Diana Ross & Donald McKayle - Soulful Strut @ Hollywood Palace [3/8/69]

Diana Ross & Donald McKayle - Soulful Strut @ Hollywood Palace [3/8/69]

[@marcosmass6563]

Rare people mention the excellent dancer Donald McKayle

[@danielrobinson9270]

I wish we can get a comment on classic performances like this one in the comments section from Ms. Ross herself. I would love read what her feelings are looking back at a video like this. She's simply awesome.

[@CherryBlossomskt]

She paved the way for so many, many little girls

[@danielrobinson9270]

Diana Ross does it all. She is out of this world. Thank you for posting.

[@hinderless5811]

but at what cost? hope it was worth it to her

[@jessicafashionlover2148]

This lady was something else in her younger days

[@tonywoods3149]

This performance from both is just too damn 🔥 ❤

[@invisibleglover3068]

I really wished she danced more as a solo artist. She was still with the Supremes here.

[@Grayhairwisdom]

She is always so full of life😍😃😅

[@kenwapnicksson7915]

He was my dance teacher! Yay!

[@youknowhowwedo1278]

Did he ever taught dance at Alvin Ailey or any other performing arts school?

[@regvision]

Very impressive.

[@martykong3592]

:) AMAZING! LOVE IT and THANKS SO MUCH for sharing!! :)

[@hanktyler7577]

Living in Detroit. I love her, bring back such wonderful memories. Thanks for this post.

[@alexiousthomas]

First time seeing this

[@joefernandez8391]

Excelente very good fantastic

[@user-iv8ms6re5w]

He was so great!!😅😅

[@luisaskeverer9840]

WOWWW FUERA DE SERIE MAGNIFICOS⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐!!

[@user-lf4iw9ho2y]

Her dancing was artistic and beautifully executed there were a few moments when she went faster than the music but her overall performance was brilliant. She could have been a great: tennis player, swimmer, fashion designer, hair stylist, model and awesome dancer.

[@jamiejamie8545]

song from the parent trap.

[@paulinechapman5669]

Cannot believe the size of her arms..great performance..l would need to lie down for a week,after the expended energy..boffo 🇨🇦

[@jawidofkoj2998]

Why does this remind me of the Pulp Fiction dance scene???

[@SuperLeonardo40]

So, the girl could also dance..ugh?

[@youknowhowwedo1278]

That's Diana Ross

[@rayva1]

Diana Ross looks great here. She should smile a little.

[@hardren101]

There really was no distinction btwn the supremes and diana ross as a solo artist......the only distinction is as a solo artist she had no back-up singers..

[@zacharyboyd5391]

Who is the male dancer

[@fannycraddock99]

See the title!

[@wishservices]

the great dancer, choreographer and teacher, Donnie McKayle! He left us just recently..

[@carlenehill7038]

What is the name of this song they are dancing to?

[@telzeyamberdon3474]

"Am I the Same Girl" by Barbara Acklin. It's been covered a few times by other singers across the decades. But in this clip the version Diana and Donald McKayle are dancing to is the instrumental version, and it's called "the Soulful Strut."

[@rayva1]

Soulful Strut

[@jimkangas4176]

so classic! Love all the versions!

[@goyonigo]

​@@telzeyamberdon3474❤

[@eltondennie6369]

Whitney Houston great great singer but pound for pound Dianna Ross had more talent.theres no doubt in my mind she was a member of the greatest female singer group ever.the Supremes Dianna,Mary,and Florence ballard.my God!!!

[@madisonfarris4879]

Why you compare Whitney Houston to Diana Ross? 😂

[@anthonykearney7320]

I can see why she stood out from all the female singers in Motown. It's quite obvious from this performance that her dance skills put her atop the talent field of her era.Not many performers displayed this much diversification in their music talents!

[@markg6605]

This is too funny

[@yunyi5430]

I don’t know why she looks funny when she moves her hips 💀

[@harlemswingdancehotjazz1205]

Any of the girls could have done this - but who was BG's fave being groomed to go solo since 1965? Bad jumpsuit tho :>)

[@grey2868]

I'm pretty sure Diana was best for this dance. Even Mary said that as kids Diana always had the most energy.

[@kennethhamlett166]

We have not seen evidence that other members of the Supremes could have done this complicated dance number with a seasoned and talented professional dancer and choreographer and had the same sensational result. There is no questioned that Mr. Gordy helped groom Ms. Ross for greater stardom and crossover stardom. But, he was also a shrewd businessman, and he did not make decisions just based on personal relationships. He had a long-term relationship with another artist for the label, and she was given every opportunity to find her musical niche, work with different producers, etc., to try for success. It never came, and Mr. Gordy did not force her on the company or the public. With Ms. Ross, he saw enormous talent, a willingness to work harder than anyone to achieve her dreams and the strength of character to keep working until the objective was achieved. In interviews after her departure from the group, Florence Ballard acknowledged that she disliked all the aspects related to succeeding in the industry except the singing. She did not like interviews, costume fittings, rehearsals, and especially the travel that was required. She also acknowledged that her drinking before performances (and sometimes missing performances) had been a problem. She also said that in the weeks before her dismissal, she had intentionally made errors relating to the choreography to sabotage Ms. Wilson and Ms. Ross and make them look as though they had made the error. She said that she had wanted out of the group, but could not bring herself to resign when two friends were involved, so she took actions to get fired, and they achieved that outcome. Given her statements, it is unlikely that she would have had any interest in undertaking a dance routine like this, with limited rehearsal time and unlikely that she could have done it so well. It seems that some are almost eager to criticize or denigrate Ms. Ross for being the one who was reliable, the hard worker, the one whose sound became the sound of the group and made them the most successful group in US history, and that does not seem fair. She remembers the group only with fondness, and she has never engaged in any sort of criticism of any other member of the group. There is also a persistent school of thought that Ms. Ballard should have been the one to achieve stardom and that she had the great voice in the group. After leaving the Supremes, Ms. Ballard signed a contract with another record label. At that label, she did a number of recordings, which are available on You Tube. To help her make the recordings, a friend from her former Motown days came over to help produce the recordings. The company with which she signed -- and any other company, for that matter -- would have loved nothing better than to take a vocalist who left the Motown family and turn them into a successful artist. Motown and Berry Gordy were so successful at the time that it would have been a way to prove that they were not infallible and that the new label had achieved something Mr. Gordy did not do. You can listen to the recordings and react to them yourself. But, the label did not release as many of the recordings as it had a right to release, and those that were released had little success I do not say this to denigrate Ms. Ballard. I love all the Supremes and replacement Supremes, and they had such groundbreaking and enormous popular success, there is credit for all to go around. But, I do not understand why some seem anxious to downplay or criticize Ms. Ross' success. She was a pheonomenal lead singer for the group and enabled them to succeed as no other group in the US ever had. She then went only to even greater and more varied success, and like the success of the Supremes, her abilities and successes did not come about because Berry Gordy wished for them. The success came about because of her talent, hard work, professionalism, willingness to take on bigger and bigger challenges and her insistence on doing the best job possible on each challenge. In this case, she performed a complicated dance routine with a dancer/choreographer/director who had worked and trained as a dancer for his entire life. She had very limited time to train and rehearse, and she was simultaneously working, performing and preparing to host the show. Yet, with all those responsibilities, she brought this off in spectacular form, and it was an astonishing accomplishment. Insteading of noting that, however, you chose to focus only on the "anyone could have done it" idea, and that is as unfair as it is inaccurate.

[@robertlarroque8636]

​@@kennethhamlett166Sir, you have worded it perfectly. Flo messed up so many times on TV, I have to wonder how many times she did it onstage. And to think she did it intentionally... I've never heard her say that, but i do believe it 100%. Flo had a vindictive streak. Mary was probably the most important Supreme behind Diana. She could dance and sing well enough. Flo, and I love her, was a mess. She was lazy and contrary. She did nothing to improve her vocal skills. She was clearly not a lead or solo singer. It's a shame because she had natural talent. But she did just enough to get by. Cindy was an excellent choice to replace Flo. Vocally she wasn't as good as Flo, but visually she was perfect. She was a smooth dancer and had incredible stage presence. Also, Flo became so petulant. It's painful to listen to the live group introduction that recorded just before she was sent home. She sounds so childish and Diana sounds so frustrated with her. Anyway, thanks for your comments.

[@4TheLoveofLauren]

Yooo I'm not gonna lie,,,, this feels like an snl sketch.

[@PoliticalFunk007]

@4TheLoveofLauren That's because you don't know any better ... how old are you 12?

[@robertlarroque8636]

Lol - You're wrong but you're so right!!!