Is choreography ever cool?

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Look, I have no problem with people dancing at a club or at a party, but, having just watched Janet Jackson's "The Pleasuer Principle" video and realizing how utterly ridiculous all of those dance moves are, I'm left wondering if that sort of choreographed dancing is / was ever cool (ie didn't always look ridiculous)? I mean, to be fair, I'm not picturing any Merce Cunningham shit here, but Poison, Debbie Gibson, Paula Abdul, MC Hammer...if there was any footage of me doing anything like that ever I'd surely put a gun in my mouth. But aren't popstars still doing this? What the fuck for?

― roger adultery (roger adultery), Friday, 6 February 2004 11:13 (twenty-two years ago)

because most of them are much better dancers than singers

― stevem (blueski), Friday, 6 February 2004 11:14 (twenty-two years ago)

Pina Bausch, Deborah Colker and Anna Theresa de Keersmaeker to thread!

― suzy (suzy), Friday, 6 February 2004 11:16 (twenty-two years ago)

In the clip for 15ft of pure white snow by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds it's *very* cool.

― ipsofacto (ipsofacto), Friday, 6 February 2004 11:16 (twenty-two years ago)

does New Order's "true faith" clip count as choreography at all? if so then yes.

― the surface noise (electricsound), Friday, 6 February 2004 11:18 (twenty-two years ago)

you mean the slapping / wrestling thing? thats more concept than execution, no?

― roger adultery (roger adultery), Friday, 6 February 2004 11:19 (twenty-two years ago)

i still like robot dancing - do the robot! (last time i saw this in a video was Air's 'Radio#1')

― stevem (blueski), Friday, 6 February 2004 11:23 (twenty-two years ago)

classic in Bjork's Oh So Quiet.

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Friday, 6 February 2004 11:24 (twenty-two years ago)

erm Ballet...

― Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Friday, 6 February 2004 12:45 (twenty-two years ago)

'jazz hands!'

― colette (a2lette), Friday, 6 February 2004 14:23 (twenty-two years ago)

Thriller!

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 6 February 2004 14:24 (twenty-two years ago)

one year passes...

I can't find any other modern dance threads, so even though Roger specified that he wasn't talking about Merce Cunningham, I just wanted to say that I wish I could go to this. But I think his question applies to all kinds of choreography. I mean there's always the danger of looking ridiculous, and many people have said that they don't get the appeal of modern dance. With ballet, there is athleticism and technique. I suppose narrative movement can easily look ridiculous and I think it must be awfully easy to lapse into it. But I like poetry that is like ordinary language read in an ordinary voice.

― youn, Saturday, 12 March 2005 22:01 (twenty-one years ago)

Thriller!

smooth criminal!!

― fe zaffe (fezaffe), Saturday, 12 March 2005 22:08 (twenty-one years ago)

say, did MC Hammer ever have a name for his trio of backup dancers/singers? Were they the "Hammer Posse"?

i remember them all being in a Taco Bell commercial at one point...

― kingfish van vlasic pickles (Kingfish), Saturday, 12 March 2005 22:11 (twenty-one years ago)

Bollywood Movies!

― kate/thank you friendly cloud (papa november), Saturday, 12 March 2005 23:04 (twenty-one years ago)

The "Every Sperm Is Sacred" sequence in The Meaning of Life!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 12 March 2005 23:06 (twenty-one years ago)

I wish I had time for this.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Saturday, 12 March 2005 23:08 (twenty-one years ago)

It's hard to tell what each piece is like from the descriptions, but on the West Coast, there are more options in SF, and no performances in LA :(

― youn, Saturday, 12 March 2005 23:32 (twenty-one years ago)

DAFT PUNK "Around the World"

― daria g (daria g), Monday, 14 March 2005 04:28 (twenty-one years ago)

otm that video lays waste to this thread

― tremendoid (tremendoid), Monday, 14 March 2005 04:41 (twenty-one years ago)

also, I like it when used very sparingly, to kind of accentuate the dance moves of the main entertainer(like how Usher used dancers in the grammys iirc). also the type they do sometimes on SHowtime @ the Apollo where they use unusual body syncopation/alternation between dancers to make it more visually interesting.

― tremendoid (tremendoid), Monday, 14 March 2005 04:45 (twenty-one years ago)

KURIOUS, KURIOUS, KURIOUS ORANJ-UH

― The Argunaut (sexyDancer), Monday, 14 March 2005 04:47 (twenty-one years ago)

roger adultery has obviously never seen a flea circus. Exquisite choreography!

― Aimless (Aimless), Monday, 14 March 2005 05:52 (twenty-one years ago)

It is often very cool. See also 'Slave 4 U'. Teh Brits never seem to nail this though (see new Beverly Knight vid, every Atomic Kitten one etc).

― BARMS, Monday, 14 March 2005 11:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Also, Johnny Vaughn brings the FUNK in his Capital Radio ad.

― BARM, Monday, 14 March 2005 11:56 (twenty-one years ago)

encyclopaedia of ways to wiggle
Contemporary Dance: So What's Up With That, Then?

― Masonic Cathedral (kate), Monday, 14 March 2005 11:59 (twenty-one years ago)

Man, you should have seen my choreography I created for "Charlton Heston" by Stump!

― mark grout (mark grout), Monday, 14 March 2005 12:10 (twenty-one years ago)

I'll bet you my choreography for 'Fuck Me On The Dancefloor' by Disco D/Princess Superstar was loads better.

― BARMS, Monday, 14 March 2005 12:13 (twenty-one years ago)

How many people involved?

― mark grout (mark grout), Monday, 14 March 2005 12:13 (twenty-one years ago)

One.

― BARMS, Monday, 14 March 2005 12:18 (twenty-one years ago)

There's your answer.

― mark grout (mark grout), Monday, 14 March 2005 12:24 (twenty-one years ago)

It was pretty annoying when those Ministry twunts stole it for 'Call On Me', toned it down and added more people. Really lost the essence of it.

― BARMS, Monday, 14 March 2005 12:58 (twenty-one years ago)

I *was* wondering how Nick was going to react to this episode.

I think it captures the rivalries and one-ups that you get in the creative side of the media pretty well perfectly. There is a Barley in every office and he's always busking others' ideas, he KNOWS he's a wanker and his method of ascendancy is to play off everyone who finds him repellent against each other because that will leave him enough leeway to get the ear of the big boss, who the Ashcrofts in any given situation also have identified as a wanker in extremis.

― suzy (suzy), Monday, 14 March 2005 13:34 (twenty-one years ago)

re abstraction vs. narrative in dance: What's the Story: Is It Dance or Theater?

― youn, Sunday, 20 March 2005 00:14 (twenty-one years ago)

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