The LXD: Christopher Scott and Harry Shum Jr.

by: Audrey K.
In a Hulu web series, Christopher Scott and Harry Shum Jr., choreographers of the Legion of Extraordinary Dancers, have helped producer Jon Chu create a world of dance that is able to fuse together dance genres making each style accessible, engaging, and visually stimulating to dancers and non-dancers alike.

 

Christopher Scott is an Emmy Award nominated choreographer whose credits include the 82^nd Academy Awards, and several routines on So You Think You Can Dance (seasons 7 and 8). Additionally, he has appeared as a dancer and actor in the Step Up series and The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers. Here is a link to his 2 Emmy nominated dances.

HarryShum Jr. most notably known for his role as Mike Chang in Fox series Glee, has also appeared as a dancer in films such as Stomp the Yard, You Got Served and the last 2 Step Up films.

A short piece created in part by the pair of them:

The LXD: the webseries

The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers is a “unique fusion of dance and transmedia” web series broadcast on Hulu about 2 rival dance groups, The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers (the heroes) and The Alliance of the Dark (the villains) and the Legion of Extraordinary Dancers who discover they have superpowers. The characters who discover their powers must choose which side to take in this battle. Having shot 3 seasons since inception (the first two airing in 2010, and the third airing in Nov 2011), the series incorporates a wide variety of styles including hip-hop, krumping, contemporary, tricking, popping, b-boying, jazz, tap and ballet. As stated in a Los Angeles Times review, the LXD has been able to take dance and “recontextualize [it] for a contemporary audience”. Some of the styles represented are often disjointed when performed separately but through the film-like action score and a fluidity of choreography, a cohesive dance piece is created for every scene and piece. Each episode focuses on a different dancer and in this way is able to incorporate so many varying styles of dance. Some of the characters are developed based on the dancer; this allows the LXD to find the dancers first and structure the story around their specific dance talent.

The truly amazing part of the LXD is that it is shot on location without special effects, green screen, or the use of wires which makes the group transferable live.They’ve performed on the Glee! Live tour, So You Think You Can Dance (season 6), 82^nd Academy Awards. 

A piece that was performed on So You Think You Can Dance:




Additionally, Jon Chu spoke at TED 2010 where he described the LXD as a “living, breathing comic book”:

I think that the LXD could do live performances, however, I believe that they probably come across strongest and most effectively through the lens of a camera. Regardless, Jon Chu, Christopher Scott and Harry Shum Jr. have created a universe unlike any other and have pushed the boundaries in which dance has been consumed. Madd Chad, one of the dancers in the LXD stated in the TED talk, “When I dance, I want people to question the reality of what they’re seeing”. By watching just one episode of the LXD, this is goal is very clear.

The entire web series can be viewed on Hulu or on their website.

Awards:

-       November 2010 – Media Vanguard Award for “Best Original Web Series”

-       January 2011 – Digital Luminary Award in the “Original Web Content” category

-       February 2011 – (Jon Chu) Pioneer Award at the International Digital Emmy Awards

Bibliography:

Bloom, Julie. "It's a Bird! It's a Plane! No, It's a Superdancer!" The New York Times. The New York Times, 25 June 2010. Web. 23 Feb. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/25/arts/dance/25webdance.html?_r=0>.

"LXD." LXD. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013. <http://thelxd.com/>.

Pincus-Roth, Zachary. "'The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers' Is Ready to Battle with Flips, Spins and Dance Steps." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 04 July 2010. Web. 23 Feb. 2013. <http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/04/entertainment/la-ca-extraordinarydancers-20100704/2>.

"The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legion_of_Extraordinary_Dancers>.