When the Staging Emulates the Music Video
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 #135: When the Staging Emulates the Music Video
One of the biggest difference between a cappella now and a cappella fifteen to twenty years ago is that visual presentation is now fundamentally accepted as a part of a cappella performance. Sure, a handful of groups have the stage presence to get away with standing in arch, and others have the magnetism to simply walk the stage and garner all the fanfare that the average Joe would need acrobatics to attain. For the rest of us, there’s choreography.
One of the great pleasures of watching a live a cappella performance is seeing what kinds of choreography a group might come up with, and the effect is especially captivating when groups emulate the actual performer’s mannerisms—better yet, the music video. No, such interpretations aren’t for everyone, for every group, or for every setting. But every now and again you can catch a truly inspired reproduction of the “Single Ladies” dance or the sweet moves of the “Thriller” zombies, and it makes for a truly epic performance.
I love it!