First published on Tumblr on 12 May 2023 as part of Kate and Anthony Week 2023
We see Kate and Anthony dance three times in Season 2, and each dance tells us a little of their story.
Please note this is based on my thoughts when watching the dances, and does not reference the intent of the choreography, which may be different to my interpretation.
Dance 1: Hearts and Flowers Ball. During the first 90 seconds of this dance there is no dialogue, this combined with their continual eye contact, and the choreography of coming together and moving away makes this one of the most intense dance sequences I have seen. For me this shows Kate and Anthony where they are at in their relationship at this point, they are drawn to each other naturally, but they keep pulling away, then they get very close, before pulling away again. Once the dialogue begins it seems to break Kate and Anthony, and the viewers, out of the spell that they were in during that first 90 seconds, and though the dialogue is about Edwina, it reveals Kate to Anthony as well. Whilst discussing Edwina, and her happiness, Anthony asks Kate if she wants him to reconsider his intent, and Kate responds with 'it does not matter what I want', Anthony has a look of hurt almost on his face as she says this, he realises that Kate does not believe she matters, and he feels that loneliness and hurt that Kate does. Whilst we did not get long monologues of these two getting to know each other, I think in these moments the amazing acting of Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley helped communicate more about their characters than any big speech could, and in turn Anthony and Kate learn about each other. I just want to end on this dance with the note that when Anthony hears that Kate is returning to India his face, and body language, reveals a similar panic that we saw in him when Kate was stung by the bee, it wasn't as intense, but he certainly displayed a mild panic. To me this shows that even if he wasn't acknowledging it yet, Anthony knew that Kate was the one for him and the one that balanced his anxiety and stress, and kept him calm.
Dance 2: Harmony Ball. This dance was a lot more joyous than the first dance, and being a country dance we got to see Kate and Anthony dance, and interact, with others. Right at the beginning of the dance we see Kate look at Anthony with a softness we haven't seen before, she is charmed by him including Hyacinth, and you can see that she is falling in love (if she isn't already in love with him), and she knows that she is. This is a lighthearted country dance where we see Anthony dance with Hyacinth, Lady Danbury and Kate, and we see Kate dance with Colin, Violet, and then of course Anthony. What we see with Anthony and Kate is a lightness and a joy that we haven't seen before, we see that they take genuine joy in each other, and even at the end when they were reluctant to let go of each other's hands showed that they really didn't want the dance to be over, and they didn't want to leave each other's presence, but their bodies were facing from each other at this point, showing that even though they were happy to be with each other they still weren't at a point to completely let go of what was holding them back, especially for Kate. This dance represents what I hope to see more of in Season 3 with Kate and Anthony. One final note, this dance also showed very much how Kate is a Bridgerton, she fits in with the family, and she is part of it.
Dance 3: Wrecking Ball Dance. This dance is, I think, their most beautiful dance, it lacks the intenseness of their first dance and the joy of their second dance, but it is full of love. Both Kate and Anthony think this is the last time they will see each other, and dance together, and at this point they have both fully given into their own feelings for each other. As the other dancers begin to leave the floor and Kate asks Anthony if he wants to stop, he responds with the lines 'keep looking at me' and 'no-one else matters', this second part is a call back to both Kate and Anthony in separate scenes (episode 4 & episode 5) both saying a variation on the theme 'I don't matter'. Anthony is telling Kate that she matters, and he matters, he is acknowledging that what they want matters and that they can have it. And we can't mention this dance without mentioning the move at the end, as their hands lowered, Kate's iconic eyebrow scrunch, but more so the longing that they both have for each other, they truly seemed to forget everyone else, and were completely in tune with each other.
A note on the dances, I said at the beginning that each dance told a little of their story, and the progression of the dances does this. In the first dance they were moving away from each other before coming together, but often they weren't facing each other for much of the dance, but in different directions or occasionally in the same direction whilst not looking at each other, thus showing that they were more combative with each other, whilst drawn to each other. In the second dance there were equal moments where they were either side by side, or facing each other, and whilst happy they still hadn't fully given in to either their feelings, or the idea they could have what they wanted, but they were getting there. In this dance they were happy in each other's presence, but as the dance symbolised, it was the beginning of them moving forward since part of the dance had them not facing each other, but side by side. In the final dance, with the slight exception of a few turns, they were facing each other for the duration of the dance. This represents them coming together, finally accepting their feelings for each other, and them remaining on the dance floor shows they are now living for themselves and what makes them happy. The final move in the dance (mentioned above), had them close and sharing their breath, this fits in with previous moments of them getting close and sharing breath. Whilst I am sure it was not a reason for Bridgerton to include this aspect for Kate and Anthony, in some cultures around the world the sharing of the breath is seen as something spiritual, sharing the breath of life. In Bridgerton it is a call back to both Violet in episode three where she said Edmund was the air she breathed, and to Anthony in episode 7 where he told Kate she was all he could breathe for, they are what gives each other life, and this is symbolised in this move where they share the breath with each other.
