If we're talking On Your Toes, there are at least two other dance sequences that MUST be mentioned:
1) The Princess Zenobia Ballet at the end of Act I. A really fun "Arabian Nights" pastiche, with a GORGEOUS pas de deux melody. (Vera also seduces Junior earlier in the act with the same music.)
2) The dance break to "On Your Toes." I personally find this music irresistible. On the face of it, it's a VERY standard dance break for its time - a no-frills use of the melody over and over - 6 entire instrumental choruses, in fact. But what orchestrator Hans Spialek does to vary the instrumentation and specifics each time is really clever and keeps the interest in the tune instead of it just feeling like a bunch of repeats. Especially when you can hear the key changes coming in a few of the transitions. |
