The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers

It was December 3rd, 2009. I remember sitting down to watch another episode of So You Think You Can Dance. My attention had been waning that season, becoming bored of the usual format, and not really becoming interested in any of the dancers or the choreographers. I had not seen the episode the night before, but was curious to see who would be cut. What I didn’t know was that my life was about to be changed forever.

Cat Deeley made her usual dramatic introduction for “our special guest.” I remember not really catching the name of who was about to perform, but figured if I was amused by them, I’d go back later and watch it to find out who they were.

An ensemble of string music began to fill the air, and a single spotlight shone on a man dressed in a suit and a fedora-style hat. I was instantly pulled in by his robotic movements, and how precise he seemed to be. I had never seen a person do that style of dance so well.

As the dance continued, I realized the song was a string quartet version of “Yellow” by Coldplay. Dancers were coming on and off stage, mixing styles of b-boy, breaking, krumping, contemporary, martial arts, and so many more! The styles entwined with each other as the dancers effortlessly and elegantly interacted on stage. Even the moments of extreme power and aggression seemed to flow and ebb with the lyrical music. Within 20 seconds of the piece I was bawling my eyes out.

This group, my friends, is known as The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers, or quite simply The LXD.

The performance on So You Think You Can Dance launched the nationwide interest in The LXD. Previously, many people, including myself, had never even heard of them. I had no idea what they were about, or what they were doing in the world of dance. All I knew was that their performance was so unique, and touched me in such a profound way, that I had to know more.

7 months later, I am an LXD addict.

The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers comes from the mastermind of Jon M. Chu. For dancers and dance fans alike, you may know him as the director of Step Up 2, and the soon-to-be-out film Step Up 3D. You may also know him from the Adam/Chu Dance Crew (aka “ACDC”) which became popular on youtube.com through their battles with the M&M crew (aka Miley Cyrus and Mandi Jiroux). His new concept is what I have to tell you about today.

Imagine for a moment that superheroes existed in society today. Imagine still that these superhero powers were not the typical ones we see in comic books and movies . Imagine even still that the superhero powers that they possessed were those of dance-like proportions. This is the premise for the LXD. It is a web series that defies what most web series have been. Jon Chu has certainly set the standards high for what the future of web-based series will be.

Described as an “online dance adventure”, The LXD is a series that, in true comic book form (which is what they‘re going for!), showcases a battle of good vs. evil. It has only been out for a total of 3 weeks, but it will be premiering it’s next 2 episodes this Wednesday. You’ll want to be catching up.

In every episode, a narrator gives us an overview for what the theme of the day will be. The first episode, entitled “The Tale of Trevor Drift”, explains how there has been a recent uprising and how we must “start in the middle” and learn about each member of The LXD. It seems to be the word that the first season is solely to learn about how each LXD member learned of what their power is, and what they choose to do with it. As of yet, after 3 episodes, it is not clear as to what The LXD actually is, and how it will play a role in these peoples lives.

The choreography is out of this world. The geniuses behind it are Harry Shum Jr. (or you may know him has Mike Chang in Glee) and Christopher Scott. Not only is it intricate and difficult, but it really makes you believe that these characters have super powers. In the episode “Anti Gravity Heroes”, the viewer really will believe that they can defy gravity! In a video posted on Hulu, Travis Wong who plays Jimmy Angel in this episode, talks about how he uses martial arts, dance, and parkour to create the illusion of flying. The best part of it all is that there are NO special effects! Everything you see is the pure talent of the dancers! It also doesn’t hurt that the cinematography is phenomenal. Between the angles they shoot the stunts at, and the perfectly timed slow motion setting on film, it left me in awe. Even the musical score drives the story along. It truly culminates into this beautiful story.

I am always looking for dance that inspires me, and I can find that in the LXD. It’s not what we typically see today. Of course, we have shows like So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing With the Stars, but that’s almost like watching reality tv with a dance theme. The series is not a documentary or a movie. It’s not even a tv show. It’s a web series that features dance, and is brilliantly pushing it out into the mainstream world.

I feel privileged as a dance teacher to be part of that world- to be able to watch a series from the start, and follow it as it grows. It’s making such a splash (I’ve seen more than one non-dancer on my facebook post their videos) that I can’t wait to see where it goes! I always mention it at random moments to my students of all ages, and have even made my boyfriend watch their stuff. While the boyfriend may not be able to fully appreciate it as much as I do, even he has said that the dancing is “pretty cool.” I pass the word on about the LXD as much as I can, because I believe that this is something to watch. I believe it’s the start of the future of dance!

Tune in every Wednesday to check out The LXD. Add them on facebook. Go to their website. Look up their past videos on youtube.com (in particular, check out their participation in TED- you won’t look at dance the same way again!). Join the fan base that is growing on a daily basis!

And on a final note- I have become such an addict that I just named my new fish “Trevor” after my favorite character so far. I think it may be time for an intervention…

Signing out