Wicked Wednesday : The power of choreography.

by kranARI

I have always been fascinated with dancers of all sorts but lately I’ve noticed that you can find really good choreography not only in ballets and at the theater but also on TV and in music videos. As the standards are rising higher and higher, choreographers are raising their standards and have become involved in mainstream TV shows like X Factor (yes Britney’s amazing choreographer, Brian Friedman does all the dance number choreography) – Glee and through films like “Black Swan”, stars like Natalie Portman are making the concept of ballet mainstream.

black swan – Benjamin Millipied

Natalie Portman_Black swan still

Not only did the Oscar winning actress opt for a year of grueling ballet training in preparation for her upcoming role but in turn ended up meeting and becoming engaged to the film’s choreographer Benjamin Millipied. And trust me when I say, it was not the physical transformation alone that landed her the Academy Award. It was the emotional range that she was able to display, for the first time in her career in fact that made her shine on the big screen. To find out more about her dance journey in the film watch the following interview where she talks about learning to appreciate the art of discipline and pain.

glee – Zack Wootly & Heather Morris

Heather Morris - Glee Brittany Paper Magazine Flirt Cosmeticsproperty of Paper Magazine

Glee_Power of Madonna stillproperty of FOX

Glee_Cheerios stillproperty of FOX

As far as television is concerned, Glee has taken first place, in my eyes at least, as a major contender in the choreography ladder. Zach Wootly, the show’s choreographer is mainly able to show off his amazing numbers through the cheer-leading squad The Cheerios but even the cast impresses with their triple threat action (singing, dancing and acting). I can’t even imagine the hours of rehearsals that go into preparing for the elaborate numbers the creators come up with each week. With Heather Morris leading their team of dancers, is kind of hard to get anything wrong. In the last video you can watch Heather perform at the AMAs with Beyonce.

The Cheerios

The Cast

Heather Morris

hold it against me – Brian Friedman

britney-spears-rolling-stone magazineproperty of Rolling Stone magazine

Britney Spears_vintage_young photo

Brintey Spears was born a dancer, and more recently of course, we’ve seen her show off her skills once again in her latest music video “Don’t Hold it Against me”. This, if I might say so myself is definitely her BEST DANCE work in a long time. Though the song itself probably should have been released as a summer dance anthem, the choreography to the video is absolutely mind blowing! Watch the choreographer Brian Friedman talk about what goal he was trying to reach while working this time around with Britney and the follow up by fast forwarding straight to 2:15 for the BEST PART of the music video (watch for the FIGHT SCENE!!) In the final video, Britney does a stint as part of a promotion for Friedman’s video and talks about what it’s like working with Brian as a choreographer. Though she is not the most articulate person in the world, her positive feedback and passion for his work definitely comes across in her eyes and expression when she talks about his influence in her videos.

Brian on HIAM & Britney

Hold it against me

Britney on Brian