I'm not the most knowledgeable man when it comes to dance, but I'm at least a little familiar with Cyd Charisse. As everyone should be. Next to Ginger Rogers, she was possibly the most iconic female dancer in film history. Even those of us cinephiles who skip out on most dance musicals have at least seen her famous number from Singin' in the Rain (above). A few years ago, when Moviefone counted down the Top 10 Best Dance Scenes, it was #2 (just behind Dirty Dancing).

Charisse has died of an apparent heart attack at the age of 86, and she's hopefully joining old partners Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly for some of the best dance scenes ever seen up in heaven. With the former, she was paired up in The Band Wagon, Ziegfeld Follies and Silk Stockings (for which she received a Golden Globe nomination), and with the latter, she danced in Brigadoon, It's Always Fair Weather, Invitation to Dance and, of course, in Singin' in the Rain.

Well, it looks like the studios are hoping to cash in early on the buzz surrounding big-budget musicals like Hairspray and are snagging any property with so much as a single dance number. Variety is reporting that Mary Elizabeth Winstead has just signed to star in the dance film Make It Happen. Written by the same man who brought us Save the Last Dance (or as I liked to call it, White Girls Can Jump) and Step Up, the pic will be directed by Darren Grant (Diary of a Mad Black Woman) and will tell the story of a small town girl (Winstead) who heads to the big city for a professional dancing career only to wind up working a Burlesque house. But since the film will be aimed at teens, I'm guessing the burlesque will be more like a Pussycat Dolls routine than anything R-rated.

Winstead's career has been building steam over the past couple of years after some relatively high-profile roles -- including supporting parts in Bobby, Black Christmas, Factory Girl, and Grindhouse -- and while she didn't have the biggest role in Tarantino's Death Proof, I'm sure the sight of her in a cheerleader outfit managed to stick in the minds of a few of the audience members. Winstead will also be back in theaters this summer as John McClane's daughter in Live Free or Die Hard. You may remember that, at the Grindhouse junket, Winstead revealed to us that she'd have some ass-kicking to do in the film -- she won't just be a damsel in distress. Make It Happen looks to be Winstead's first foray into dancing but since she is a child star I'm sure there have been some dance lessons somewhere in her past. Production on Make It Happen is set to start this July, plenty of time to brush on a few steps if need be.

Recently, (actress?) Lindsay Lohan has gone on record saying she's all about taking on more serious roles. In fact (and I quote): "I want to get a nomination. I want to win an Oscar. I want to be known for more than, like, going out ... I bust my ass when I'm filming and when I have time off, yeah, I like to go out and dance." Well, the good news is that La Lohan has finally found a role in which she can utilize her strongest assets -- those being her sexy body and the desire to dance. The bad news ... well, I guess if you're a horny teenage boy, then there is no bad news here. While appearing on The David Letterman Show last night, Lohan confessed that she'll be playing a stripper in her next film, I Know Who Killed Me. Oh, and I should also mention that her character will be kidnapped, tortured and have her legs cut off. (Yup, here's where we need to do a background check on screenwriter Jeff Hammond.)

When asked more about her stripper role, Lohan said the audience will be seeing "a lot" of her, and that the pic is a "really dark, scary film." Hmm, so will Lohan be taking it all off in the name of an Oscar nomination (someone forgot to tell her that torture flicks aren't necessarily the type of material Academy voters are attracted to)? Or, will we get another Demi Moore-type performance, a la Striptease. Damn that flick! And damn you Demi! Oh c'mon, you know this film just moved up a few notches on your radar -- I mean, who wouldn't want to see La Lohan's naked disfigured attractive body dance around a pole? Heh, now all those nights out at Scores strip joint here in New York City make a whole lot more sense. She was doing research! Well guys, you won't have to hold your breath for too long, as Saw meets a naked (but more serious!) Lindsay Lohan (aka I Know Who Killed Me) arrives in theaters on July 27.