Dansegarderoben (2023) User Reviews

Gritty-witty satire on showbusiness - and domestic violence

[feofanova · 8/10 · 26 March 2023]

Loosely based on accounts from actual professional dancers who worked at the popular variety Cirkusrevyen (The Circus Revue) in Copenhagen in the 1970s at a time when sexism was basically 'the name of the game' at most workplaces - and most certainly in showbusiness. And at a time when domestic violence was nothing to make such a fuss about.

The main character is the dancer, Sussie. She lives with her manipulative, self-deceptive husband Robert (A failed dancer - now working as a hairdresser while struggling to live up the expectations of being the family breadwinner) and their baby daughter. Whenever he is wearing his 'wifebeater', it's always a bad sign. When not - he can be extremely charming.

The show's great achievement is the way it manages to balance a serious undertaking of these fairly dark subjects with a humorous satirical take on both real and made-up events that took place at the Revue in the mid-70s.

The grossly underpaid dancers are stuck between personal dreams of a more glamorous life and a management that makes it very clear that the dancers are easy to replace, if they don't show enough skin or make too many demands. Popular actors of the time that were working at the Circus Revue are portrayed fairly nuanced, but the show is not about them.

The feminist movement (sometimes seen protesting right outside the venue) as well as charismatic men from various left wing protest groups are often shown as a bunch of pretentious or downright selfish show-offs.

Loved it

[channellius · 10/10 · 22 March 2024]

This series really impressed me. It centres around women who join the Circus Revue (a kind of seasonal form of live comedy and dance entertainment) as dancers, and tells their stories in a masterful way.

I feel like this show really speaks about challenges women faced in a past era, but in a fresh way. There is humour, but it doesn't feel forced. Almost all the characters feel real, with motivations of their own, and there are very few 2-dimensional-feeling side characters, just perhaps some of the protestors in the latter part of the show.

I like that this show invites you to make a quick instant judgement about each of the women, but then shows more depth to their characters as you go on. Some of the chorus girls I thought would be painful and annoying, I definitely really liked by the end, which I didn't expect. The women have flaws, but they are figuring things out and growing. It was empowering and really interesting. This is a series that shows different women's journeys and challenges in subtle ways, with the Circus Revue as the crossroads in their lives.

I also really enjoyed the dances that were featured in this show. They're not just dances for the sake of having a dance, but they also speak to the story of the characters performing them. It is an artistic move by the writers/directors that could've cheapened the drama of the show, but is in fact pulled off very well.