"A hall, a hall! Give room, and foot it, girls"

Realizing the Dance Scene in Romeo and Juliet on Film

Abstract

In Shakespeare's text, the dancing at the Capulets' feast is initiated by Romeo's friends, who enter as masquers and approach the ladies, while Romeo watches from the sidelines. Film directors alter the dance in interesting ways. George Cukor (1936) relies on Renaissance paintings and dance steps to create a "production number" for Juliet. He creates a glittering court masque in which Juliet has the queen's leading role and Romeo the king's prime vantage point. Franco Zeffirelli (1968) includes Romeo in the choreography, and the lovers' initial attraction reaches a dizzying climax in a Moresca enjoyed by everyone in the household. In the most dramatically and psychologically satisfying version, Baz Luhrmann's (1996) film, the lovers independently seek refuge from the drunken party. Later, Juliet must dance with a sweetly dorky Paris while she and Romeo bond over her predicament. The different interpretations demonstrate that dance sequences are under-analyzed sites of directorial creativity. In these three cases, they contribute to the characterization of Juliet, the implied basis of the lovers' mutual attraction, and the theme of their relationship to their social and familial milieu.