Love a dance scene
Ages ago I wrote about tropes that make my brain happy and my examples of great dance scenes got long. Very long. And dance scenes aren't really a trope so here it is, its own thing. I've included youtube links where possible. Surprisingly, not always possible.
Perhaps because I am such a bad dancer I really love a dance scene. Whenever any story starts gearing up for a dance scene - be it a period drama or a scene in a club - anticipation reaches fever pitch and I am ready to be swept up.
This post was not only prompted by Sinners but Sinners has a rightly famous dance scene.
120 BPM has two dance scenes, at Pride and in the club? Fantastic.
Despite it being a very visual-audio thing I've also read some great club/dance scenes. Sarah Waters' The Paying Guests has a good, and pivotal, dance. And several fics. I'm always trying to write a good dance scene.
My favourite period drama dance scene is the BBC's 2009 Emma. It's a great adaptation full stop. The dance between Emma and Knightley is not crackling with UST. It's so understated and beautiful.
Moulin Rouge is one long dance scene, sure.
The other week we tried to watch Leading Ladies but the DVD case was empty. Where has it wandered off to? It is not available to stream, being a pretty niche sort of Strictly Ballroom with ladies kissing.
Speaking of! There's lots of amazing dances in Strictly Ballroom, obviously. The final scene that blows your socks off. But I love an earlier one, where they dance outside and it's like Fran realises. There's also Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps, when everyone ends up watching.
My wife didn't want to watch the rest of The Newsreader because she thought it was going to be miserable. And it probably was. But early on there's a beautiful, quiet dance scene. The lights and the atmosphere are just perfect.
My favourite Xena dance scene has to be the Footloose episode, A Tale of Two Muses. I could say this about everything Xena, but: iconic.
I don't think we finished the show but the See-Line Woman dancing from Lady in the Lake was amazing.
2014’s Girlhood featured a beautiful scene of friends dancing to Rihanna’s “Diamonds”. It makes me grin all the way through. And then when they sing at the end!
Not just a technical marvel but some great character work, the Clone Club dance scene from Orphan Black. Bone to pick: we've seen Alison doing her hiphop exercise regime. We know she can move more than this.
Taking the internet by storm, there's no party like a Chandrilian party. I really appreciated the nod to the fact that there are layers to culture and you do the formal bit then you let loose. And what an amazing letting loose by Mon Mothma. I also just love this track and listen to it often.
General things I like in dance scenes that I can't remember examples of right now:
- when two people who are obviously in love are dancing with two other people and looking at each other
- just people looking longingly across a dance floor, strobe lights optional
Petition to have more films with dancing end credits! That's always fun!