Summon Backup Dancers: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:
Whenever it's time for a musical number, the lead dancer and singer (whether hero or villain) can usually pull any [[Innocent Bystander
Some leads can go a step further. Rather than make do with whoever is nearby, or go solo if there's no one else around, they can Summon Backup Dancers from out of sight, bringing a battalion of ballerinas to dance at their side. To make this more impressive, they'll usually be summoned directly from the [[Alternate Universe|Universe]] of [[Costume Tropes|Wardrobe and Costuming]] after having been fitted in perfectly appropriate attire for the song in question.
This trope isn't ''usually'' a magical spell that can summon dancers like a [[A Wizard Did It|wizard]] can [[Mons|summon monsters]] (though in a wacky enough series, it may well explicitly be one), more often it's an [[Musical World Hypotheses|implicit rule of the cosmos]]. Anyone who goes into a musical number will get accompaniment, even if it requires the [[Spontaneous Generation]] of said dancers from hard vacuum. Other times, it can be humorously [[Justified Trope|Justified]] by the lead in question training friends, allies or [[Mook|subordinates]] beforehand and instructing them to hide out of sight and march out on cue for their big song.
If this ''is'' a magical ability of some type, the backup dancers may help out by [[Dance Battler|dance battling]] alongside the summoner.
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* In ''[[Shrek]] 2'', the Fairy Godmother enchanted Fiona's furniture to sing along with her about giving Fiona a makeover.
* Giselle's Disney-Princess magic in ''[[Enchanted]]'' turns the jaded denizens of New York into her backup chorus, leaving her stodgy love-interest baffled that everyone seems to know the same song. "I've never heard this song!"
* In ''[[The Mask (
* Just like in the series, Matthew Patel summons his demon hipster chicks in ''[[Scott Pilgrim vs. the World]]''.
* In [[North]] during the Texas song a group of back up singers and dancers appear out of nowhere, this is justified {{spoiler|It was [[All Just a Dream]]}}.
* In [[Leprechaun]] In The Hood the Leprechaun uses his powers to make the people in a night club sing and dance for him.
* Happen's during [[Madhuri Dixit|Janki's]] [[
* Simon Zealotes explicitly does this in the 1973 version of ''[[Jesus Christ Superstar]]''.
== Live Action TV ==
* Nicely played with in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'''s [[Musical Episode]], "Once More With Feeling", as Buffy's confronting, via a musical number, the demon responsible for the whole mess...
{{quote|
(Anya and Tara take [[Incredibly Lame Pun|backup dancer positions]] and join in) }}
** Played straight earlier when Tara is singing her love song to Willow "Under Your Spell". While dancing through the park she passes near two other girls resting by the pond who are compelled to rise to their feet and start dancing behind her.
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== Videogames ==
* ''[[
* In ''[[Ratchet and Clank Up Your Arsenal]]'', evil robot pop diva Courtney Gears does this during her boss battle.
* In ''[[Guild Wars]]'', the collector edition of the expansion ''Factions'' comes with a bonus that, among other things, gives Ritualist and Assassin characters ghostly backup dancers with the /dance command.
* In [[Dragon Quest IX]], the ultimate Luminary skill, [[Shout
* A spell in ''[[Kingdom of Loathing]]'' called "Raise Backup Dancer" lets you [[Exactly What It Says
* In [[The Nightmare Before Christmas:
* ''[[Space Channel 5]]'' has any hostages you rescue join you in dance.
* In most ''[[Kirby]]'' platformers, Kirby clones himself and performs a [[Happy Dance]].
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== Web Comics ==
* There was a ''[[Sinfest]]'' strip where Slick and Co. tried to face off against a G-Man in a dance-battle - but when they were done, he just snapped his fingers to summon two other, similarly-dressed guys to act as his backup-dancers for a modified rendition of [
== Web Original ==
* ''[[Ink City]]'': When [[Animaniacs
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** Backup dancers sometimes appear if Doofenshirmitz tells Perry this week's [[Backstory]] in song; he explicitly hired them at least twice. The trope is sometimes justified only by [[Rule of Cool|Rule Of]] [[MST3K Mantra|Don't Be So Pedantic, It's A Cartoon]], such as when Baljeet sings about his fear a bad grade if he fails to make a portal to Mars - he summons not just backup dancers, but scenery and elephants too!
* An episode of ''[[The Boondocks]]'' shows us Tom pining over Sara after she throws him out of the house. He then breaks into an Usher-style love song in the middle of the street, complete with back-up dancers who appear to be just neighborhood guys in their robes and pajamas. They perform perfectly until they are almost hit by a car.
* The Music Meister's superpower in ''[[Batman:
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Musical Number Index]]
[[Category:Music Tropes]]
[[Category:
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