The Girls' stage presence

[floyjoy678]

I recall Diana saying that she felt her and Flo had a similar stage presence in that they gave off a sexy vibe but in a more innocent and naive vibe whereas Mary was more straight to the point. What's your thoughts? I always thought it was the opposite, Diana and Flo had similar stage presence [[at least in the beginning) but I thought they were more obvious about flirting with the audience where Mary played it more calm and cool.

[luke]

Yes. I think Diana and Flo were coquettish and Mary being so beautiful just had to stand there with that alluring pose of hers.

[midnightman]

Diana and Flo were the go-getters among the trio so of course... Mary's job was to stand there and be cute lol

[luke]

Like on Love is Like an itching in my heart performance and Diana said “Go Mary” as Mary was dancing up a storm”?

[Circa 1824]

Did someone just write, "Mary's job was just to stand there?"

hmmmmm, that is what I have been saying for years.

[BigAl]

Mary was indeed bookended by the larger personae of Diane and Florence, but I always felt that made for a more balanced situation than would have existed had she also been an aggressive presence like the other two. That would have been a bit much. With Diane and Flo there was never any understatement, and the act needed a little of that. Many have regarded Mary as "filler" during those years, but I see it differently. Three "big" stage personalities would have been too much, as we later saw with MSS, once Mary had grown into a leadership role. It just turned into a free-for-all. Conversely, once Flo was dismissed, Cindy became almost a "silent partner," Mary remained in her same neutral zone, leaving Diane basically the focus [[which of course was the plan), and the act became very bland during those years, at least in my opinion.

[sup_fan]

actually i don't really think that sums them up at all. to me their stage personas came off as:

Diana - coy, flirtatious, aggressive, bubbly
Flo - impish, the one that might tease you, the one most likely to laugh at an off-color joke, familiar, famous but still earthy
Mary - the pretty cheerleader, the one that winks at you, slightly seductive

I do think that Mary's assessment is more accurate. that the 3 personalities merged to make the 1 perfect woman

even physically they all brought something slightly different to the stage - Diana = Twiggy and the high fashion look, Mary = Elizabeth Taylor, classic stunning beauty, Flo = Marilyn Monroe, voluptuous, womanly

[BigAl]

I always thought of them as The Three S's.
Slick [[Diane), Sexy [[Mary), and Sassy [[Flo),
and that's an unbeatable combination.

[midnightman]

actually i don't really think that sums them up at all. to me their stage personas came off as:

Diana - coy, flirtatious, aggressive, bubbly
Flo - impish, the one that might tease you, the one most likely to laugh at an off-color joke, familiar, famous but still earthy
Mary - the pretty cheerleader, the one that winks at you, slightly seductive

I do think that Mary's assessment is more accurate. that the 3 personalities merged to make the 1 perfect woman

even physically they all brought something slightly different to the stage - Diana = Twiggy and the high fashion look, Mary = Elizabeth Taylor, classic stunning beauty, Flo = Marilyn Monroe, voluptuous, womanly

Ah, that's a better description for all the three original Supremes!

[jim aka jtigre99]

I have my own different opinions on what I have seen on You Tube and television.
Diana Ross demanded attention when singing, she really pushed it by smiling so wide, opening her eyes so wide and when you are off to the side and in front you become the focus even if other group members have something special to offer.
Florence Ballard seemed a bit awkward sometimes with the choreography and it seemed in some of her later appearances she didn't seem into it. She may have had a nice voice and she would smile or try to do a little extra when the camera was focused on her but I really do not see as much stage presence as other seem to. She seemed to have a natural flair for comedy which translated into her stage presence.
Mary Wilson seemed to smile quite naturally and you could tell she loved performing no matter what she was doing, she also providing perfect choreography in their routines. She seemed cool, confident and elegant which provided a great counterpoint and provided a focus of beauty, elegance and sophistication.
Cindy Birdsong-She seemed to blend in with Mary more than Florence and seemed more natural with the route of glamor than Florence did. She seemed easy to like and happy go lucky while her and Mary seemed to make a perfect background blend visually and vocally which helped with the look of a lead and a background.
With Jean Terrell they still employed the lead singer somewhat set apart and only joining in the choreography at certain times. Once Jean left and Mary took charge when dance music was the rage, it seemed that was abandoned and both Scherrie and Mary were included in the choreography when singing lead rather than set apart as it was with Diana and Jean. It sometimes gave the group a rather manic look onstage and didn't allow as much individual stage presence as it had in the past. Scherrie and Mary could easily control the stage-both were beautiful and great singers but I think this decision did not help with their stage presence at that time since perhaps Mary wanted everyone to appear as equals so they all were doing the choreography.
Still, there is not one of them that did not lack in stage presence as each caught your eye for different reasons.