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Dance movies

Let's face it, most movies about dancing pretty much stink. The plot is predictable, the dialogue is cheesy... 
We all know the plot. There's the misunderstood person whose passion is to dance and they struggle, struggle, till finally there's an ending breakthrough dance & they hear from a parent or authority figure, "oh I was so wrong! I see now dancing is who you are and what you have to do!" Or the protagonist has poverty or some kind of tragedy to overcome, couldn't dance & then re-discoveres it.  Get a new plot already.

Yet true dance fans endure that for those few moments of dance number bliss. I wish dance movies could be told entirely through dance, like ballets are in the theatre.

Since I enjoy all types of dancing, I used to own You Got Served & would just fast forward through the talking parts... Until I realized I was mostly just fast forwarding.

I used to be a big fan of Dirty Dancing... Until I really got into other genres of dancing & new movies emerged that fused different styles together. Suddenly Jennifer Grey's big lift at the end of the movie didn't seem like that big a deal.

I think most ladies will agree, Channing Tatum dancing is divine. But I also think this is a great dance number & sweet that he met his wife in the first Step Up movie:

Step Up 2 was pretty good... Again with the predictable plot and most definitely dialogue so cheesy you need crackers.  But there are some new faces & an enjoyable last dance number:

Step Up 3... So bad I'm not even going to share a link. I was excited when I saw the preview to see Joshua from So You Think You Can Dance was in it (most. ridiculous. scene. ever) and Twitch, who was kind of the best part of that film.

Now Step Up Revolution I thought was great; Start off with dance, put in a ton of styles, very little dialogue... We don't need the plot explained to us, just shut up & dance. Some amazing numbers in that one:
Business dance mob protest:

Dance is truly art come alive:

Pull-out-all-the-tricks huge number:

And ending on a tender romantic note:

And those aren't even all the dance numbers in that movie. Thank you!

I guess I posted this for reference to the scenes I love without having to fast forward through the rest of the movie.

I'll still enjoy the fun older pioneers from time to time, just for the memories (Footloose, Flashdance and man is Breakin entertaining)... And I'm not really talking about the fantastic Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire kinds of classics here because those are timeless & a different style I enjoy when in a certain mood.

All forms of dance impress me... It is art and poetry moving, bursting through beautiful forms in all types of ways. The genre just refects the origin & all demand stamina, passion & spirit.

At least with ballets, you can experience the whole story through dance. I dream of a movie like that using every genre possible. What bliss that would be!

With So You Think You Can Dance season 10 about to start, it will be exciting to see what new stars emerge and how much further the boundaries can be pushed.

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