Video Trope – the dance/talent audition

Video Trope – the dance/talent audition
Did this start with the movie Flashdance?? (I never have seen the movie so I have know idea why I know enough to think the question is relevant.)


Here is a good example:
Wolf Alice - Moaning Lisa Smile

 

I just saw this one that made me think about the genre:
The Big Moon - "Nothing Without You"

 

And who can forget this one from back in the day:
Paula Abdul - Cold Hearted

 

My favorite is the long montage of training, where first they start off inept, then they get a little better, then they get much better, and then at the end the music swells and they've completely figured out the routine and they're flawless. That goes for tons and tons and tons of movies, sports, and other situations. (In the spoof Team America, they actually sing a song "You Gotta Have a Montage" about this very thing, which I found hilarious. I still sing that out loud when a movie or TV show does that.)

My favorite thing about the Flashdance scene is I believe there are three separate women who portray the dancer: one to do most of the dancing, one to do the acrobatic flips and rolls, and then Jennifer Beals for the close-ups. She dances in and out of light, so you never quite get a good look at her face. Nowdays, they could digitally stitch the actor's face onto somebody else's body and it would look pretty good.

That is a brilliantly-edited scene, and my favorite are the little cutaways to the judge's tapping feet where they're clearly enjoying the performance. That is a very clever, very interesting movie, and even though it's bad as a film, it's extremely well made -- basically a music video turned into a feature.