I Claim Kate Bush for Dance!

Here’s the Stranger Thing — Kate Bush has the heart of a contemporary dancer.

The anthem for summer 2022 appears to be Running Up That Hill (1985), by Kate Bush, featured in a key sequence in episode four, season four of Stranger Things. Besides introducing her artistry to another generation of listeners, new fans will also be watching her music video featuring a contemporary dance duet performed by Bush and dancer Michael Hervieu. Cast aside by MTV as “too esoteric,” this video gem shows Bush at the height of her dancing prowess and deserves a closer analysis. Kate Bush presents her vision as a dance and she sought out the training to be able to perform it herself, and that makes her a dancer in my book. Take a look:

Bush used her sizeable advance from EMI records to take class with noted UK dancer and teacher Lindsay Kemp, who introduced her to both mime and contemporary dance principles. He had been a student of famed mime Marcel Marceau and directed his own dance company in the 1960s, later staging shows for David Bowie during his Ziggy Stardust days and choreographing work for high-profile dance companies such as Ballet Rambert. Influential dance teachers who helped Bush shape her movement style at this point in her…