Every year, the New York Times Magazine gathers together the best performers from the last 12 months for a series of shorts built around a common theme. This year, everyone danced and the results are glorious.
Headlined by Julia Roberts and Toni Collette, the 2018 edition saw 10 different vignettes directed and choreographed by New York Ballet choreographer Justin Peck. Each minute-long segment features one actor or actress (in the case of Emma Stone/Olivia Colman/Rachel Weisz’s team-up, three of them) playing a character moved to dance while in the middle of an everyday activity.
Read More: The 16 Best Film Performances by Actresses in 2018
Some are mopping floors, some are stuck in a waiting room, and Regina Hall turns the act of getting out of bed into an elaborate wake-up routine. Established favorites like Ethan Hawke and, well, the trio from “The Favourite” are right at home alongside a few 2018 breakout stars, including Elsie Fisher (“Eighth Grade”), Yalitza Aparacio (“Roma”), and Yoo Ah-In (“Burning”).
It’s a worthy addition to the NYT Magazine’s regular feature, which in past years has built its collection of star-centered shorts around horror and kisses. (The latter featured Timothy Spall in a scene where he brought his own clothes to the shoot.) This year’s batch is a pure expression of dance through the prism of everyday life, but it’s also fantastic GIF/meme fodder. (If there aren’t at least 15 tweets by the end of the day mashing up Robyn with Julia’s top hat subway dance, the internet has failed us all.)
Per usual, the visual component of the annual tradition comes with a series of small tributes, penned by NYT writers A.O. Scott and Wesley Morris. (Scott named his Top Films of 2018 earlier this week.) All ten scenes can be viewed on the New York Times Magazine’s official site or as part of the Twitter thread embedded below.
The story of Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma” is animated by the sympathetic and authoritative presence of Yalitza Aparicio, perhaps the screen discovery of 2018: https://t.co/C55Ta7TbeV pic.twitter.com/NAYCc2YRhi
— NYT Magazine (@NYTmag) December 6, 2018