PJ, I understand exactly what you mean, just seeing clips. Most of the dancers today don't "act" while they dance. They don't connect to the movements emotionally, even if they execute them flawlessly. I think that's the problem. We've turned dancing into a competitive sport instead of an art, and we've turned dancers into athletes instead of artists. So we have plenty of "dancers" on Broadway, TV, and in the movies, with incredible technical capabilities, and nothing much else going for them. And nothing resonates. There's no impact, no matter how good they are with the execution.
I saw this incredible example that Liza Minnelli demonstrated on "Inside the Actors Studio." She was talking about the difference between "dancing" and just doing steps. How dancers were, in fact, actors (or at least should be, if they're any good).
She stood in front of the audience and just stepped forward with her arms stretched out to the side. Nothing.
Then she did it again, but gave the movement a purpose and a meaning. As if that exact same step was an extension of an emotion. She didn't do the step because some choreographer told her to. She did it as if it were improvisational, coming from within.
The difference was unbelievable. No comparison. And it was the exact same step.
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
