In 2010, writer and director Jon M. Chu brought a new series to the internet. This series was entitled The LXD; The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers.
Jon M. Chu is known for directing amazing dance films such as the Step Up trilogy. LXD is a new project he embarked upon with a new idea. His idea was to create an elite team of amazing dancers (the LXD) who use this power of dance to fight an evil dance group (The Alliance of the Dark). The story is based over hundreds of years.
It’s like an action series, but all the fighting is through dance. How cool is that?!
The idea was new and sounded really cool. He hired some of the best dancers I’ve seen and created an amazing storyline with some awesome moves.
Some relatively well known characters are in the series, including Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike Chang in Glee) who plays the character Elliot Hoo.
I saw The LXD perform at a TED conference online and I immediately fell in love. Some of the moves are mind-blowing- you just sit there thinking, “How do they DO that?!”
One of the best things about the show is the reality of it all. All the dances are real, all the stunts are real, all the settings are real; there were no wires, green screens or CG used. Just real dancers with real talent doing what they do best.
There are so many different styles of dance included in the show, including hip-hop, popping, b-boy, ballet, jazz and tap. Each character has a different story and their personality is shown through the way they dance.
My favourite episodes of Series One are The Tale of Trevor Drift, Duet and Elliot’s Shoes. The dancing in Elliot’s Shoes is unbelievable- so many types of dance are mixed into a few minutes and it’s incredible.
The series is completely web-based and can be bought on iTunes. There are two series so far: The Uprising Begins and Secrets of the Ra. I would highly recommend watching some of it; even if you don’t like the story, the dancing will blow you away.
If you would like more information on The LXD, you can check out their website here.
