La Danza

An entertaining short video with music and dancing.

The title refers to a Puerto Rican music genre that is associated with ballroom dancing and it is quite an appropriate title.

Two women (Sarracini and Newton) film themselves dancing, using a smartphone camera or a webcam. The camera is constantly static and the location appears to be a large living room. The two dancers are always looking at the camera and smiling and never speak. Both are rather close to the camera, although one is further back and to the front dancer's left. The video begins with both of them waving at the viewer, while part of the song Good Morning Tokyo by Tokyo's Revenge plays. Then, the dancing begins.

Brocklehurst's creative editing is one of the key elements that make this short a rather amusing experience. Once the women begin to dance, the repeat cut technique is put into use over and over again, beginning with a shot that shows the women dancing for about a second, then the same shot is repeatedly shown, countless of times, with the editing becoming faster and faster, giving the impression that they are dancing impossibly rapidly and also makes the music sound like an intensely repetitive beat. This technique is utilised for quite a large part of the film and the result is entertainingly awkward and funny.

Other techniues include a sequence where the normal image repeatedly alternates with an upside-down image of the same shot, hence showing the dancers dancing upside-down, adding to the fun. There is also brief black-and-white cinematography and the use of slow motion makes the dancing look different.

At the bottom right corner of the screen, the name of the video-sharing social media platform 'TikTok' is visible, promoting the company and making this short a positive statement on social media by revealing how sharing videos online can help spread joy.

The obvious purpose of this one-and-a-half-minute long music video is to provide amusement and it succeeds. The atmosphere that is developed thanks to the editing, along with the dance moves and smiles, will most likely put a smile on the viewer's face.