#shirbert dance

I initially thought Gilbert pulled Anne out of her line and into his

But after further research (AKA rewatching it over and over) Anne ends up in the same place she was supposed to be, as in the “sweep under” but the lines switch place. The change to the set occurs from Gilbert moving to the side, which forced Rachel’s son to move the the spot between Jane and Diana that Gilbert was meant to have ended up in

Why is this important you may ask? Because Gilbert did not NEED to twirl Anne like that to get her next to him. He could’ve been subtle and simply moved to the side, and passed it off as a mistake. It would’ve had the same effect, he’d have still ended up next to Anne.

So what I’m saying is not only did Gilbert want to dance next to Anne, but he chose to make it obvious to her (and lowkey everyone else) that that was his intention

summer's in the air and baby, heaven's in your eyes i'm your national anthem

“I take you, matched to my intellect, proponent of my happiness, friend of my heart, to be my life mate. Let us dance together as equal partners through the years.”

Just... the incandescent poetry of the fact that, when considering her ideal of a lifelong romantic relationship, Anne explicitly envisaged life as a dance and one’s life mate as one’s partner in said dance.

Just... could this moment for them have come in any better setting than a dance?

And the relevance of the way in which this particular dance was constructed: each pair as part of a larger set, with no ‘leader’, wherein Anne and Gilbert were not directly dancing together the whole time except they always were because they kept their eyes on each other even when they weren’t in contact, they were always absolutely aware of where the other was as they each navigated their way through their own steps and around the other dancers, coming back together every single time. The way they seemed to need to pay no attention to the other’s moves specifically, always trusting the other to meet them exactly where they were supposed to, but payed diligent attention to each other’s faces, expressions, what they’re feeling and the subtle ways in which they can push each other further, better the dance. The fact that the dance isn’t just about them—there are other people they dance with or have to move around, but that absolute unbroken thread of returning to each other. How we got that beautiful shot of Gilbert letting go of Anne’s hand only for the shot immediately after it to be their smiles as they come back together, the temporary separation no shock or hardship because they never lose sight of each other or worry that the other won’t meet them for the next step in the dance.

This dance is a perfect metaphor for everything Anne wants out of her life mate: an equal partnership, not restrictively bound together but each able to follow their own path (through life, through the steps of the dance) with absolute support and trust from the other, always attuned to each other and always coming home to each other, bouncing off each other and the world they exist in together to create something beautiful.

And then the shining loveliness of that one tiny moment where Anne’s supposed to be ducking under the raised arms opposite her, but Gilbert grabs her hand and spins her so she’s next to him. That little moment of bending the rules, not for the purposes of cruelty but in persuit of joy, of living one’s truth—Gilbert’s truth being, in that moment and in life, that he wants Anne beside him. Just that tiny disobedience as an indication of being willing to—wanting to—carve out a little space of their own which is different, which doesn’t follow the rules, which is just their’s within the comparatively ridgid structures of the dance, of Victorian society. Just a little mischief, harmless but bringing so much joy.

Anne & Gilbert

Lover (First Dance Remix) - Taylor Swift

the quickest awfulest imovie edit ever, I intend to go back and add audio etc. but I was too eager to share so here you go 🤦🏻‍♀️

(ngl some lyrical moments are pretty cute :) )

(to be taken down)

#RENEWANNEWITHANE

#SAVE_AWAE

So, I watched this scene again for the 50+th time, and made sure I understood how the dance was supposed to go, since the last time(s) I was much more (totally) focused on Anne and Gilbert. And, yes Gilbert did change the dance to make Anne be in his group, but I’ve seen some people saying that this part could have been improvised by Lucas, what would make sense because of the camera angle and AB realistic reaction. I also noticed that she doesn’t hold his hand but his wrist, what make more visible that it could have been improvised, since it shows it was not rehearsed....but she does take her hand out of Charlie’s and notice how the Dude Lynde quickly changed to the other group as soon as Gilbert took Anne to his side...and if it was improvised, I think the guy would have been a little lost and like, don’t know what to do. So, Lucas must have only improvised the lil spin not the whole thing...I don’t if know anyone came to this conclusion before...