The Conqueror of the Dance Floor

Ever since I was 5 years old, I've been a huge fan of John Travolta. If I didn't feel like watching a Disney movie when I was litte, then I would usually choose either Grease or Look Who's Talking? to watch. I just love John Travolta. He's probably my second favorite male actor+dancer combo, Patrick Swayze being #1.

So last night, while I was watching Wild Hogs, a scene inspired me to write about him.

For those who don't know, John Travolta is quite a dancer. He's probably most famous for his dancing in Saturday Night Fever and Grease. However, I noticed that in most of the movies he has starred in, he has had at least one dance scene.

In Grease, the big moment was "You're the One that I Want" at the end of the movie when Travolta and Olivia Newton-John performed however; I think Travolta's biggest dance scene would be during the school dance, when he dances with Cha Cha, gaining the whole schools attention. Here's a link to it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQWGxA54AoE&feature=related

I've already discussed the line dancing disco Travolta does in Saturday Night Fever but here's a link to that too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-m9ZP_tTtLc

In Look Who's Talking Too? Travolta does an Elvis Presley impersonation through his dancing. It's a really fun scene to watch. It's cool to see how Travolta interprets Elvis' moves and mimics them. That scene can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYHCW8RMu_g&feature=related

In Michael, Travolta's dancing turns him into a ladies man. The dancing in this scene kind of reminds me of the dancing you'd see in one of those Coyote Ugly bars, but that's irrelevant. It seems like a in-the-moment kind of dance when Travolta is alone, very improvised. Anyways, here's that scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SivKzsZOf_o

Pulp Fiction is a rather random movie for there to be a dance scene in. I wouldn't have expected it and give kudos to the writers for finding a place to put a dance scene in. In this scene, Travolta and Uma Thurman perform in a dance competition, doing their own rendition of the Twist and adding some of their own fun moves to it. Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLZl6R7JGCc

Finally, the scene that started it all for this blog post. In class, we talked about how it isn't uncommon for people of the same gender to dance together. I don't think it's strange at all. I dance with my friends all the time. John Travolta has taught me that dancing with someone of the same gender can make a dance easier to learn. There's less tension and awkwardness that way, or at least that's how it is with me. In Wild Hogs, Travolta's character "teaches" William Macy's character how to dance so he can impress a girl. The dance being taught is the Lindy. It can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvkpFeLlhX4

I just thought that it was interesting how John Travolta alway seems to have a dance in many of his movies. It's kind of like his trademark. I also think it's cool how many of his dances seem kind of old-fashioned, with the Twist, the Lindy, disco...It was an entertaining subject to do research on.