How Did Elvis Presley Influence Dancing?
Elvis Presley is well known as the King of Roll and Roll, but this man had an influence in the areas of movies and dancing as well. If you aren’t aware of his influence over dancing then you definitely need to keep on reading. It is hard to imagine that when Elvis first was on TV, appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show, shaking his hips to his music outraged many people. They felt his moves were too sexual in nature and they also believed that he was a white man trying to dance like he was black.
For a while it became quite a controversy for him to be on shows. In fact, many of the producers only wanted to show him from the waist up so that they wouldn’t offend their viewers. Even so, there was no stopping the following that Elvis developed in part due to his amazing dancing abilities. It seemed that people all over the world just couldn’t get enough of him.
His concerts in Las Vegas and other venues around the world always sold out. Many of those that came to see him made it clear that while they loved his voice they were there for many other reasons. Among them was the fact that they loved his dance style and it was wonderful to see him offering something so new and so energetic to the crowd before him.
Many teenagers loved this rock and roll man, and it also offered them a way to freely rebel against their parents. They also found his style of dancing gave them something new to work with that wasn’t a rehash of what their parents had been dancing to. The fact that they could call this their own was magical and it allowed it to really take of. There aren’t many people who were teenagers in that era that don’t remember dancing to Elvis music and loving it.
Many of the movies that Elvis played roles in included music and dancing as well. These roles set a new boundary for what could be seen on the big screen. It helped to pave the way for the public to take an interest in dancing at a new level as well. They were willing to take those moves that they saw from Elvis and try them out on their own in many instances as well.
Unfortunately, a great deal of the dancing that Elvis did wasn’t really appreciated until after his death. Many believe he was decades ahead of his time with the visions that he had. He wasn’t a rebel as so many critics back then labeled him. Instead he was an artistic genius. If you ask any great dancers or musicians out there today many of them will tell you that one of their inspirations has always been Elvis.
Today there are many people that try to successfully impersonate both the sounds and the dance moves of Elvis. You can find plenty of them in Las Vegas at shows as well as being offered for weddings. Of course it takes a great deal of skill to be able to pull this one off successfully. The critics are very tough on these impersonators so only the best of the best are hired.
There is no denying that the legacy of Elvis is alive and well today. There are so many remarkable things that he was able to accomplish in his lifetime. History will always remember him though as a man that was able to balance music with dancing, and who was creative enough not to let society or the industry limit his talents.