Fans all over the world have been trying out their own "Camp Rock" dance moves, inspired by the two movies starring the Jonas Brothers. The Camp Rock phenomenon is going strong!
Why Camp Rock?
The Disney movie Camp Rock was one of the biggest hits ever for Disney. Choreographed by Kishaya Dudley (who also was involved with Michael Jackson's videos, plus Gwen Stefani and other actors), the story revolved around a camp for teens to learn singing, dancing, and other skills necessary for a rock and roll career. Joe Jonas played "Shane Gray", the camp dance teacher, and as such was featured heavily in the dancing. It made a lot of people want to imitate the moves, and when the movie went to DVD it put the tools of imitation in the hands of the fans. The moves created by Kishaya Dudley draw from her background in hip hop, modern, jazz, and even a lot of line dance moves. However, the best thing that she did with her choreographed routines - and, indeed, in the entire movie - was emphasize that the best moves for you come from within, regardless of your training. Being passionate and having fun with your "freestyle" dance moves was more important than getting steps exactly right.
How to Learn Camp Rock Dance Moves
If you'd like to try and learn them yourself, one of the first ways would be to simply get the movies. While there are the "traditional" DVDs, there is an easier way - iTunes has the movie as a download directly to your computer (in fact, it has broken records for downloaded content). This gives portable availability to the entire movie, as well as individual segments. They can be played, reviewed, slowed down, analyzed frame by frame - everything dancers need to learn the moves.
YouTube: Just the Good Parts
Of course, you don't actually even have to get the movie to see the moves. The most popular dance sequences - such as the group dance in the rehearsal hall - are readily available online on sites such as YouTube. In fact, some fans such as SarahsANinja have already taken the segments and slowed them down - to half speed, then quarter speed, sometimes with amusing commentary as the slo-mo sequences turn the dance from the sublime to the ridiculous.
Getting the Corporate Line
Disney is no stranger to the art of publicity, of course - and they have many different resources concerning Camp Rock dance moves available online. You can hear the choreographer Kishaya Dudley, as well as Joe Jonas and other members of the cast, on fan blogs. Appearing on shows like the Insider, they talk about the process of creating and learning the moves, what worked, what didn't, along with giving clips showing the behind-the-scenes footage of the movie (and the sequel, The Final Jam) being created.
Learning from the Source
Even better than fan-generated content and news footage would be learning directly from the cast and choreographer themselves, right? On YouTube, you can watch stars Alyson Stoner and Roshon Fegan take you through the steps to the "Freestyle Jam". Like the movie, they emphasize that the key is not so much exact precision as it is having fun and expressing your own dancing self. If you are very lucky, you might be in a town where choreographer Kishaya Dudley is actually teaching a workshop - she offers them in cities such as Toronto and New York City, teaching along with another Camp Rock star, Jordan "JMan" Francis. While these classes are a bit expensive for the casual dancer, there is no better way to learn to dance just like your favorite characters from Camp Rock!
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