Dance in Music Videos: Kylie Minogue's Choreographic Breakthrough

An article from artpress examines the limitations of dance in music videos, arguing that most pop stars like Justin Timberlake, Michael Jackson, and Madonna perform a 'mirror dance' that remains frontal and cinematic, failing to transcend the screen. The author contrasts this with Takeshi Kitano's film 'Zatoichi', where a tap-dancing sequence breaks the fourth wall and exposes cinema itself. The true innovation, however, is found in Kylie Minogue's video for 'Come into My World', directed by Michel Gondry. Kylie, not a trained dancer, simply walks through a looped urban landscape, multiplying herself with each pass. This creates a choreography of the loop that shatters the mirror and redefines the music video medium. The article references Jean-Marc Lalanne's concept of formal invention in clips, noting that Gondry's video achieves a literal choreographic nature by abandoning cinematic effects. The piece concludes that dance in music videos can turn the world around, as Kylie's quadruple reflection demonstrates.