Ten Innovative Art Videos that Dance

In film I can make the world dance.

Maya Deren, avant-garde filmmaker, dancer, choreographer

Isn’t it time you realize that dancing is nothing more than a form of expression or release?

Audrey Hepburn as Jo Stockton, bohemian bookstore owner in Funny Face.

Since we are traveling with our eyes through screens instead of in person nowadays, movies, films, social media videos fill in that void for exploration and transcending our daily routines. Here are cutting edge shorts/videos/TV segments past and present that celebrate the dynamism of dance and film/video making collaborations. The list is posted in chronological order. They underscore the creativity and innovation within the collaborations between filmmaker, videographer, and dancer, singer, actor.

Experimental Films by Maya Deren

1. A Study of Choreography for Camera (1945, silent)

Maya Deren is a pioneer American avant-garde filmmaker who danced in her debut film, Meshes of an Afternoon, where she plays with editing and cuts to create a surreal narrative of an encounter with a figure of death. In For A Study of Choreography for Camera, Deren collaborated with ballet dancer Talley Beatty in this visual poem of dance in motion evolving with the exterior and interior landscapes.

2. The Very Eye of Night (1952-55)

Deren with choreographer, Antony Tudor, created this film with dancers from the Metropolitan Opera, who perform an abstract ballet performance that evokes astrology and cosmic bodies. It’s ethereal beauty personified.

Musical Theater Dance of Hollywood: 50s–60s Icons

Both Hepburn and MacLaine represent their respective versions of the charming comedic dance heroine. It’s interesting to see how they remain in character in their dance.

3. Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face (Bohemian dance) 1957

Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face is a bohemian bookstore owner who defines the free spirit of the upcoming 60s with a seemingly impromptu dance—where else but in a cafe.

4. Shirley Maclaine in Can Can (Adam & Eve dance) 1960

See 7:30–16:15 for the Adam and Eve sequence. The set design with the dance in and of themselves are works of art in motion. I particularly love the snake dance and how their dance styles became jazzy after she bit the apple of knowledge. The costumes of the animals that inhabit the garden of paradise are reminiscent of a childhood play but with touches of burlesque, as would be expected from a 60 musical called Can Can starring Shirley Maclaine.

Music Videos by Michel Gondry

I always consider Michel Gondry to be a creative wizard residing behind an emerald curtain like Oz. His interest in the concept of visual duplication seem to be a running theme in many videos which have a groundhog day’s sense of helplessness to them.

5. Around the World (Daft Punk) 1997

Michel Gondry and his art of recursion (explained in video)

6. Bjork’s Crystalline (2011)

This one I’ll confess is about the graphics that dance. I’m curious about the geological graphic patterns that morph and ripple around this innovative artist. All of Bjork’s music videos are a treat to watch. Highly imaginative and conceptual in their investigation of what can be considered sublime, her work is always really visually stunning and otherworldly.

7. Chemical Brothers: Got to Keep On (2019)

The magic of video editing and expressive, individuated movement of these dancers in their vibrant casual attire make them a joy to watch. It’s amazing to watch the diversity of body and dance types dancing in paired sequences. Mesmerizing to watch, as they seem to become swallowed into a glue-like blob.

International Inspirations

8. Design Ah! (since 2011)

NHK’s (Japan’s PBS or BBC) Sesame Street for industrial design, I fell into watching this every morning before taking my kids to school for two summers, in Osaka then Tokyo. Okay, so in this one, objects dance rather than people, but there’s a catchy show opening that’s great to wake up to. I also used the show to brush up on my Japanese since the language used is minimal and simple for half-literates like me. In this version, the Japanese has been translated, but I loved looking at the kanji and kana forms on screen with the industrial designs dancing!

9. Flash Mob: Club Mob’s Epic ‘Dancing through Time’ (2019)

‘Can’t not include a flashmob video, considering social media’s pivotal role in creating this magical medium of impromptu dance! This one’s sponsored by the Mini Cooper for the Goodwood Festival of Speed, celebrating British music for 60 years. The Mini Cooper has a similar hippie vibe as the VW Bug. The dance begins with two vibrantly attired hippie-styled men dancing to Beatles’ Come Together. The street style attire through the decades of 60s through 2010s give these athletic dancers a vibrancy and presence that pops off the screen and works well even on smaller Smartphone screens.

10. Riton & Nightcrawlers – Friday Music video (today)

I love how Mufasa incorporated graphic riffs of his printed shirt. His moves are really accessible and make you want to join his dance party!

Feel free to share your favorite dance, music, and media collabs here!