Western Kentucky University TopSCHOLAR® Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Honors College at WKU Projects Fall 12-14-2015 Backwards in High Heels: Examining the Careers and Artistic Contributions of Fred Astaire’s Female Dance Partners Fiona Mowbray Western Kentucky University,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/stu_hon_theses Part of the Dance Commons, Other Theatre and Performance Studies Commons, and the Performance Studies Commons Recommended Citation Mowbray, Fiona, "Backwards in High Heels: Examining the Careers and Artistic Contributions of Fred Astaire’s Female Dance Partners" (2015). Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects. Paper 591. http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/stu_hon_theses/591 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by TopSCHOLAR®. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors College Capstone Experience/ Thesis Projects by an authorized administrator of TopSCHOLAR®. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. BACKWARDS IN HIGH HEELS: EXAMINING THE CAREERS AND ARTISTIC CONTRIBUTION OF FRED ASTAIRE’S FEMALE DANCE PARTNERS A Capstone Experience/Thesis Paper Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degrees Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Science with Honors College Graduate Distinction at Western Kentucky University By Fiona Mowbray ***** Western Kentucky University 2015 CE/T Committee: Approved by Dr. Michelle Dvoskin, Advisor Dr. Julie Lyn Barber ______________________ Advisor Dr. Dana Bradley Department of Theatre & Dance Copyright by Fiona Mowbray 2015 ABSTRACT This project examines the careers and contributions of three of Fred Astaire’s female dancing partners during the golden age of movie musicals: Ginger Rogers, Vera- Ellen, and Cyd Charisse.