Dancing: The Twinkliest Toes on Glee

[Sara2009]

Doesn't everyone need the benefit of practice? Even professionals rehearse frequently.

[dizzyizzy01]

Of course, but trained dancers who have a lot of dance talent can pick up simple routines very quickly, which is all glee really does. Like on dwts, those pro numbers only rehearse a couple hours and those are far more complicated routines. Someone who is not at that level clearly needs more time to learn a routine.

[Sara2009]

That's probably true. I wonder how long Matt and Harry got to rehearse " Make Em Laugh."

[tab19]

This thread made me think of a gif with commentary I saw floating around on tumblr - I looked but could not find it again.  It was a wide shot of all the Glee stars on the 2011 tour on stage, dancing to some song.  The clip was just long enough to get a sense of how well each person was dancing.  The commentary always cracked me up, but I mention it because as I recall, it matches - and is kind of a visual microcosm - of what's been said here.  Cory is pointed out as doing his best, but that ain't so good; Heather and Harry are killing it; as I recall Darren gets noticed for being erratic; Chord is not on at all; but I think it's Lea who gets me laughing because she seems to be dancing to something else entirely.  Maybe someone else has seen what I'm talking about?

[ancslove]

I remember that.  I think Lea does fine with choreography (she's not the best, but she's serviceable and doesn't really stick out to me in group dances, when she's putting in the effort), but she often does her own thing when left to her own devices.  She's not the most disciplined dancer, and most of the time, Glee (whether on tour or during filmed numbers when she's not the focus) doesn't give her the motivation to stay on track.  But she can follow blocking and choreography when she wants to.

[Hana Chan]

Lea was most convincing as a  "dancer" in the big group numbers where we could be distracted by other performers, there wouldn't be any focus on her feet and legs and she could follow very simple choreography. Any time she was single out of featured in a dance performance, she just wasn't at all convincing. I think back to the performance of Total Eclipse of the Heart, when they were trying to make her look like she was dancing on pointe and she was awkwardly up on her tip toes. Then you had that awful Oops I Did it Again number, where the sole content of her "dancing" was posing while being moved about on a table by actual dancers. Or All That Jazz where the show was clearly trying to use real dancers to distract from the fact that Lea wasn't doing anything more than walking and posing on mark.

 

I'm not slamming Lea here. Not every performer has the kind of dance training that Harry, Heather and Matt did. And not every performer has some natural facility that allows them to overcome a lack of real training (like Chris and Amber). I don't think that Lea has a lot of natural ability for dance. She doesn't have an ease to her movement and tends to look really awkward. Given her extensive Broadway background, I'm a bit surprised that she didn't seem to have more real dance training. But if she recognized that even with intensive training that she might become a marginally serviceable dancer at best (which probably wouldn't help her get employment) then I can imagine her pulling a Rachel and putting all her focus on developing her voice. Where Glee erred was the continued insistence that her character had a skill set that short of employing a full dancing double, Lea just couldn't deliver.

Edited January 4, 2015 by Hana Chan

[CoyoteBlue]

Heh, yeah, every time Rachel bitched about how Ms July didn't appreciate her mad skills, I laughed. And the "dance off" they did was such a joke. She doesn't even dance in it; she just struts and poses a lot. They probably assumed that since they got away with calling Finn the best male singer for several years they could do the same for Rachel's dance skills. I mean, she's nowhere near Cory or Chord's trainwreck, just like Cory wasn't a terrible singer, but...

[caracas1914]

I don't think they had to show Rachel do a lot of dancing but simply have set up the story better. For example they could have had Rachel (ie Lea) perform a well choreographed 25 second segment at the end of a scene to give the impression of a great dance number.

Then again, it's not like Kate Hudson was any great shakes herself as a dancer.

Why they couldn't have had a hundred Harmonies at NYADA, who could challenge Rachel vocally is the crux of the problem. They really couldn't be bothered to give Rachel a genuine challenge where she wasn't the most special singer ever . Again, odd because they implied they could have gone that route in " The Purple Piano Project" with all those Doubletree Doppelgangers of Hummelberry that seemed to have so intimidated them.

[jaytee1812]

Heh, yeah, every time Rachel bitched about how Ms July didn't appreciate her mad skills, I laughed. And the "dance off" they did was such a joke. She doesn't even dance in it; she just struts and poses a lot. They probably assumed that since they got away with calling Finn the best male singer for several years they could do the same for Rachel's dance skills. I mean, she's nowhere near Cory or Chord's trainwreck, just like Cory wasn't a terrible singer, but...

You can't auto tune dancing!

I think they choreographed around Lea and Cory a lot. It's why there is no real big dancing in any competitions, there's a lot of moving position and simple moves but nothing hugely complicated. And the choreography in Paradise is around Lea and Cory they don't participate much.

I feel bad but my favourite routine for showing up bad dancing is 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered'. Blake Jenner's not a bad dancer but next to Jacob Artist and Becca Tobin even half decent dancers look like big lugs with no rhythm!

I don't think they had to show Rachel do a lot of dancing but simply have set up the story better. For example they could have had Rachel (ie Lea) perform a well choreographed 25 second segment at the end of a scene to give the impression of a great dance number.

Why not have them admit Rachel's not a great dancer, why did they have to say they she was good. Why not have her say it's her voice and her acting that are her strengths and they're are plenty of roles where that's all that matters. It has the added benefit of being true!

[caracas1914]

Why not have them admit Rachel's not a great dancer, why did they have to say they she was good. Why not have her say it's her voice and her acting that are her strengths and they're are plenty of roles where that's all that matters. It has the added benefit of being true!

 

Well, in a way they finally ended up basically saying that Rachel's dance skills were irrelevant, that it's her singing skills that took her to the dance.  Which was so stupid because what the hell did all the DRAMUH about her dancing rivalry battles with Cassie amount to then?    More than illogical, it was downright "filler" to spend so much time on a story with no real consequences or pay off.

[jaytee1812]

Well, in a way they finally ended up basically saying that Rachel's dance skills were irrelevant, that it's her singing skills that took her to the dance.  Which was so stupid because what the hell did all the DRAMUH about her dancing rivalry battles with Cassie amount to then?    More than illogical, it was downright "filler" to spend so much time on a story with no real consequences or pay off.

I mean right from the start of the glee club. The had her saying she'd trained from a young age, and also indicate she'd studied ballet. They should've cut that and deferred to Brittany and Tina when it came to dancing.

[Hana Chan]

I mean right from the start of the glee club. The had her saying she'd trained from a young age, and also indicate she'd studied ballet. They should've cut that and deferred to Brittany and Tina when it came to dancing.

 

Or they could have done what happens to many performers at some point. Find out that despite all their years of training that once they get out of the kiddie pool that they don't measure up to professional level. Acknowledge that while Rachel might have put in a lot of hours in class that she lacks a natural facility (in the way she has as a singer) and that she will never be the best dancer in the class. That would at least square Rachel's canon history with Lea's limitations.

 

What irritated me more about the whole Cassandra July nonsense was that Rachel seemed to be a lot more interested in being proven right (in that she was a better dancer than given credit for) than she was in actually learning anything. Her attitude sucked a lot more than her dancing did (which sucked pretty mightily). In my headcanon, Cassandra lets her pass not because she thinks Rachel is so "special", but because she just doesn't want to waste any more time with her.

[SevenStars]

Or they could have done what happens to many performers at some point. Find out that despite all their years of training that once they get out of the kiddie pool that they don't measure up to professional level. Acknowledge that while Rachel might have put in a lot of hours in class that she lacks a natural facility (in the way she has as a singer) and that she will never be the best dancer in the class. That would at least square Rachel's canon history with Lea's limitations.

 

I think they didn't want to do that because it would have make Rachel less of a "special snowflake" and the writers wanted us to believe that Rachel was perfect in everything except her personal relationship with people. The writers wanted us to think that was Rachel's only flaw, therefore, those who were going up against her weren't better than her, they were just jealous of her and hated her personality. The writers wanted us to think that Rachel's personality is the reason people like Mercedes was always challenging her, not because Mercedes might have actually been more talented than Rachel. Therefore, Rachel always beating Mercedes for the spot-light one way or another, was not only fair but right. 

[jaytee1812]

I think they didn't want to do that because it would have make Rachel less of a "special snowflake" and the writers wanted us to believe that Rachel was perfect in everything except her personal relationship with people. The writers wanted us to think that was Rachel's only flaw, therefore, those who were going up against her weren't better than her, they were just jealous of her and hated her personality. The writers wanted us to think that Rachel's personality is the reason people like Mercedes was always challenging her, not because Mercedes might have actually been more talented than Rachel. Therefore, Rachel always beating Mercedes for the spot-light one way or another, was not only fair but right.

I'll reply in the episode thread.

[coolbeans3131]

For me, Rachel/Lea's dancing doesn't stand out at all. Ever. Not for being bad. Not for being good. She just blends in as far as dancing goes. She doesn't seem to have any presence in a group dance. Rachel/Lea is one of my favorites. I think she one of the best actors and singers on the show. Dancing? Meh.

[jaytee1812]

What the hell has happened to Heather Mortis, she could barely managed the most basic of choreography on tonight's episode?

[ChaChaSlide]

What the hell has happened to Heather Mortis, she could barely managed the most basic of choreography on tonight's episode?

I'm going to assume lack of practice and lack of time to get the routine. I love Heather Morris, but I can tell that the ability to dance doesn't just come effortlessly within her, it comes from years of practice, hardwork, and dedication. With the baby, she definitely looks as if she's worked out throughout her pregnancy and afterwards, but hasn't dedicated any time to really tough routine work (which is completely understandable; baby >>>> hours of practice a day). It looks like shes kind of fell out of practice. Even in the season 5 episode where she danced part of Mercedes' mall tour, she wasn't hitting the marks as hard as she used to.

Combine that and the shoddily way this last season is being produced, there wasn't alot of effort put into anything by anyone. Who choreographed the dancing anyways? They take a fair portion of the blame. Plus Naya and Dianna did MUCH worse than she did, and as the UHT it wouldve looked weird for her to be dancing on 10 and them to be dancing on 2, so they all settled on a "who really cares" 4. Its obvious that both production and crew have thrown in the towel, and its just about a paycheck.

[jaytee1812]

Yeah the choreography was dreadful and I assume nobody cares they're just picking up a pay check.

The choreography for Tightrope was disturbing at best. One woman performing an oversexualised routine in a room with 20+ men look creepy and wrong. I don't know who choreographed it but I'd bet my life they're male.

[tom87]

I am pretty indifferent on the dance numbers in general but the whole performance was muddled and choppy, too many moving parts.

[jaytee1812]

Apparently Glee fans have voted for the 11 best dance numbers. And my god it's a woeful list. No Cool, Run The World, Bubble Toes, Nasty/Rhythm Nation, or Make 'Em Laugh.

http://youtu.be/akflo1bYtXM

[ComfySweater]

Wut? Was that Safety Dance being called This is the New Year? They didn't even try.

[shantown]

They showed 11 dance numbers in 19 seconds... They showed the wrong clip for one and just a picture for another. Why even bother doing this?

[jaytee1812]

And who voted? People who can't dance. I mean Paradise by the Dashboard Light is all running about the stage, there's hardly any dancing.

[camussie]

Yeah i love Paradise and think it is their best competition number but it isn't a good example of dancing.  By any stretch.

[jaytee1812]

Yeah i love Paradise and think it is their best competition number but it isn't a good example of dancing. By any stretch.

I think it's actually a great example of choreographing around Lea and Cory's weaknesses but still having a good show.

[Hana Chan]

Considering that they left off Let Them Laugh, I cant take this self-congratulatory list seriously.

[jaytee1812]

Some more thoughts on that list of 'best' dance routines.

11. Safety Dance

Totally deserved inclusion, probably the best dance routine of season one. Definitely one of Kevin's best. Also great performances by Harry, Dijon, Jenna and Heather.

10. Thriller/Heads Will Roll

This is a great performance and probably deserves inclusion. My only complaint is you hardly get to see any of it because of the focus of Karofsky.

9. Shout

I'm torn on this. The dancing is great but they spend way too much time covering up those who can't dance that we miss the best. I mean you hardly get any of Jenna, Jacob, Becca or Heather. Which is particularly weird given Heather is a lead vocalist.

8. Toxic

Matt's dancing is great but the rest is mostly posturing.

7. Born This Way

Lol no. Running and walking about a stage is not a dance routine.

6. Rumour Has It/Someone Like You

Lol no again. The vocal are gorgeous on this but the choreography is basic and pretty much consists of the other girls dancing round Naya and Amber with some hand gestures from those two.

5. Paradise By The Dashboard Light

I don't think this is a great dancing routine but I get its inclusion. It's a great performance and there's lots going on. Actually there's often some great dancing in the background while the camera is focused on Lea and Cory.

4. You Should Be Dancing

This quite good and is one of the best on this list, although that's not a great compliment. Darren does well on this to keep up with Harry and Heather, but I'm guessing the choreography was kept fairly simple for that reason.

3. You Can Stop The Beat

I love this and is really fun, and the choreography is great. I, just not sure that added up to one of the best routines on Glee.

2. Love Is A Battlefield

Lol no. It's actually a really good mock fight, but as dance routine, no.

1. Valerie (100)

I love this, it's one of my favourite routines. But Jacob and Harry clearly out dance Naya and Heather, and it's not a patch on the original routine.

[jaytee1812]

Okay so I'm bored so I decided to make a list of my favourite dances on Glee. But I ended with two lists, one for the dancers, one for the rest. Jenna and Kevin ended up on the dancers list. It's in no particular order, except the order they played when I shuffled the videos on my Mac.

Nasty/Rhythm Nation

Jacob slays this. Honestly one of the best things I love is your attention is on him, not the rest of the dancers. They really are backing dancers, they're there because of the nature of the routine not because he can't handle the focus. The only bad thing is Melissa trying to do a body ripple, just no.

Make 'Em Laugh

Eat your heart out Donald O'Connor. This was fabulous, both Matt and Harry not only dance beautifully but their comic timing is spot on. My only criticism was they should've both sang.

I Wish

One of the performances of season 4. It's a real shame that Jacob and Harry only ever really had this and Valerie together. I'd love to see them do a Michael Jackson routine or Uptown Funk.

Tik Tok

Heather is amazing, I was really annoyed for her the way the routine ended. My only criticism is the lightening hides the backing routine. Is that to hide their bad dancing or keep your attention on Heather.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

Pretty much included because it's one of the few occasions Becca and Jacob dance together and it's the only one where she's the focus. I hate that it's sung to Artie, but then their whole relationship creeped me out.

Dream A Little Dream

Ah, the beginning of Tike, such a sweet little routine.

Valerie (100)

Really fun, the boys are amazing, Naya and Heather do their best but they're out danced.

Valerie (Special Education)

One of the best routines ever on Glee. Harry and Heather are amazing, some of the lifts and flips they do. Outstanding.

My Life

One of the highlights of season 5, Jacob's flips, and dancing on the piano are outstanding. The bit in the girls locker room creeps me out. Why is he in the girls locker room, and why are thirty year old women in high school!

PYT

Mike Chang. Dance God.

Bust a Move

Matt Morrison really does have hip hop moves. I love this.

Bubble Toes

Harry is just so good, beautiful dancing, great comic bit too.

Sing

I put this in just because it shows how well Harry and Jenna work together.

Everybody Talks

That this is the only proper dance routine Jacob and Becca did shows how stupid those in charge of this show are. I think it's really fun, but I think both of them could do it in their sleep. There's a reason one of my favourite BTS photos is Becca doing a handstand on Jacob's legs!

Safety Dance

I love this the choreography is fantastic. Kevin's a good dancer, but he's not as good as the 'dancers' on the show. He has the steps, but his upper body does move like Harry or Dijon

Hung Up

It's a little Tina Cohen Chang. Respect. Holy crap Jenna performs the shit out of this. Becca and Heather are fantastic in the background too.

My Prerogative

I think this was really the first time Jacob show how he could move. He dance (and sings) the shit out of this. The scene after still bugs the crap of me though.

Cool

We'll ignore auditioning for Riff with a song sung after he's dead. Harry is fierce, he's dancing shows the control and anger Ice is trying to show in the song, it's not just great dancing.

Run The World

I hate this song, the storyline it was used in and the character who sang it. But Heather dances the shit out of it.

[Sara2009]

Okay so I'm bored so I decided to make a list of my favourite dances on Glee. But I ended with two lists, one for the dancers, one for the rest. Jenna and Kevin ended up on the dancers list.

It's in no particular order, except the order they

played when I shuffled the videos on my Mac.

Nasty/Rhythm Nation

Jacob slays this. Honestly one of the best things I love is your attention is on him, not the rest of the dancers. They really are backing dancers, they're there because of the nature of the routine

not because he can't handle the focus. The

only bad thing is Melissa trying to do a body

ripple, just no.

Make 'Em Laugh

Eat your heart out Donald O'Connor. This was fabulous, both Matt and Harry not only dance beautifully but their comic timing is spot on. My only criticism was they should've both sang.

I Wish

One of the performances of season 4. It's a real shame that Jacob and Harry only ever really had this and Valerie together. I'd love to see them do a Michael Jackson routine or Uptown Funk.

Tik Tok

Heather is amazing, I was really annoyed for her the way the routine ended. My only criticism is the lightening hides the backing routine. Is that to hide their bad dancing or keep your attention

on Heather.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

Pretty much included because it's one of the few occasions Becca and Jacob dance together and it's the only one where she's the focus. I hate that it's sung to Artie, but then their whole

relationship creeped me out.

Dream A Little Dream

Ah, the beginning of Tike, such a sweet little routine.

Valerie (100)

Really fun, the boys are amazing, Naya and Heather do their best but they're out danced.

Valerie (Special Education)

One of the best routines ever on Glee. Harry and Heather are amazing, some of the lifts and

flips they do. Outstanding.

My Life

One of the highlights of season 5, Jacob's flips, and dancing on the piano are outstanding. The bit in the girls locker room creeps me out. Why is he in the girls locker room, and why are thirty

year old women in high school!

PYT

Mike Chang. Dance God.

Bust a Move

Matt Morrison really does have hip hop moves. I

love this.

Bubble Toes

Harry is just so good, beautiful dancing, great comic bit too.

Sing

I put this in just because it shows how well Harry and Jenna work together.

Everybody Talks

That this is the only proper dance routine Jacob and Becca did shows how stupid those in charge

of this show are. I think it's really fun, but I think

both of them could do it in their sleep. There's a

reason one of my favourite BTS photos is Becca

doing a handstand on Jacob's legs!

Safety Dance

I love this the choreography is fantastic. Kevin's a good dancer, but he's not as good as the 'dancers' on the show. He has the steps, but his upper body does move like Harry or Dijon

Hung Up

It's a little Tina Cohen Chang. Respect. Holy crap Jenna performs the shit out of this. Becca and Heather are fantastic in the background too.

My Prerogative

I think this was really the first time Jacob show how he could move. He dance (and sings) the shit out of this. The scene after still bugs the crap of me though.

Cool

We'll ignore auditioning for Riff with a song sung after he's dead. Harry is fierce, he's dancing shows the control and anger Ice is trying to show in the song, it's not just great dancing.

Run The World

I hate this song, the storyline it was used in and the character who sang it. But Heather dances the shit out of it.

These are good choices!!! Personally, I'd also add " You're All The World To Me," though. I thought Matt in particular was really impressive.

" Ice Ice Baby" also had some good moves in it.

[jaytee1812]

These are good choices!!! Personally, I'd also add " You're All The World To Me," though. I thought Matt in particular was really impressive.

" Ice Ice Baby" also had some good moves in it.

I can think of "you're all the world to me" what episode is it in?

Ice Ice Baby is on my other list of general dance routines. I'll post that later!

[Sara2009]

I can think of "you're all the world to me" what episode is it in?

Ice Ice Baby is on my other list of general dance

routines. I'll post that later!

" Boys and Girls on Film" or something like that. It's the number where Matt and Jayma dance on the ceiling.

[Ceeg]

I'd add Heather dancing in Me Against the Music. 

[ComfySweater]

I'd add Heather dancing in Me Against the Music. 

I forgot that and had to look it up. Thanks. That was three minutes very well spent.

[jaytee1812]

I'd add Heather dancing in Me Against the Music.

I'm not a huge fan of the Britney/Brittany eps, mostly because I hate Brittany. I wasn't a fan of the Britney video rip offs but yeah Heather's dancing is awesome.

[wingster55]

On 1/30/2015 at 9:18 AM, jaytee1812 said:

Cool

We'll ignore auditioning for Riff with a song sung after he's dead. Harry is fierce, he's dancing shows the control and anger Ice is trying to show in the song, it's not just great dancing.

 

In the play Cool and Gee Officer Krupke are switched.