These days, you can turn on the Disney Channel and watch tweens busting moves that generations of sweaty guys used to have to pass through threadbare velvet curtains, sit on sticky seats, and buy overpriced drinks to see. So today I'm using the passing of the dancer Cyd Charisse as an excuse to provide an example of what a mature, witty, and non-pandering eroticism looks like, at least in the movies. She wasn't always great; she appeared in some inferior films, with sub-par choreography, as if just having her show her legs was enough. But with great partners and great choreography and a smart director, she could be stunningly hot and stunningly classy all at the same time, as she was with Fred Astaire in Bandwagon, performing "Dancing in the Dark."
But as great as she is with Astaire, her greatest scene was with Gene Kelly in the "Gotta Dance" sequence of Singin' in the Rain. For my money, this is the sexiest scene in American movies. If you don't believe me, watch this:
Not bad, huh, for a girl who started out in Amarillo as Tula Ellice Finklea. Rest in peace, Cyd Charisse.
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