When looking at dance films we have to define them in contrast to musicals, look at the distribution and results and look at the recurring themes and characteristics in the protagonists.
Dance films in contrast to musicals is like defining horror to thriller genre films in which there is a fine line between them and yet major differences. They both involve dancing and diagetic sound whether it be sung (musicals) or on the radio or cd player which is still heard by the characters (dance). However, i find the two genres present their messages/themes/ideas through different ways.
The musical, when looking at films such as HAIRSPRAY (2007) and Walking on Sunshine (2014), Hairspray in particular looks at the themes of racism and obesity through a collective message reflected through all the characters e.g. Racism in Seaweed and Motormouth Maybelle and obesity through Tracey and her mum Edna not to mention the power of stars through Velma, Link and Amber's characters sectioning off each theme and issue to a group of characters.
Whereas in films such as Dirty Dancing (1987) the themes and issues are portrayed through an individual character instead. Whereby Baby is made the main focus point from the start and uses dance to protect and help a staff member crossing class boundaries which opens her up to sexuality and romance as shown through scenes such as 'Hungry Eyes' and 'Stay' but still keeping the main focus point on Baby and her relationship with Johnny compared to Hairspray where the spectator is side tracked to Edna and Wilbur and Velma's characters also.
However, it could be argued that Dirty Dancing does fit the musical description as like Tracey, Baby/Francis rebels against society's expectations of them in order to make a change (Welcome to the 60's and 'That was real brave Baby, you don't seem scared of anything'-Johnny) and both use their love of dance to do this. Additionally both have come to West End/Broadway which immediately springs 'musical' to mind but in my personal opinion does Baby and Johnny lip syncing to 'Love is Strange' really count as diagetic singing like in musicals such as Hairspray? I don't think so. So to me the way that the music is presented is what really defines it because without it both Hairspray and Dirty Dancing have similar narratives and characterisation that both make up a dance film.
The power of the star is also important when it comes to the distribution of these films. especially since Dirty Dancing and Black Swan (2011) were both distributed at independent films the directors had to open up the audience interest especially with themes and images that would cause 'moral panic' to the spectators the dependence on the star is clear.
Firstly, however i want to look at the power of the star heavy Hairspray. Hairspray, much like rumored Dirty Dancing is a remake of the original 1988 film which i personally found slow and just lacked interest. However, the re release version with celebrities such as John Travolta (in drag) and Michelle Pfeiffer as well as teen favourites Amanda Bynes and Zac Efron it created immense audience interest causing a star studded cast.
In films like Dirty Dancing however, the stars really lifted the appeal with the male 'pin up' Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, who as EMPIRE DVD review describes Jennifer as a 'less than jaw-droppingly beautiful' heroine. Which is interesting that the female lead is not necessarily attractive because it gives women an identity (as Richard Dyer quotes in Stars 1998 from Heroes,villains and fools p.97 'there are particularly few women hero types resulting in...modern woman's 'loss of Identity' P98' ). Not only this but amongst its star appeal, Dirty Dancing uses gender reversal in order to create audience appeal. By gender reversal I mean that in the term 'pin up the emphasis is on the women'(Richard Dyer Stars) whereas Dirty Dancing uses the emphasis on Johnny's character in order to appeal to a more female audience with a strong female lead that would had been rare to see as dance films such as Footloose around the same time used Kevin Bacon to appeal to females but by using the female co-star as a typical 'pin up' but strong character, the emphasis is more on her beauty than her character herself. Therefore is the appeal through the stars? Well Dirty Dancing being distributed as a Independent film would mean the star appeal wasn't necessarily needed for that audience, however, in the success of Dirty Dancing, Swayze became more famous with the chick flick and now West End musical GHOST and additionally making a guest appearance in Havana Nights(Dirty Dancing sequel) making the film result in his fame than the film using his fame to create and sell the film appeal (Grey and Swayze before Dirty Dancing both appeared in the original Red Dawn). Therefore in films such as Dirty Dancing, the star appeal isnt so much needed as a Hollywood blockbuster.
One major blockbuster star who has been used to reach audiences contrasting to Dirty Dancing's star appeal theory. Natalie Portman, having made many appearances in Star Wars, V for Vendetta and Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium not to mention being the strong willed damsel in distress in the Marvel franchise THOR, Natalie Portman is no new found star to the big screen therefore opening up audiences to her appearance in Black Swan. Additionally, along side her co star Mila Kunis; Family Guy, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and The Cleveland show both girls are no strangers to the screen(even though Black Swan was Mila's first real big break after being a voice actor in my personal opinion.) In this film, additionally contrasting with Dirty Dancing, Black Swan agrees with the theory that females are the more recognizable pin-up than males. This is supported by the lesbian sex scene that not only opens up male appeal despite being a ballet based film but also stays true to the triller genre by the use of visual effects; 'the two actress's faces are digitally swapped for a split- second' according to director Darren Aronofsky in EMPIRE'S Black Swan special which also describes the cast as 'visually stunning' supporting that the stars and female look appeal is vital when trying to sell an independent modern 'moral panic' film creating controversial opinions in our modern day society much like the difficulty Dirty Dancing would've had endured in the 80's.
So how important are stars in dance films? Well i think it depends on narrative. If like Hairspray, well known musical mainly before the film 'remake' the star dependency is allowed to lack a little whereas in independent films the use of star is dependent on the director's aims from the narrative and how well known the narrative is, for example the stories are original in my studied films-Black Swan and Dirty Dancing unlike Hairspray.
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