BL Drama Lovers Club

10 Dance - Review

I sat and watched this movie today - the first day of my holiday. It makes for a good watch. There are some things I want to talk about.

The cinematography and production are awesome. The script, in my view, is wonderfully written. It allows for a myriad of discussions.

Firstly, I do not consider this a romance story. There is a great deal of love here, but I think what that love is directed at is where you will find the romance. In my opinion the love here is really the love of dance and not necessarily romantic feelings between two human beings. The connection that sparked between Suzuki and Sugiki merely served as a vessel for a deep rooted expression of dance. 

Within the first thirty minutes of the movie I thought they were not meant to be. They were complete opposites in every way possible. It is often said that opposites attract, but this movie had me confronting that notion. Is it that it is just a scientific phenomenon that has been overly extended to human relationships? An amazing dichotomy is created on screen through the individual dance forms performed. 

Suzuki performs dances from Latin America which are dances that carry the spirit of freedom, independence movements, cultural retention, resistance, and unbridled pride and passion. These dances go against forced structures and deconstruct social ideology. They are similar to many Caribbean dances, some even a blend. Latin American dances are a fusion of African traditional rhythms and beats, indigenous rituals, and European classical dance. This fusion occurred due to the historical process of colonisation. These dances were methods of cultural resistance, retention, revival, and national identity in the face of colonial oppression. They invoke a spirit of freedom, fight, and survival, hence they go against the European standardised structure of classical dance (there is a whole historical discussion to be had on these dances and their connection to nationalist movements, but that would take me away from the discussion to be had here on 10 Dance). These characteristics shaped Suzuki into the passionate man he is. 

On the other hand the dances practised by Sugiki and that shaped him, are rigid in structure and depend on restrictions to wild passion to produce perfection. Sugiki, like these dances, is rigid and perfectionist. These characteristics become so burdensome that they suck the love and life out of him, hence when he first saw Suzuki dance he saw something that he never allowed himself to have - free passion - passion that is not continuously refined to produce perfectionist art. He became attracted to that fire in Suzuki, and in my opinion, in trying to capture that fire subconsciously was pouring water on it.

The train kiss is very symbolic of the entire story. That kiss was ignited by the friction between both that was being produced in the studio during the practices. They kissed passionately on the train, but in the end they both got off at different stops. Another moment of symbolism is where Suzuki narrated the coincidence that when HM Queen Elizabeth II was eating coronation chicken, Fidel Castro was staging a revolution. This comparison juxtaposes Suzuki and Sugiki instantly; eating coronation chicken at a royal banquet paints vivid pictures of strict etiquette, discipline, and refined entertainment (the waltz), while a revolution speaks of rebellion against an establishment - a structure. Not to go off on a tangent, but the similarity can be made that Castro won that revolution through guerrilla warfare and not disciplined military style combat, which mirrors how colonialists  would have seen early forms of Latin American dances as "uncivilised".

I think there is a discussion to be had about whether or not Sugiki is even sexually attracted to Suzuki at all or is it that he is conflating his craving for passion and love in dance with sexual attraction when he is only attracted to Suzuki's dance spirit? On the other hand we see how the strong expression of eroticism comes out Suzuki's dances and it is possible that it ignited a sexual attraction in Sugiki, but because of his socialisation within strict discipline he could not bring himself to dance in the unbridled flames. In the almost NC scene Sugiki almost caved, but in the end he felt like he could not give in. As to why, is where this entire discussion must stem from.

There are other thoughts I have, but I honestly do not have it in me to type right now. I wish there was a voice-note option right now lol 

Anyway, 8/10

 dora:

I would add Revenged Love, To My Shore (ongoing), Kill to Love, the Journey to Killing You, Love in the Air (maybe), My Personal Weatherman, KinnPorsche, Love Mechanics, Together with You, Only Friends, Addicted Heroin (Thai version), The Heart Killers, Kidnap, 4 Minutes, Secret Relationships, My Stubborn, The Bangkok Boy, Eye Contact, My Sweet Brother-in-Law (Vietnamese—not on MDL), Trapped in Osaka, Long Time No See, Depth of Field, HIStory3: Trapped, Double Exposure (movie), Lover Merman, Theory of Love, The Wicked Game, Until We Drown, Tide of Love, Burnout Syndrome (ongoing)

i included having a girlfriend while sleeping with a guy as toxic

sorry I didn’t include links. It’s too many, but I’d love to see your list when it’s updated!

Hey, thanks so much for this! Really appreciate it.

Kidnap, The Heart Killers, Addicted Heroin, Wicked Game, Unforgotten Night - I don't think they're toxic as there's no forced or overly possessive/jealous traits? Or I might've remembered incorrectly.

4 Minutes, Secret Relationships, HIStory3: Trapped - can you share why this is toxic? I have forgotten most of the story lol

 LueurArcane:

i didnt make a list but there is few ones you didnt include like ABO Desire , The End of the World with You ,Addicted ,Only Friends , Big Dragon  , Love in the Air ,Secret Lover ,  Unforgotten Night ,  Love Mechanics  for now this is what i remember but there is probably more

Unforgotten Night - I don't think they're toxic as there's no forced or overly possessive/jealous traits? Or I might've remembered incorrectly.

For Love in the Air, is it with the first story? The toxic part I can remember was with the second story's trauma

I have added the others and had added a definition of what I meant by toxic too. 

Thanks so much for the recos, really appreciate it!

 RXinw:

10 Dance - Review

Lots of great points thank u!! I really like how this drama has us thinking & talking, well maybe not me as much, lol, but I'm totally gaining new perspectives from everyone's posts.  🫶🏼

 dora:

Omg I just watched this whole interview. I thought I would get bored but I really enjoyed it. Thanks for posting.

I'm so glad!!

 jazme:

The Heart Killers

Maybe it's borderline? Would being killers be toxic? Or Dunk's role where he actually was forcing his company on Joong's character to win the bet? Or the toxic "Mother" turning them into killer machines? I'm just thinking out loud. I prob have the wrong idea of what toxic is. 😆

 jazme:

how come the subtitles i can see are still just japanese huhuhu :'(

I'm not sure how it works for you, but I just click on the CC icon and the English subs come up. 

 Indie Art Girl:

I'm not sure how it works for you, but I just click on the CC icon and the English subs come up. 

https://snipboard.io/3W9inb.jpg this is how it's shown to me huhuhu

 Indie Art Girl:

Maybe it's borderline? Would being killers be toxic? Or Dunk's role where he actually was forcing his company on Joong's character to win the bet?

This is what I added as the description of toxic on my list

Toxic BL romance, whether series or movies. Toxic defined as:

• overly jealous or possessive protagonist
• abusive protagonist (to his partner)

 jazme:

https://snipboard.io/3W9inb.jpg this is how it's shown to me huhuhu

This is what I added as the description of toxic on my list

Toxic BL romance, whether series or movies. Toxic defined as:

• overly jealous or possessive protagonist
• abusive protagonist (to his partner)

So what about lying, manipulation, using each other, committing crimes that could blowback on partner?

for the 10Dance interview I don’t get an option for English subs. I clicked the settings icon, language, auto-translate. Sometimes I had to pause because the subs went by quickly, but they were pretty good for auto-translate.

 jazme:

Toxic BL romance, whether series or movies. Toxic defined as:

overly jealous or possessive protagonist
abusive protagonist (to his partner)

Oh ok! Never mind my comment then, lol. 😂

 jazme:

https://snipboard.io/3W9inb.jpg this is how it's shown to me huhuhu

Hmmm, it looks like you aren't given a choice to change, unless there's smth under options. I've had that on a few Japanese vids as well, but not this time. Strange! 

We have very different settings menu. Here's mine along with the subtitle.

@RX 

I liked your review of 10Dance. I don’t agree 100% but you made some interesting points, especially about the history reflected in the different dance styles.

 Indie Art Girl:

I prob have the wrong idea of what toxic is.

As with quite a few of our criteria, challenge questions, etc., I think the term can mean different things to different people - and that's fine with me, so long as we're all enjoying the group and feeling that this group enhances our enjoyment of the BLs that we watch. In fact, the differing interpretations can even make our discussions more interesting. 

+++

And speaking of challenge questions ...

BL Challenge Day 21: Favourite returning ship/couple in 2025

Those who answered a ship/couple yesterday rather than an actor are already a step ahead!

I forget who mentioned Boss/Noeul yesterday, but I was a bit shocked that "LITA" was so long ago. It feels like yesterday. Anyways, that's certainly one of my nominations. Even though "Boy Next World" was quite flawed, their acting performances (individual and together) were perfect.

Same for Zee/Nunew: Hard to believe that "Cutie Pie" was more than three years ago. (When everything feels like "just yesterday", this is a sure indication that one is getting old!) Since 2022, they (especially Nunew) have grown so much as actors.

Off/Gun is another couple that can really deliver (especially Gun) - but "The Trainee" was just last year. I've not yet started "Burnout Syndrome", but my expectations are very high.

Hmm ... I could go on, but I think I'll go with Pond/Phuwin, who likewise always deliver. I'm lovin' "Me and Thee" - which (not counting "We Are" = ensemble cast) is their first dedicated BL since the superb "Never Let Me Go" (2022) and the delightful "Fish Upon The Sky" (2021). So glad they're back!