A Return to My Love Affair with Fitzgerald: Gatsby pt1

Tonight the Baz Luhrman adpatation of The Great Gatsby is opening with a premier showing, beginning with some dances of the 1920s performed by The Commonwealth Vintage Dancers.

kicking up at the Gatsby Ball in Newport last summer

I do not expect the movie to be accurate, but I am really excited about it--Fitzgerald, to me, is a master of the wild parties of the Jazz Age, and I do expect that to come out in the film. While I read and enjoyed Gatsby, my real affection is for Fitzgerald's short stories. I've written some previous posts about his collection Tales from the Jazz Age, which you can find here. I haven't finished reading his earlier collection, Flappers and Philosophers, but it contains "Bernice Bobs Her Hair," which may include my favorite description of 20s dancing ever.

"it is well known among ladies over thirty-five that when the younger set dance in the summer-time it is with the very worst intentions in the world, and if they are not bombarded with stony eyes stray couples will dance weird barbaric interludes in the corners, and the more popular, more dangerous, girls will sometimes be kissed in the parked limousines of unsuspecting dowagers."

While tonight is a performance, I do plan to dance "with the very worst of intentions" at CVD's Prohibition Ball in July. In the meantime, if you aren't also dashing off to see Gatsby this evening, here is the most recent trailer and a cute behind-the-scenes look at the menswear: