Welcome to the wonderful world of dance on film!
Dance is both a form of artistic expression and a form social interaction. You can learn a lot about people by watching them dance. Choreography or no, how people move says a lot about them and what they are feeling in a given moment. I love watching great dancing almost as much as I like to dance.
I started dancing at the age of ten, after seeing Singin' In The Rain with Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor. I remember turning to my mother after it was over and proudly proclaiming: "I want to do THAT!" I competed nationally for eight years in tap and jazz, and performed with a professional company in college. I've also choreographed for children's theaters, community theaters, and professionally. So I know and love creating dance as well as dance itself.
Choreography on film can be much more dynamic than it is on stage. It isn't always, but my favorite pieces of dance on film use the medium to make the dance more than what it really is. Watch any episode of So You Think You Can Dance and you will see at least one number where the camera circles around a couple, making a piece of the dance far more interesting and/or exciting than it would be when seen from the front (they tend to overuse this trick, but when it works, it works).
I hope you like dance, too. And I hope you will enjoy exploring it with me. This blog will mostly be just posting my favorite dances - mostly from films, but some from stage shows and some just performances that happened to be captured on film - with only occasional insight. Because dance is so much more fun when just enjoyed, don't you think?
-Dancin' Dan
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