...Miss Ginger Rogers (at the ripe old age of 14!) won the Texas State Charleston Championship, held in Dallas, Texas on November 9, 1925!
...the closest pic I could find of an 'EarlyTeenGinger'...she is actually sixteen here...note the feathers...ah, it's always about the feathers, isn't it, Miss Rogers?
Of course, this is THE 'watershed' moment (whatever THAT means) in our fair lady's life, as it would propel her to...well, a gig on the vaudeville circuit, which eventually landed her a gig in a Broadway play, which landed her a screen test, which...well, y'all know the rest...but back to the genesis...
From GINGER: My Story, here's how she described her first 'round' of the competition, at her home area of Fort Worth:
"My name was called (onto the stage) and the neighborhood applauded wildly, recognizing one of their own. I walked to the center of the stage and stood for a moment. I loved the feeling of being "on." The music started and then the contagious Charleston triggered my toes. The Charleston wasn't difficult; anybody who could lift one foot off the floor could learn to dance it. The music had an exciting and compelling beat, and once you'd started, you never wanted to stop."
She waxed the folks in this 'preliminary round' and went on to the State Finals in Dallas. AND, here's how that contest went down:
"The contest narrowed to myself and a boy from Dallas. The fact that Dallas and Fort Worth were rivals in everything only added to the excitement. The two finalists came forward. My heart was pounding hard. I danced the Charleston with all my heart. Then the boy from Dallas danced. Henry Santrey (the contest 'MC', no doubt) held his hand over each of us to determine the winner by the applause. It was a draw. We each had to dance again."
...and, of course, we know the conclusion of this story is, Ginger WON!
...now, the question is, what if Ginger HADN'T won (perish the thought, of course, but...) ...chances are, she still would have followed, if not the EXACT same route to stardom, one pretty similar...remember that little line she threw in there where she said she loved the feeling of being "on"? Well, I don't know about y'all, but stage fright is quite the issue with me...I mean, I can get up and talk in front of folks, but I don't 'love' it by any means...and actually performing? forget about it...although I DID do a karaoke deal a few years back...digressing...
SO, the point IS, Ginger had that 'performance bug' in her bones... and it was her destiny, right? For if it wasn't, what would we have to talk about here on Gingerology? :-)
Well, y'all have seen these before, more than likely, but, just in case, and for the newer Gingerologists, here are honestly the only two known video clips of Ginger actually doing the Charleston; the first clip is 'cut' footage from her wickedawesome film, Roxie Hart...not sure why this didn't make it - would probably have been the 'opening scene', where we would have first met Ms. Hart... weird they cut it... and, the second clip is from 'The Lucy Show', which has Ginger, along with Lucille Ball and Lucie Arnaz, doing the Char on that groovy 70's shag... classic stuff which is timeless and a joy to watch...
...it's just weird that her and Fred never did the Charleston...but honestly, I guess the Charleston is really a 'solo' type dance, anyway, right? Or at least one where you have to literally stay 'at arm's length' from your partner, lest you whomp them in the head with your flailing arms...
Anyway, there's some neat info out there on the web regarding this event, in addition to the 'full story' in Ginger's bio... and I know GF11 has been to the Hotel in Dallas where Ginger sealed the deal... well, shoot, just check it out here, y'all:
GF11 - Gingery Trip to Dallas-Fort Worth
...now y'all have a great big ol' Gingery weekend, now, y'hear?
Hu
(still pondering the Roberta review...the 'skeleton' of the post is set...just need caps and story...)
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