Busting A Move
For the uninitiated, it can be difficult to understand why people love a cappella. Heck, even for those of us who do actively enjoy it, it can be difficult to put into words why we enjoy this art form so. While we’ll never have a truly comprehensive list of everything cool about a cappella, 200 Reasons to Love A Cappella is our best attempt at assembling a list of what makes it great.
Reason #74: Busting a Move
I’m not sure when the transition came, and purists may curse me for lauding this shift, but there’s a critical point at which a cappella groups transitioned from collections of singers to troupes of stage performers. Some of it’s a matter of emoting or stage presence. Some of it’s transitions and blocking and some of it’s flat out choreography.
No, there is little inherently musical about choreography, and yet movement can make a cappella performance so much more palatable—it bridges a gap between a cappella aficionados and the layperson to give us all the same visual show to understand and engage with. Sure, some groups would be better served to think a little less about dancing, and a little more about their sound, but when it comes to being all-around entertainers, visual presentation is crucial to engaging an audience. Choreography is not only one of the most obvious, but one of the most fun, and potentially most creative ways to go about doing it.
I love it!