marcespot:

inevitably-johnlocked:

gosherlocked:

( Martha Graham about dancing)

Let me come back to TSoT. I know, it is painful but there are some thoughts I would like to share. Much has been said about the symbolism of dancing in this episode and I would like to take a closer look.

What is the meaning of dancing in the individual scenes and how does it symbolise Sherlock’s emotional development?

Mrs Hudson discovers Sherlock dancing alone to the waltz he has composed for John and Mary. 

MRS HUDSON: You were dancing.
SHERLOCK: I was road-testing.

He deflects. He feels caught in the act which has been foreshadowed by Lestrade repeatedly using these very words in the Waters gang story. And the fact that he deflects proves that Sherlock allowed himself to dream of dancing with John even before we learn that he gave John lessons. And what is also important: he is dancing a waltz which is meant to be danced by two people, not alone. 

Then there is the scene with Janine. He teaches her how to waltz (like he did with John) and confesses that he loves dancing. This is something he has not even told Mrs Hudson, else she would not have been so surprised. So we have Sherlock who wants to dance with Janine even though she is just a substitute for John – now as a dance partner, later on in HLV as his love interest. But there ist more. 

SHERLOCK: I love dancing. I’ve always loved it.

And then he does a pirouette, an element of classical ballet usually executed alone. There has never been any mention of Sherlock and ballet dancing so I suppose it is something he did in the past ⇒ “I’ve always loved it”. He loved to dance alone in the past and now wants to dance with another person. Dancing alone is a thing of the past for him. He has realised that he would prefer to dance with a partner, in this case Janine as a stand-in for John. 

(As a little extra, here is the ballet scene from TPLoSH: X in which male ballet dancers are presented as gay and bi. Would anyone put it past Moftiss to play with this association?)

Sorry in advance to put you through this again, but after deflection and confession there is of course sacrifice.

SHERLOCK: Both of you, now, go dance. We can’t just stand here. People will wonder what we’re talking about.
JOHN: Right.
MARY: And what about you?

I have no idea if this is another dig at Sherlock or true compassion, but it boils down to this: clever Mary feels that something is off. This is not how such things are supposed to go, weddings, pregnancy announcements, etc. Because of his sadness Sherlock has become the spectre at the feast (no need for Mycroft here). And Sherlock’s sacrifice (not dancing/being with John) is paired with John’s rejection:

JOHN: Well, we can’t all three dance. There are limits!

Followed by the horrible “closed curtains” remark. But there is also hope if we take John’s “We can’t all three dance” not just as a rejection but also as foreshadowing. 

There will be no crime-solving trio, there will be no happy family plus uncle in series 4. Because in this show only two can dance and we know who these will ultimately be. 

Keep reading

Lovely ❤

What a nice post this is, @gosherlocked! Thanks for sharing your insight!

Also, to add onto the clues we have about ‘Sherlock + dancing’ in the past, remember how Moriarty taunted him, using the kidnapped old lady’s voice: “I like… to watch you… dance.”

And Sherlock GETS it, because at the pool, when he brings the memory stick for Moriarty, he tells him: “All your little puzzles, making me dance… all
to distract me from this.”

So this, imo, tells me that Moriarty knows

about a young Sherlock who used to dance. And Sherlock is aware of that, therefore his little quip there. Maybe this was among the things from Sherlock’s ‘life story’ that Mycroft ‘blabbed about’, or maybe because young Moriarty had seen him with his own eyes (…and that’s when Moriarty developed a crush on/started stalking him?). I favour the latter, because in TGG they took pains to tell us how this dates back to the Carl Powers case, and how that was young Moriarty’s first murder, and young Sherlock’s first case (”Started young, didn’t you?”). And they even made John be jealous of that fact for good measure. So, there’s that.

Even Mycroft inside the flight of the dead, when he calls Sherlock on deducing that e-mail and telling him that this was ‘text book’, says: “Give him a puzzle… and watch him dance.” And he moves his umbrella dramatically pointing it at Sherlock for emphasis.

So my bet is Sherlock danced most likely ballet, and of course, flawlessly. 😉 That’s my headcanon. I mean, look at that pirouette! ❤