Strictly Ballroom

The glamorous dance floor, the glorious attire, the elegant music and the precise body manoeuvres are just some of the factors which inspired Australian director, Baz Luhrmann to create an absolute flamboyant masterpiece of his own, Strictly Ballroom (1992). The strength to fight for what one believes in becomes evident throughout this film and therefore the heart of the production lives by the line “A life lived in fear is a life half lived”. Strictly Ballroom is an ebulliently comic celebration of dance which invites its audience to take up particular positions and react in a prescribed manner as determined by Luhrmann, who incorporated meaningful film techniques which highlighted the effectiveness of the film through non-verbal signifiers such as camera, lighting and costuming.

Strictly Ballroom uses satirical techniques and hyperbole to depict a spectrum of issues denoting false personalities, self expression, courage and love. The romantic comedy is about Scott Hastings (Paul Mercurio), an elite ballroom dancer who infuriates the ballroom dancing establishment because he refuses to follow the accepted rules of ballroom dancing and creates his own style of choreography. His dancing partner, Liz Holt (Gia Carides), deserts him because his newly made-up dance moves causes them to lose at the Southern Districts Waratah Championship. After very little choice, Scott makes the difficult decision to accept Fran (Tara Morice) as his new partner, a beginner who initially does not seem promising. With Fran’s courage, determination and the strength to overcome her fears, she turns into a glorious dancer, at which point Scott develops a strong love for her. Barry Fife (Bill Hunter), chairman of the Australian Dancing Federation, engages in some shady dealings in an attempt to cling to power and disqualifies them when performing at the Pan-Pacific Grand Prix. However, with the crowd’s support, Scott and Fran persist on dancing the Paso Doble. Scott and Fran dance to the...