Beguine (dance)

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The Beguine is a dance, similar to a slow Rumba, that was very modestly popular in the 1930s, coming from the islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, where the Martinique Beguine is a slow close dance with a roll of hips. If Cole Porter hadn't written (Don't let them) "Begin the Beguine," the dance would scarcely be remembered beyond the Caribbean. The song was introduced in Porter's Jubilee (1935), with a book by Moss Hart and added dialogue by Monty Woolley. Artie Shaw and his Orchestra had a top (#3) hit with an extended Swing orchestral version in 1938.

Then MGM brought out the musical film Broadway Melody of 1940 in which Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell danced "Begin the Beguine".

Then all the Big Bands recorded it: Harry James, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, and it became such a classic that the painter Max Beckmann adopted the title for a painting in 1946 (now at University of Michigan Museum of Art), which might be closer in spirit to Charlie Parker's version. Renditions by Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald are standards against which new interpretations are often measured.

In 1998 the title was taken for a forgettable sentimental fantasy romance film directed by Raymond DeFelitta that starred Elijah Wood.

There are line dance choreographies for the Beguine on the Internet.