A Day Out at the Dance Museum! Take a mini tour of this amazing destination that's perfect for dancers and the audience alike!
A fabulous museum with plenty of fantastic exhibits to keep you on your toes! (Pun very much intended!)
So, you know that we like to feature reading, creating and traveling on the blog here, and since our trip the previous fall to this museum falls into the third category, we figured now was a perfect time to feature it with the break coming up!
It's a perfect getaway to enjoy during those days off from school!
We had been wanting to visit the National Museum of Dance for a while, and last September, the perfect opportunity arose. My mom and I both where interested in one of their temporary exhibits, Art of the Dance: Posters from Hollywood’s Golden Age.
This exhibit is still currently on display, and will be until April 5th, so if you want to go see it after reading this post, there's still time!
I'm a fan of old movies, and I love to dance, so this exhibit looked too good to miss out on!
Well, we were thrilled to see the exhibit, which highlights Old Hollywood movies that had dance in them through over one hundred different posters! From Judy Garland to Gene Kelly, all the classic Hollywood stars can be found on this dazzling collection of poster art!
As we walked into the main exhibit gallery, we were greeted by the sight of so many colorful and festive works of art, all featuring dance-filled movies!
These posters are both American and international, so there's such an amazing mix of styles and types to enjoy! There are super colorful ones like the Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth pieces below, and more monochromatic selections as well.
Here's the lovely exterior of the National Museum of Dance and Hall of Fame. It's a fairly large museum, so it's easy to find if you know what to look for!
They aren't just a museum either-they're also a dance school, and hold events too.
With both permanent and temporary exhibits, you'll always find something new if you're a returning visitor!
Here's a link if you want to discover more about the museum and its' programs:
A super fun poster for the iconic movie musical Singing In The Rain, was displayed by the entrance to the exhibits!
This French poster for An American in Paris was hands down one of my absolute favorites out of the entire exhibit! Though I haven't watched An American in Paris yet, we saw the musical version of it and it's definitely at the top of my list-especially after seeing this gorgeous movie poster for it!
Now, if you happen to visit the National Museum of Dance in the summertime and need to grab a bite to eat, the cafe at the Victoria Pool nearby is amazing!
The name of the eatery is Catherine's in the Park , and the food is surprisingly fantastic for being tucked away at the poolside! When we visited the pool a few weeks prior, we enjoyed lunch at Catherine's post-swim and it was absolutely delish!
Here's a link to their page, in case you're curious!
Above pics: my mom got the shrimp taco wrap with a side of sweet potato fries, and I went with a southwestern salad filled to the brim with fresh salsa, olives, cheese, and chips!
Catherine's is only open during the summer, so if you're going before the warmer weather, you may wish to venture into Saratoga if you'd like a bite to eat or to do some shopping!
We've also been to a creperie called Ravenous which is in Saratoga- a fun way to enjoy a little French-inspired flair if you're in the mood! We had both sweet and savory crepes there and both were very good!
We had a small version of the lemon crepe pictured above-tart yet sweet and so delicious!
Coming back to the Dance Museum tour!
Up next, there were a collection of posters featuring Disney characters and movies. From Snow White to Minnie and Mickey Mouse, there where several pieces in the exhibit centered around the Disney Princesses and other animated characters!
A hippo ballerina from Disney's Fantasia was just one of the whimsical posters starring Disney characters!
After seeing the Movie poster exhibit, we decided to take a look at what the other parts of the museum had to offer.
So, in these next few pics, you'll get a peek into the permanent part of the museum. They have a gorgeous space dedicated to ballet and another room that pays homage to dance in film! Both are spectacular and very much worth enjoying!
This above room is dedicated to dance in film, and has fun-size cut-outs of dancers from the Golden Age of Hollywood, including a mid-tap Fred Astaire! In addition, it also has clips from movies with dance dating back to the silent film era, all the way up to Grease, and beyond!
For fans of these iconic films and the dance numbers they contain, be sure to stop by this part of the museum if you're visiting!
In another of the galleries, memorabilia from ballet is shown. Here, you'll find everything from a dress worn by famous prima ballerina Anna Pavlova to signed pointe shoes from the New York City Ballet, not to mention other valuable art and objects that make this an amazing gallery devoted to all things ballet!
This stunning gown was worn by iconic Russian dancer Anna Pavlova!
This haunting and poetic poster from the iconic movie The Red Shoes is actually also a part of their temporary exhibit, but it fit so well with the ballet theme, I thought I'd slip it in among the slippers!
Love this giant autographed ballet slipper in the museum! A part of their permanent exhibit, this is such a cool photo op!
Another poster with pink-because it's almost Valentine's Day, and who doesn't love Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers?!💗 I have so many more movies and musicals on my To-Watch list now!
After touring as much of the inside as our now dwindling schedule would allow, we made our way into the cute gift shop to find some fun postcards to take home.
We then walked around the outside of the museum to look at the pretty, posh exterior of this fantastic museum- and as we make our way to the parking lot, we of course had to take some outdoor selfies!
Outdoor sunglasses selfies coming up! ...As well as one from inside the museum! The interior hall of the building was so pretty!
It was a great day for some pics out by the museum's exterior, what can I say?!
After our little impromptu photo session, we got back on the road, a fun trip that we'd be more than happy to take again sometime!
And I'll finish off this post with a picture of one of my all time favorite actresses, Audrey Hepburn!
This unique and artsy cherry-colored poster was for the musical Funny Face, also starring Fred Astaire. If you haven't seen this romantic classic, you totally should add it to your list!
The dancing is of course, fabulous, and the clothes and romantic Parisian setting are two more very good reasons why this would make a great movie for a stay-in date night or a girls day-especially for Valentine's Day!
Hope you had fun during this little tour! The National Museum of Dance is such a fabulous museum, whether you decide to visit for the upcoming break, or put it on the summer bucket list!
Keep tapping your toes and enjoy!
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XO,
Cenzia