Torrance Rises (1999) Online

Torrance Rises is a great background to the Fatboy Slim "Praise You" film clip- it really made me appreciate it! Spike Jonze (or should I say Richard Couffey) is hilarious in the way that he is so straight faced throughout the whole thing, and in how far he went with this joke. It's amazing to watch just to see how ignorant some small town americans are. The Torrance Community dancers are oblivious to the fact that they've been duped the whole way through and I'm very appreciative of that fact.

Every once and a while in this world of cynicism and cruelty, a dreamer rises through and brings his courageous message to the masses. "Torrence Rises" chronicles one such occasion. Through sheer determination and a little bit of luck, Richard Koufay leads his dance troupe from small town Torrence, California to the Metropolitain Opera in New York City for the MTV music awards. A former New Yorker himself, Koufay uses the dance skills he learned on the street and blends it with expressive dance to form a beautiful dance but with attitude! After preforming in malls and other venues, Koufay and the Torrence Community Dance Group get the chance of a life time: To preform in the Fatboy Slim video "Praise You". The documentary begins when the group learns of the videos nomination for numerous awards, as well as their invitation to perform on stage at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York.

The movie chronicles the groups preparation for the performance. I was just about in tears when they preform on stage to the applause of the entire audience.

A heart-warming film that gives hope to those in small towns who wish only to escape and do their thing! As Richard says when accepting the award for Best Choreography, "This is for Torrence!"