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I post this for Siobhan and Mitchell and Jean and all those huge Beyonce fans out there. Her latest video (“Single Ladies, Put a Ring On It”) is addictive (the tune, the beat, and then the video itself) and there are a couple of moments that are goosebump-worthy and I’m not sure why.<\/p>\n
I will say this: How wonderful it is to see a dance video that shows THE WHOLE DANCER at all times – not cutting between her body parts to give an impression that dancing is going on, but somehow fearful, a la Flashdance<\/i> of showing the whole girl at the same time. Beyonce – and her two dancers – are shown in full body throughout, and there are times where it actually feels (to me) like it’s done in one take. It’s not – but the impression is there: that we are seeing a performance, entirely – what the energy and synchronicity of these girls bring to it is NOT from editing or cutting to give an impression … it is because they worked their asses off on that dance and are performing it brilliantly. I love the black and white, too, and I love the final seconds of the video, where the sound goes away, the song ends, and you can just hear the heavy breathing of the girls, breathless from the major WORKOUT they just went through.<\/p>\n
The whole thing feels real<\/i> to me, in a way that is so rare these days in filmed dance performance – it feels like a moment of live performance was actually captured by the camera. And there are no distractions either – no change of costume, no swirling lights, no set … It’s kind of old school and looks like it could be on Judy Garland’s old television show. Just the stark black dancers against the white background – so all you have to look at is the girls performing.<\/p>\n
Well done, all around.<\/p>\n