Dancer Gene Kelly's widow slams 'bully' Lara Spencer for mocking Prince George's love of ballet: 'Gene would be devastated'
'Good Morning America' host Lara Spencer may have apologized for her insensitive comments on Prince George's interest in ballet, but her mockery has opened up a renewed conversation on the stigma surrounding male dancers. Joining those condemning Spencer's comments was Patricia Ward Kelly, the widow of the legendary dance icon Gene Kelly. In an open letter penned on her social media, Ward Kelly said, "Gene would be devastated to know that 61 years after his ground-breaking work the issue of boys and men dancing is still the subject of ridicule—and on a national network. ABC must do better."
The extent of Kelly's contributions to the culture of dance in America is as vast as his talent, so much so that top dance schools frequently incorporate Kelly’s iconic dance routines into their study curriculum. And just like Prince George, he was also made fun of when he took dance lessons.
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 1912, he was enrolled in dance lessons by his mother when he was young. But bullied for dancing, he became more interested in sports. It was only after he turned 15 that he went back to dancing -- this time because it made him popular with the girls in his high school.
Dancing had always run deep in his family -- he was already teaching at The Gene Kelly Studio of Dance in Pittsburg by the time he was 20. His pupils called him energetic and enthusiastic and always encouraging to those who walked into his studio. Teaching, however, did not quench his thirst for performance and he wanted more. So in 1942, his stars aligned and he made his Hollywood debut alongside Judy Garland in 'For Me and My Gal'. There was no looking back for Kelly after that.
Two time Academy Award nominee and Academy Honorary Award recipient, Kelly is regarded as the man who changed the game for dancers in the country. He is credited with bringing ballet to the mainstream, making it acceptable to film audiences commercially. His moves had a distinctive broad, muscular quality it is said and he credited his athletic adolescence for it. He was also crucial in speaking up against the effeminacy in male dancing. He called it "tragic". He believed that if someone danced "effeminately" it meant that he just danced "badly".
"Unfortunately, people confuse gracefulness with softness. John Wayne is a graceful man and so are some of the great ballplayers ... but, of course, they don't run the risk of being called sissies," he had once said, as Tony Thomas' 1991 book 'The Films of Gene Kelly – Song and Dance Man' mentions.
One of the things that also catapulted male dancing to the spotlight was his 1958 TV show 'Dancing: A Man's Game' that aired on NBC. He has also taught Frank Sinatra to dance apart from dancing alongside Jerry the Mouse and was called on to create a modern ballet piece for the Paris Opera -- becoming the first American to ever be given that honor, in 1960.
As much as stigma around dance and masculinity seems to rear its ugly head, there are still little boys like Prince George who are following their hearts. In the last recorded words of 'Singing in the Rain's star himself, "The song has ended, but the melody lingers on."