Shall We Dance? (1951 song) Shall We Dance? (1951 song) "Shall We Dance?" is a show tune from the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, "The King and I". It is sung by Anna Leonowens and the King of Siam, played by Gertrude Lawrence (in the original Broadway production) and Yul Brynner respectively. In addition, it was sung by Valerie Hobson in the original London West End production, and Marni Nixon (who only voiced-over songs while Deborah Kerr acted) in the 1956 film of "The King and I". The song is about Anna reminiscing over the idea of finding love at an English dance. The song
Utopia, Limited and eventually her homeland. Two decades earlier, in 1870, Anna Leonowens first wrote about her six-year stint as governess to the children of the king of Siam (Thailand) in "The English Governess at the Siamese Court". The two ladies and their stories are likely to have influenced the characters of Princess Zara and Lady Sophy, respectively. Another impetus for Gilbert in the genesis of the work was his disdain for England's Limited Liability Act of 1862, which he had begun to explore in the previous opera with Sullivan, "The Gondoliers". By using an imaginary setting, Gilbert was emboldened to level