"Shall We Dance?" is a

show tune A show tune is a song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a standard, more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context. T ...

from the 1951

Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their popular ...

musical, ''

The King and I ''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the chil ...

''. It is sung by the characters of Anna Leonowens and the King of Siam, originated on Broadway by

Gertrude Lawrence Gertrude Lawrence (4 July 1898 – 6 September 1952) was an English actress, singer, dancer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in the West End of London and on Broadway in New York. Early life Lawrence was born Gertr ...

and

Yul Brynner Yuliy Borisovich Briner (russian: link=no, Юлий Борисович Бринер; July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985), known professionally as Yul Brynner, was a Russian-born actor. He was best known for his portrayal of King Mongkut in th ...

respectively.

Valerie Hobson Babette Louisa Valerie Hobson (14 April 1917 – 13 November 1998) was a British actress whose film career spanned the 1930s to the early 1950s. Her second husband was John Profumo, a British government minister who became the subject of the P ...

played Anna in the original

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

West End production, and

Marni Nixon Margaret Nixon McEathron (February 22, 1930 – July 24, 2016), known professionally as Marni Nixon, was an American soprano and ghost singer for featured actresses in musical films. She is now recognized as the singing voice of leading a ...

(who sang the songs while Deborah Kerr lip-synced) in the 1956 film of ''

''. The song comes about after Anna and the King disagree about love's meaning; the King believes that love is a "silly complication of a pleasant simplicity" and a "fairy tale" while Anna believes that love is real and natural. They sing "The Song of the King" first. Anna then tries to explain the idea of romance in a simple way to the King, and becomes caught up in her own experience of

love at first sight Love at first sight is a personal experience as well as a common trope in literature: a person or character feels an instant, extreme, and ultimately long-lasting romantic attraction for a stranger upon first seeing that stranger. Described by p ...

at an English dance. Her reminiscences become the introductory verse of "Shall We Dance?". The song is most famous for a sequence charged with romantic tension in which Anna teaches the King to polka. Their subsequent dance usually traverses a large part of the stage.

Reception

The movie version of the song finished at number 54 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema.

Legacy

The movie, '' Shall We Dance?'' (1995), from Japan, was named after and features the song. In March 2021, Ariana DeBose released a reimagined recording and video of the song, produced and arranged by

Justin Goldner Justin Goldner is an American music producer, songwriter, arranger and session musician based in New York City, originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His performances have been featured on Grammy, Latin Grammy and Tony award-winning projects ...

and Benjamin Rauhala for the album ''R&H Goes Pop.''

References

{{Rodgers and Hammerstein 1951 songs Songs about dancing Songs from The King and I Songs with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II Songs with music by Richard Rodgers