Yma Sumac (1927 - ) is a Peruvian singer famous for her 4 and 1/2 octave vocal range. In 1947 she moved to New York and later appeared in the Hollywood movies The Secret of the Incas (1954) and Omar Khayyam (1957).

Her official page is ...don't ask me why -- "sun virgin" sounds more like a vampire to me.

Buffy is expressing regret over her last drinking session -- episode #105: Life Serial -- when she got drunk with Spike and ended up following him to a bar where he played cards for kittens.

is the non-demon . Gaining fame with the original Riverdance, and after leaving "amid great controversy", he created his Lord of the Dance show, followed by Feet of Flames, both of which were worldwide hits. He is entered in the Guinness Book of World Records for the fastest tap dancing speed (35 taps per second), the highest paid dancer, and highest insurance premium on a dancer's legs ($40,000,000).

But I'm afraid all this doesn't excuse the costumes...or quotes like: "I love sex. I have it every day. I know no one who has as much sex as me."

Check out some pics. Warning - scary!

Twist And Shout - written by Phil Medley and Bert Russell -- was first released by the Isley Brothers in 1962, but it's the Beatles' version from their debut album Please Please Me (1963) that is known as one of the greatest rock recordings ever.

...It's also the song Ferris mimes to during the parade in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

From :

The Soft Shoe is a form of tap only done with soft soled shoes without metal taps attached. Performers originally wore all kinds of shoes to perform the Soft Shoe and as time went on the term soft shoe was applied to many eccentric styles of tap. The characteristics of the soft shoe however was the humor, wit, and delicate nature of the tapping performed with a very smooth and leisure cadence. Occasionally this is referred to as the Sand Dance.

Nero was emperor of Rome from 54 A.D. to 68 A.D. In 64 A.D., a great fire destroyed two thirds of Rome, burning for 9 days. The myth goes that "Nero fiddled while Rome burned" but, as the violin was not invented until centuries later, that's not actually possible.

There are many theories as to what he was doing at the time - e.g. that he actually started the fire himself to clear space to build his new palace, that he was actually playing the lyre, that he was singing, that he was reciting his poetry, or that he was performing an old Greek scene for his friends. (I guess if the fire lasted for 9 days he could have done all of these...)

In fact, he considered himself an excellent singer, actor and poet, and his last words were reportedly "Oh, what an artist the world is losing in me!"

Performing a traditional martial arts exercise (breaking a board with a kick), Buffy is referring to the martial arts custom of bowing to a training partner as a sign of respect.

Mmmm, 80's movie training montages...

Like Kevin Bacon and Lori Singer dancing around farm equipment in Footloose (1984)...or Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze waist deep in water practicing lifts in Dirty Dancing (1987)...or Jennifer Beals in Flashdance (1983) taking a break from steel welding just long enough for her body double to jump around in that black leotard...or Staying Alive (1983) which -- I never saw.

I guess you could include all those Rocky sequels, too horrible to describe...

UPDATE: The singles out Eye of the Tiger from Rocky III -- told you it was too horrible to mention.