August 20th, 2010 by soullldiva

I LOVE Glee. I was in choirs and show choirs and musicals my whole young life through Middle School and High School and we never did anything close to what they do on this show. What I wouldn’t have done to have a rock band available every day for choir practice (who wouldn’t).

Since the premise of the show is a glee club in High School, it’s easy to segue into the musical numbers. Most of them are super fun. But this one was extra special.

Towards the end of the second season there is a storyline about Artie (played by the lovely Kevin McHale) seeking procedures and therapies to help him walk. Now, Glee has taken heat for its famous “wheelchair episode” where they did “Proud Mary” with the entire cast in wheelchairs. I don’t pretend to know what a wheelchair bound person deals with every day. All I can say is that there are people in wheelchairs and they are people just like anyone else and should be treated with respect like any other person on this earth. I’m glad for Artie’s character because paraplegics don’t get enough screen time. TV just isn’t “real world” enough, and they sometimes don’t want to highlight the tougher issues that might just “bring us down”. How people deal with their confinement in the chairs and still express their art is what makes them unique. And everyone needs to play up their uniqueness, because there is only one YOU. (thanks Mia)

Artie talks with Emma Pilsbury (Jayma Mays) about the different experimental treatments they are doing to help people walk again. I really hate that her character discourages him from these, saying that they are in the first stages and would take years to perfect, let alone use. I actually don’t like her character all the time (now Sue Sylvester on the other hand I’ll take any day, considering how she treated the Down’s Syndrome girl, yea).

But then Artie is at the mall with his new girlfriend Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz) and tells her that he’s actually been doing the treatments, and he thinks they’re really working.

The dance is so completely awesome it makes you want to get up and dance with him. This is also the first time we see Kevin McHale out of the chair and moving. Hey–he can effin’ dance!! The song is a perfect choice for the scene as well, as 80′s one-hit-wonder pop tunes usually are (thank you Men Without Hats). You are so elated by the dance and Artie’s obvious joy that when the song abruptly ends and slams him back in his wheelchair your heart is pinched hard. Tears sprang to my eyes. You and empathize a bit more with Artie and his longings. If you were in a wheelchair, would you want to dance too? I would.

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June 14th, 2010 by soullldiva

If you search through YouTube, you can find hundreds of “first dances” from weddings. New couples, just fresh into their vows displaying their skills at the waltz, the jitterbug, the foxtrot, or just the hands on hips/shoulders “sway”. There are also the tribute dances: re-enactments of the last dance from Dirty Dancing, or even the zombie dance from “Thriller” (one of my personal faves).

But this one is extra super special to me, because it’s my beloved baby brother dancing with his enchanting new wife at their wedding held just a couple weeks ago. I had already been dazzled by the setting (Calistoga in Napa Valley) and the location (a beautiful ranch decked out for a sumptuous celebration) when I suddenly heard the strains of “Soul Sister” by Train. They kept it a secret, they really wanted to surprise us. And as I peeked through the shoulders of the people in front of me while trying to hold up my son, I was indeed surprised.

As far as I know my brother has not danced since Fiddler On the Roof in 10th grade. Nor have I ever gotten the impression that he was the dancing kind of guy. But he dances with true commitment (well it IS a wedding) that shows how much he is in love with his woman.

And what can I say about his wife? I could go on for hours. I was more than happy to deliver to my brother our Nana’s diamond when he asked to use it, and I knew he would only ask if this was the ONE. And I was even happier when I met her and she exceeded all my expectations (older sis and all, I have expectations). With this dance I got her even more. Not only is she super smart and engaging and gorgeous with that natural red hair, but she is nostalgic, whimsical, and extremely savvy. What a gal.

And what a dance! I could tell they WORKED on this. I mean, geeze, it’s over three minutes long! The average dance on So You Think You Can Dance is 1:30, the solos are only about 25 seconds! If they worked with a coach (I didn’t ask, it’s possible they did this on their own), they made this fit them specifically with their personalities, showed their chemistry, and showcased their natural dance abilities.

Oh, (sniff). It makes me tear up every time.

June 14th, 2010 by soullldiva

Couldn’t resist sharing my 2 year old son dancing at my brother’s wedding a couple of weeks ago. I’m downloading The Brian Setzer Orchestra’s collected works asap. As soon as he can take direction well–dance class, baby.

May 11th, 2010 by soullldiva

I don’t know if anyone remembers watching the movie Napoleon Dynamite for the first time. I remember sitting in the dirty, small AMC theater in the Burbank Town Center Mall (this was the only theater that was showing it at the time) and laughing at the odd comedy. I also was thinking that I knew at least a couple of people exactly like Napoleon in my little High School in Kansas growing up (you know who you are out there). The other thing that I thought, reluctantly, was that there was a little Napoleon in ME. WHAT???

This is such an interesting character that was developed by Jon Heder and Jared and Jerusha Hess. An outsider, an introvert, sometimes a jerk, bullied, pushed around, abused, and just weird. But he also loves fantasy, is creative, befriends the new guy, is unaware that he’s really that much of a dweeb, and willing to take risks and just show what he’s got.

Then comes the true surprise in the last 10 minutes of the film. The SKIT. When Pedro’s opponent for student body president, Summer, does her dance/sign language ditty, I’m thinking “what does this have to do with a school election?” Come on, what high school election was EVER based on platforms and NOT popularity? None of the ones in my school, that’s for sure. Pedro is done for. No one even told him there was a “skit”.

Napoleon to the rescue. With no second thought, with no thought at ALL (add dependable friend to the list above), he gives his audio tape to the stage manager and steps out in front of the crowd.

My jaw was literally on the floor as I sat in the theater. And the music? “Canned Heat” by Jamiroquai. Singularly one of the most danceable songs out there (and also used in the fun dance romp “Center Stage”). Nothing will endear you more to me personally than just letting it all hang out and really having a moment of pure enjoyment for yourself while you move your body. And that dance is completely improvised. Jon is not a trained dancer nor was he helped by any pro. But you can tell dancing comes very naturally to him. Those loose hips are sometimes very hard to teach (watch any first time dancers on DWTS), and he’s got them in spades. I wanted to stand up and scream at the end, and when the auditorium crowd does just that after a long pause, you feel completely vindicated for loving Napoleon and his original dance.

Bonus? He gets the girl in the end.

April 22nd, 2010 by soullldiva

If you’ve ever heard the opening piano riff from Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock ‘n’ Roll” then surely the picture that comes to mind is of a stringy high school kid on the verge of manhood, sliding across the living room floor in his button down shirt and tightie-whities. Yes, I speak of Mr. Tom Cruise in the 1983 film Risky Business. “Princeton could use a guy like Joel.” Amen.

To continue where I left off with Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, I adore when dance is used in a non-dance movie. It’s just so real-life. When you are so excited you can’t contain yourself, you do a little jig. When you are completely alone and want to let loose, you pull out your hairbrush and sing “I Will Survive” at the top of your lungs while gyrating in front of the mirror. When you need to step in for your best friend to do a skit, you dance to “Canned Heat” (uh, what).

Here’s the original, that stands the test of time:

As all iconic images do, they spawn copies, spoofs and tributes. Here’s a quick one from the TV show “Scrubs”:

And another from “The Nanny”:

Here’s the sexiest version I’ve ever seen:

Wow, bazoombas…

How about a bunch of athletes? Kobe, don’t you think those shorts are a little long for tightie-whities??

Gotta love it. Thanks Tom, for the original.