his promise" What is that? Mr Darcy? :P I understand RA completely, he is an actor but doesn't like to be under the spotlight that much (:O) But he will dance for us. On stage or in a movie. Bet?
@JaneGS
Great, Jane! I'd love to have a singer/dancer in my family. Only footballers here. Good luck to your son, then! Fingers crossed for his theatre camp.

Anonymous said...

No need to bet, dear MG: it will be a real pleasure to see him dancing. It's just that I can't stand shows like SCD and I'm very happy to read that he won't join any of them... so far :)
K/V/MrD ;)

Nat at RA FanBlog said...

I'd love to see RA dance in real life! :)

Anonymous said...

O_O
Richard... dancing... oh dear...
*faints*

Anonymous said...

Just found this post now (sorry to have missed it when you wrote it in March!) I have to tell you I had the honour and pleasure to see him dance at the Old Vic. Not only once during the actual performance but I got to see the rehearsal! You should have seen me! My mouth fell open and I could hardly breathe! And then the moment it was done I had to stop myself from squealing of glee!!! I couldn't believe my luck that Mr. A would be dancing!!!! in this play. It was just too much. He looked great by the way but it was a comedic dance where his wife was kind of leading the way - he was the one getting dipped...But I loved his dancing up the stairs, à la Fred Astaire (imagine a circling up staircase...). It was wonderful!!!
And those lost rehearsal videos of Cats blew me over. Like you said a giant, yet agile feline! So sexy (and talented) it's mouth-watering. I can only hope that he'll dance in a future movie role...Wouldn't that be amazing.... ahhhh

Maria Grazia said...

@Calexora
You saw Richard dancing and playing at the Old Vic? Lucky woman indeed! I can just imagine how thrilled you could have been. ...dancing up the stairs à la Fred Astaire... it must have been really wonderful. Thanks for sharing. And fingers crossed to see him dancing again on a movie or on stage.