This is kind of a weird question, for me anyways. I'm currently writing a script which features a dance sequence, in particular, a two person DDR sequence in an arcade, and I have no idea how to go about writing it. Obviously, there's coreographers (sp?) for this sort of thing but the scene involves two people competing against each other and I want to at least capture that. Is there a particular system of going about writing a dance sequence and if so, how much space should it take up? It probably shouldn't take up a whole page but it wouldn't feel right to sum up the whole thing in one sentence. If there is no system, any idea what'd be the best way to go about writing it? It's kind of a crucial scene where several characters are introduced to each other, not just something I threw in for shits and giggles... well, maybe that was part of the reason . Still, I can't exactly omit it at this point. Any ideas?

James,

I'm not sure how I would write it myself, but if you can locate the script for Grandma's Boy, there's a scene in there where two people have a DDR faceoff.

It may be of some help.

I'd see if you could compress the entire sequence to 2 or 3 paragraphs of Action/Description.

You don't want to slow the reader down, as that can have a negative effect to your pacing of the scenes & script. On the other hand, if it's an important scene that needs to stand out, then make sure you sex up the action/description details.

Make sense?

Probably not...


Stew

Thanks for the advice, guys. Never thought reading the Grandma's Boy script would benefit me any, haha. Anyway, I'll see if I can find it. I might try to find the Clerks II script as well. I know for a fact that particular dance sequence is indeed there. Otherwise, I guess I'll see if I can't sum it up in a paragraph or two. I don't want it to slow the story down but it's still a relatively important scene in the grand scheme of things so I'd like to give it some attention as well as make it fun and amusing. I'll do my best to "sex up" the descriptions although I don't think "sex up" is exactly the right phrase. No matter how good the dancing is... it's still DDR, haha. Still, doesn't mean the scene shouldn't have a little pizazz. Thanks again, guys.

Quoted from James McClung I'll do my best to "sex up" the descriptions although I don't think "sex up" is exactly the right phrase. No matter how good the dancing is... it's still DDR, haha. Still, doesn't mean the scene shouldn't have a little pizazz. Thanks again, guys.

Cool. Good luck.

I didn't mean to actually add any sexual connotations to the dance, but just use some fancy words and tight sentance structure to make the paragraphs stand out in a crowd of descriptive writing. ie - sexy.


Stew

Gotcha. Still, it just so happens the scene involves the protagonists trying to impress some ladies with their mad DDR skills. Silly, I know. It's supposed to be.

What you'll want to include are the beats that occur within the dance sequence that will show either plot or character. Just like in fights or anything else, there's always something that goes on during the sequence that you can write about or show. Maybe the competitors say something to each other. Maybe there's a crucial dance move and the audience interacts. Maybe one of your competitors glances at a significant other who acknowledges. Could be absolutely anything, but given that this is a crucial scene, some other action is bound to occur simultaneous to this DDR danceoff thing. Be clever with describing the dancing, but don't forget those other beats. The chatter during the battle, as it were.

I mean, seriously, how interesting would that sword battle in the Princess Bride between Cary Elwes and Mandy Patinkin have been without the banter? Fun, but just not the same.

Thanks for the tips, George. Yeah, both dancers have got their friends watching from the sidelines so there'd definitely be some cheering going on and there's some gender and culture clashing going on as well. Aside from the dancing, I'd say there's definitely a lot of conflict going on in this scene. So yeah, I'll chop up the DDR action with some dialogue. At this point, I think it'd be a big mistake not to.