Musical Theatre Monday - Barn Dance

Since we focused on one of the most influential choreographers last week - it's only appropriate that we talk about one my favorite and one of the most famous dance scenes from a movie musical:  the barn dance from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers! In my experience, this is something that just about everyone has seen and even if musicals "aren't their thing" can admit that it's pretty freaking cool.

I'll get to a post about the show as a whole later as it is one of my favorite musicals and has some really fun songs, but where I think this show really shines is in the dancing. Four of the 6 brothers and all of the brides are professional dancers so unlike other movie musicals where a "dream version" of the lead characters is subbed in for big dance scenes - it's the same people! (Although most of their singing voices were dubbed in.)

Here are my two favorite things about this dance:

• These dancers make the dancing look so easy! It appears effortless and fun. Which I'm told is the sign of an incredibly talented dancer. I wouldn't know what that's like.
• It's one of the best examples of "dance fighting" - while no punches are thrown, the brothers and the suitors are definitely not happy about the other's presence, but the interruptions are just another seamless facet of the choreography so it never feels weighted down by plot. The dancing tells most of the story.

If you're looking for another interpretation of this dance - there's a Bollywood version of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and they use some of the same dancing tactics (like leap frogging over shoulders) and it's deliciously cheesy. Check it out here.