Intertextuality in the Dance Film, Step Up Revolution (2012)

Abstract

This article examines Step Up Revolution (2012) as a contemporary screen dance film in which meaning is generated primarily through embodied collective movement. Drawing on theories of intertextuality and dance as text (Kristeva 1969; Adshead-Lonsdale 1998), the analysis explores how street dance in film functions as a mode of non-verbal communication, producing social expression and meaning through choreographed bodies in motion. The film’s use of performance sites includes the street, a beachclub and the interior of a museum. It emphasises collective movement and rhythmic synchronisation which is understood as an intertextual practice that draws on earlier dance films, such as Fame (1980), Flashdance (1983), On the Town (1949) and How She Move (2007), re-working them through the kinaesthetic language of the body.

Allusions and references to the original screen dance are highlighted through colour, cars, taxis, the sound of a car horn, and dance moves which convey embodied meaning. The article argues that Step Up Revolution foregrounds a model of screen dance in which bodies work together in space to position dance as a form of embodied intertextual storytelling and cultural transmission. In so doing, the film highlights the capacity of screen dance to articulate resistance, community and visible identity.

Keywords: Intertextuality, dance, film, step, city, Miami, collective, transformation, young adults, social action

How to Cite: