Title: Dance in Popular Culture:From Hollywood to MTV Unit: PER007-1 Applied Choreography: Dance and Innovation Course: Dance and Professional Practice Institution: University of Bedfordshire Tutor: Dr Louise Douse

1. Dance in Popular Culture:
From Hollywood to MTV
PER007-1 Applied Choreography: Dance and Innovation
Dr Louise Douse

2. Hollywood and the Musical
• 1930s – 1950s
• MGM, RKO, Warner Brothers
• Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933), Dames (1934), The Gay Divorcee
(1934), Top Hat (1935), Shall We Dance? (1937), Singing in the Rain
(1952)
• Busby Berkeley, Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers, Gene Kelly, Donald
O’Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Cyd Charisse
• Forms of dance?
• Relation to narrative?
• Camera action?
University of Bedfordshire 2

3. Dance Films
• 1970s – 1980s
• Paramount Pictures, MGM, Vestron Pictures
• Saturday Night Fever (1977), Dirty Dancing (1987), Fame (1980),
Flashdance (1983), Staying Alive (1983), Footloose (1984)
• John Travolta, Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, Jennifer Beals, Kevin
Bacon, Olivia Newton-John
• Forms of dance?
• Relation to narrative?
• Camera action?
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4. MTV Dance Videos
• 1980s onwards
• VJ’s
• Forms of dance?
• Relation to narrative?
• Camera action?
University of Bedfordshire 4

5. Next Lecture
Teaching week 3
Calendar week 43
Week beginning
Monday 20th October
Lecture 3:
Avant-Garde Film
Practices
Greenfield, A. (2002) ‘The
kinesthetic of avant-garde
dance film: Deren and
Harris,’ in Mitoma, J.,
Zimmer, E., Steiber, D. A.,
Heinonen, N. and Zuniga
Shaw, N. (eds.)
Envisioning dance on film
and video. London:
Routledge, pp. 21-26
University of Bedfordshire 5

6. References
• Blanco Borelli, M. (2012) ‘Dancing in music videos, or how I learned
to dance like Janet… Miss Jackson,’ The International Journal of
Screendance, 2, pp. 52-55.
• Dodds, S. (2001) ‘Histories of dance on screen,’ in Dance on screen:
genres and media from Hollywood to experimental art. Basingstoke:
Palgrave, pp. 4-16.
• Vize, L. (2003) ‘Music and the body in dance film,’ in Inglis, I. (ed.)
Popular music and film. London: Wallflower Press.
University of Bedfordshire 6

7. References
• Blanco Borelli, M. (2012) ‘Dancing in music videos, or how I learned
to dance like Janet… Miss Jackson,’ The International Journal of
Screendance, 2, pp. 52-55.
• Dodds, S. (2001) ‘Histories of dance on screen,’ in Dance on screen:
genres and media from Hollywood to experimental art. Basingstoke:
Palgrave, pp. 4-16.
• Vize, L. (2003) ‘Music and the body in dance film,’ in Inglis, I. (ed.)
Popular music and film. London: Wallflower Press.
University of Bedfordshire 6