Dance movies that step on toes

Lewis Segal’s comments in “Ask the Critic” (Jan. 6) helped me finally understand why movies like “Moulin Rouge” and “Chicago” drive me crazy. Those editing cuts where you see a body part here and there give me a headache, because they are disguising the fact that the person belonging to the body part can’t dance worth a dime.

I remember Patrick Swayze, a trained dancer, performing Latin dancing in “Dirty Dancing.” He was magnificent but he was paired with Jennifer Grey, who had two left feet from the beginning to the end.

Somewhere out there, there has to be a producer or director who can put together a movie that has real, live, talented dancers -- a movie made without a thousand cuts. If people can watch actors swing endlessly through trees, as in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “Hero,” why can’t they watch a real dance scene?

Carol Greenberg

Long Beach