They’re dancing in the street (don’t try this at home)
I saw this ad on TV the other day and it stopped me in my tracks because the dancing is not the usual pop stuff at all. The dancers, and the woman in particular, have a nice intensity and what’s known in the dance world as “attack,” which is a sharp timing with clarity and focus.
I was so taken with the dancing that I saw the clip on TV quite a few times over the last couple of weeks and couldn’t even have told you what it was an advertisement for. Cars? I didn’t really notice them. Where there words spoken? Nope, not as far as I was concerned.
But then I decided to pay attention so I could look it up on YouTube. Ah, YouTube, land of near-instant gratification. And so here they are:
And of course, because of the title of this post, I just had to put this up, too:
Hm. Thanks for the dancer’s perspective. I too noticed the precision, but being a non-dancer, it was not my main focus.
Instead, I noticed the theme of a woman being carried and protected by a man, albeit a rather reserved, if not distant, one.
Re Martha and the Vandellas: Isn’t it nice to see a really joyful smile on the face of a singer?
Martha and the Vandellas look far finer in a pantsuit than HCR, Pelosi, Janet the terminator Napolitano, or Michelle. 😉
Liked the dancers in the commercial, liked dancing in the street better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzY28Unb3v0
Everybody wants to dance with sweet little 16.
If by attack, you mean the way a person dives in head first to their dancing, I think Vera Ellen epitomizes that:
http://youtu.be/MoyB8Ps2nmE
Of course, the fact that I’ve been completely taken with this woman ever since I saw this movie has nothing to do with this whatsoever!
I was wondering about the time of release. The quality of the recording said ‘early 60s’ ( as well as the pants-suits, ala Jackie K->O), and the pants-suit/hat had that same ‘mod’ look that you saw in Austen Powers, so that said ‘mid 60s’.
It was released right on the cusp, in 1964.
The wiki article is interesting, too, noting the two 80s covers by Van Halen, and by David Bowie/Mick Jagger
It details the original idea for the song (a ballad) and the changes it went through as Marvin Gaye got ahold of it and then Martha Reeves… And the silly notion the UK press advanced for an alternate meaning.
Wow. Nice catch on the dancing. You are right — the fact that it is *not* the usual pop dancing, I think, makes it stand out. And I enjoyed watching it more than I do the usual pop dancing, which is barely at all. Thanks again.
I also noted this commercial for its oddity. The man as dance partner represents the car, and the woman has a “relationship” with it. You can see instances of the man/car protecting the woman from the truck, etc.
Mostly, I view this as a blatant attempt to manipulate the female audience into buying the car because of the emotions this ad is supposed to evoke. Once again, selling the “sizzle.”
Neo loves dance. Of course a rugged guy like me probably wouldn’t notice the beauty and elegance of falderol such as this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9PxEurL75c
And wouldn’t crack a big smile at some daft bit of 1960s Bollywood tomfoolery:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnBbjc5hmho
I hadn’t seen that Martha and the Vandellas video before. THANKS!
What did you think of the airFrance commercial?
http://www.infine-music.com/ http://itunes.apple.com/album/piano-concerto-no.-23-in-a/id4