So you've got a choreographed dance. You want to describe it as best as you can, but you need to list every last step, every last turn, every last jump, in order to do so. So what do you do? You do just that. And it is absolutely a balletomane's dream come true.
In visual works, expect a lot of closeups, particularly of the arms and feet, and perhaps even some slow-mo. Written works will most often be very descriptive about the dance being performed, perhaps even down to the last detail.
Can apply to any athletic event that involves a lot of kinesis on the performer's part.
Sub-Trope of Shoot the Money. For similar treatment of other inanimate objects, compare Gun Porn, Food Porn, Costume Porn, Scenery Porn, Car Porn, etc.
Not to be confused with a well-choreographed porn movie.
Examples:
- Princess Tutu shows its work with such bravado, its attention to detail has been used to teach dance appreciation classes.
- Yuri!!! on Ice gives a lot of emphasis on figure skating. It even helps that the Inner Monologue of the performers and the In-Universe sport commentary gave the viewers an idea on what the performance mean to them.
Films — Live-Action
- Black Swan is an example that notoriously makes at least some use of body doubles.
- Bring It On shows a lot of cheerleading, to the point where it more or less averts the Hollywood stereotype.
- The Cutting Edge does this to figure skating.
- The Karate Kid puts on a heavy display of... you know.
- In Staying Alive a large percentage of the screen time was of montages of dance rehearsals, as well as the finale Broadway show. All involved heavily choreographed dancing.
- The Step Up franchise would probably be less than half the length if you took out the dancing scenes. This trope is pretty much the entire reason it exists.
- Fred Astaire loved this trope, to the point where he famously danced from floor to wall to ceiling in a single take in Royal Wedding.
- Tap offers some phenomenal dance sequences by Gregory Hines, Sammy Davis Jr, and a very young Savion Glover.
- White Nights features the legendary Soviet ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov in his prime, and boy does it want you to know it. There's also Gregory Hines, who gets to show off his tap skills. Perhaps its most notable sequence involves Baryshnikov performing a pirouette with eleven revolutions on demand (in street shoes!), then coming to a flawless stop whilst still on relevé before stepping down, in a scene that is so pornographic to ballet nerds it ought to be X-rated.
- Many Jem "music videos" are heavy on the choreography.
- Barbie:
- Barbie and the Rockers: Out of This World features at least one musical number featuring in-depth choreography.
- Barbie in the Nutcracker, Barbie of Swan Lake, Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses, and Barbie in the Pink Shoes include motion-capture dance sequences performed by the New York City Ballet (featuring then-principal dancer Maria Kowroski as Barbie). Special mention has to go to The Twelve Dancing Princesses, which was not based on any existing show. They choreographed an original ballet just for this one Direct to Video Barbie movie from 2006.
