Dancing Can Be Badass Too

You know I think even dancing can be badass.  This is a clip from Holiday Inn where Fred Astaire does a dance routine with firecrackers.  Now any dance involving firecrackers has got to be badass.  Astaire shows off his usual chops and his pretty incredible sense of rhythm too.  The song "White Christmas" comes from this film and not from the other Bing Crosby movie White Christmas which he made later.  It's a nice song 'n all but we're talking about badass dancing here.  I would recommend Top Hat or Swing Time if you dig Astaire's style.  If you're looking for something a little more aggressive then Singin' in the Rain or An American in Paris might be more up your alley 'cause Gene Kelly was a bit more ferocious than Astaire.  But tap dancing and old style dancing isn't the only kind out there.  There's the giant-industrial-sized-fan-blowing-in-your-hair-while-you-strip-to-a-hot-80's-jam-and-play-synth-drum-pads-not-on-beat-or-with-any-sense-of-rhythm type.  Case in point:



But you know, come to think of it a very well crafted action scene is like a dance.  Everyone needs to hit their marks and be N 'Sync I mean in sync.  There's just as much preparation and dedication to craft involved.  But just to have a comparison let's first look at a scene that is poorly put together with no flow or grace to it.



Catch any of that?  Neither did I.  Some guys got beat up and I guess Statham doesn't want his blazer being touched by anyone.  But what the fuck is going on?  This is a clip from The Transporter 3, a movie made pretty unwatchable because of editing like this.  The close ups and quick cuts make it impossible for anyone to grasp what their looking at.  Now let's look at a scene that you can actually understand.  I chose a fight from Hard to Kill because it also involves a dude taking on multiple dirtbags.  I could have put up something more martial arty but I think this proves another point.  I didn't just want to show that one film can stage martial arts better or use someone's ability better than another.  I mean I like Jason Statham but I don't think he's been in a movie that has shown off his skills very well yet.  It keeps getting botched by poorly thought out fight sequences and/or shitty editing.  Unfortunately if he keeps doing movies like The Mechanic remake then...well alright I'm still gonna see 'em but I'm not gonna know what's happening on screen every time a punch is thrown or a kick is hiya-ed.  This clip with Seagal shows that you don't need a million edits and close ups to make something exciting.  It's better to plan it out and actually think of how the fight is gonna go down instead of doing some kicks, break some arms 'n shit and stitch it all together in post.  You're making an action movie, focus on the action.  If you can't understand the fights then you're fucking up a serious component of the film.  Oh yea and "that's for my wife.  Fuck you and die!"



But let's bring it back to dance.  Remember that dance scene from Pulp Fiction?  It's one of the most memorable parts of the film because having a thoughtful (even though I'm pretty sure it was mostly if not completely improvised) and graceful dance scene in a movie makes for a special moment.  Even in a real badass movie like Pulp Fiction we get some insight and playfulness from our characters that we probably wouldn't otherwise see.  But it knows its limitations and with this particular movie Tarantino, Thurman and Travolta knew what kind of dance to do and how far to take it.  Although after watching it again I didn't realize how long that scene actually is.  But regardless, the movie tries real hard and succeeds at embracing past styles and trends and this dancing is part of that.



So as you can see there are many different types of dance and they can be used in different ways.  They're almost always a spotlight moment but the purpose of the scene varies.  With action scenes, they have (or at least should have) a flow and almost fragility to them.  They need to be completely engrossing but also have you think that there is real danger.  Dance is similar in that it should also be completely engrossing and could have a sense of danger if the dance is very physical but both of these types of scenes should feel natural.  One move leads to the next flawlessly without hesitation.  All of the steps make sense and aren't forced.  These things aren't easy to achieve which is why dance and action scenes can be holy shit moments when you come across a special one.