New York Times article.
Audition tape:
Human After All (feat. Anne Marsen) from jacob krupnick on Vimeo
It's the looseness that puts it over. Even the most acrobatic gyrations seem relaxed nd casual. Limbs rubbering around inside the baggy clothes. No grinning or mugging. The joy is in the movements.
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7 comments:
You can see equally enjoyable work on "So You Think You Can Dance" without the ironic dull look at the camera.
She's quite talented, but I want her to have fun. Joy is expressed by the whole body, including the face and eyes. Her eyes seem to exude a kind of ironic boredom.
Didn't react that way at all -- and find most of SYTYCD way too strenuous and self-conscious. This is entirely improvised.
I think what you're noticing is just concentration during an audition. Click through to the NY Times piece to see her more light-hearted.
I don't think it is just concentration. She relies on a number of key "hook" movements to keep her on track, a normal part of improvisation, and her expression seems to me as much mugging as grinning is.
I think you need to watch more SYTYCD during the audition stage if you think the stuff is too strenuous and self-conscious. There have been some exquisite dancers on that show and it is best when their joy in performance shows.
Smiling isn't mugging, but sometimes a facade of "cool" can be.
There is no doubt that this young woman has a tremendous amount of talent, nor that I could watch her for hours. Both are true. It's just that there is so much talent in the world and I wonder if this young woman hadn't used Daft Punk music, been the kind of person who can be found in "Mumbai," etc. that this young woman wouldn't be just another lost soul.
She has the proper amount of ironic cool to appeal to the hipsters who are promoting her.
In a way, I find that sad. She clearly has enough talent, but it seems that it's actually the "hipster" elements that appeal to the article's author more than the actual dance.
I've been accused of havinbg a "hipster" detector myself that finds ironic self-conciousness where none exists, but I think you've got me beat.
The article uses the word bouillabaisse for goodness sake! If that isn't hipster than nothing is...other than dancing to Daft Punk.
Come on!
By including a tap dancer in the Girl Talk clip, Krupnik alludes to the great and very American tradition in dance (and music and many other things) of an appearance of casualness that's actually hard won.
She really dances well. I don't actually dance, but I was convinced as I've watched the video. Dancing is also a form of exercise which reduces weight. I really want to learn how to dance.
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