FREESTYLE — Dances Moving! Ep. 7

TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF. IT'S THE FINAL EPISODE.

this is where brian david gilbert is:

[lily_lxndr]

i'm reduced to a blubbering mess by a man wiggling his arms around in the air

[CabinBoyProductions]

I feel like Laura Kathryn Gilbert doesn't get enough credit for this, her direction is fantastic in this series. The way the shots get longer and longer as the series goes on, ending with this long unbroken take, it's so good

[TotalElipse]

I know people love to talk about how good Brian was in this series but damn Laura went so hard on the directing. That long hold on Brian alone in the chair...damn.

[MrZombieZealot]

I love that this dance is just for him. He's not doing it for his ex or for the show or for the group, or even for us. He goes around and turns off all the cameras and stands there without a plan and just lets it all out.

[leesmith]

I can honestly say, this is 100% a gesamtkunstwerk. Absolutely beautiful and heart wrenching, thank you for this series

[TheBoomamatic]

This was the last series I expected to deliver a genuine emotional performance from...

[dalmagflare]

I'm so glad Brian found success making videos at Polygon, because he's one of those mad, irrepressible geniuses who either achieves fame doing what he loves or keeps doing what he loves until it kills him.

[shannonmcguffey]

I can't get the phrase "the pious hunter stops stalking prey" out of my head why is this very wiggly boy producing poetry?? Also "peep my crabs, all my peeps is crabs, " but that's slightly different

[McDodgerMan]

The absence of High Knees in the last dance means that the move was created specifically to threaten Declan in ep5 #justicefordeclan

[aloeburned]

This series is fantastic. One element that really stands out is how it resists the urge to resolve things in a fully traditional sense. His problems aren't fixed, all his friends are still gone, he's still away from his partner who he may not even be with at this point in the story but he just goes and it's not fully beautiful or elegant it's clearly him letting out emotions in a way that is so real and raw. Honestly though the song is what makes this, I enjoy the song so much that i dont have it on a playlist on spotify because i only want to experience it when im emotionally prepared too

[mads_in_zero]

I love that in Episodes 1-6, the dances feel really lame and strained.
But the way this final dance shows each individual move, flowing seamlessly... it reveals a whole greater than the sum of its parts. I think that's a really important message about art and life in general. Bravo.

[shiisiln]

I'M NOT CRYING, THERE'S JUST OLD BAY IN MY EYES ;_;

[genuineinterest]

No, listen. This is actually one of the best tellings of a story I've seen in a while. I thought it was going to just be a silly video series that you eventually stopped making cause you got bored and moved on, but I wasn't prepared for the trajectory this was about to take.

Each video slowly had more development and more significance and built up more and more. The partner dancing episode was what really served as the breaking point to the rising action, and it created a point of no return for the story arc.

Part 6 began on an immediate 'something is terribly wrong' note and was the fall of the protagonist into despair as all his friends abandon him, concluding with Declan as the symbol of all he'd taken for granted. This was... the absolutely perfect conclusion to the story, a quiet moment of solitude, a lesson told to oneself rather than a class, a reflection, and a slow re-emergence. You can see how much the protagonist has grown and changed, in the seriousness and emotion with which he performs his final dance, as though finally realising what it means to him, and how each of those classes with his friends taught him something valuable that he carries forward with him. His moment of decision as he gets up from the chair here spurs his rebirth, slow but sure, and the song choice is perfect (it made me cry a little.) As he walks off the dance floor I find myself wondering if he'll ever dance again, or if he's moved forward from that point in his life, but either one makes for a satisfying conclusion. In the end, he moves forward, but he is alone.

Anyway, THAT'S how you use a creative writing degree. Well done, sir.


Edit: iirc i wrote this very late at night in a haze of "omg this is so beautiful and im so tired" so please forgive me for sounding kinda like a 10th grade student pretending to be a literature major and kinda like a pretentious knucklehead

[arwynkim]

i enjoy him giving up on step-touching in 7 after explicitly telling us it only works in 4

[the.fiddlr]

This is the most artistic series i have seen in a long time, there is great story telling here, the passing of the story is great, it is creatively shot and the acting is great. The way it started as just a comedic series roping me into thinking oh this is going to be a series with no greater point other than to make me laugh then dropping that bombshell of inner term oil. And you ending it with a freestyle coming to terms with what happened and bringing back all of the dancing in the beginning really made me realize how meaningful this story was to you. I really did enjoy it and i hope you have a great day, goodbye.

[unnaturallynatural]

The words "I can't quite tell what i'm hoping for" is resonating with me SO so much, going through the motions of life so aimlessly has always been my worst case scenario

[liamolaoghaire]

Damn, the feels. This series was actually so well shot and directed you and your sister have some talent. I hope your channel and brand blow up soon

[nightbirds]

i watched this again after watching the pokerap video and it was a Real Emotional Experience

[renthehag]

Notorious B.D.G. hitting us with the FEELS!

This was great. I loved it. Everything about it. Please do more, this was a treat from silly start to bittersweet finish.

[sallybradshaw]

Intro to Ordinary World: BDG is a dance instructor
Call to Adventure: He feels he should leave Baltimore
Refusal: He doesn't want to leave his friends and girlfriend
Meeting with Mentor: BDG IS the mentor, he has no one to guide him
Crossing Threshold: He leaves Baltimore
Tests, Enemies, Allies: Declan is a nuisance, he struggles with loneliness
Approach Innermost Cave: BDG and his girlfriend break up
Supreme Ordeal: People start leaving the worm dance
Seizing the Sword: Declan finally leaves
Road Back: BDG finds himself alone next practice
Resurrection: He turns on the music and begins to dance alone
Return with Elixir: BDG realizes that he can still dance alone, and he finds self worth and individuality

I accept constructive criticism