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Theres a moment in Greta Gerwigs new film adaptation of Little Women that ignites the screen with as much energy as a fire that sets ablaze a characters dress in the scene prior.

Jo March (Saoirse Ronan) is at a party with Theodore Laurie Laurence (Timothe Chalamet). He asks her to dance. But shes accidentally scorched a part of her dress and doesnt want other guests to see. Laurie takes Jo outside, and they have their own mini-dance party on the front porch bathed in the light of the larger party inside.

They dance in ways that are refined, silly, playful and buoyant all at once. The moment, choreographed by Monica Bill Barnes, has a bit of a punk-rock rebellion quality to it, but also keeps with the time.

I wanted it to feel both totally modern and period accurate, Gerwig said during an interview at The Times.

I didnt want them to be doing dances they wouldnt necessarily know. But I did want it to feel joyful and young, like kids dance.

Gerwig said the idea for this dance came from a Saturday Night Live sketch that features Gilda Radner and Steve Martin, where the two meet in a nightclub and trip the light fantastic.

For our film, we wanted it to be this shimmery moment that feels like maybe it almost didnt even happen, she said.

Original post:
How Little Women Throws a Dance Party - The New York Times