The letter

Apply It Up - the first new Shake It Up episode to air in 2012 - mixes my personal favorite angle of the show (serious introspection) with a little bit of irreverence...

And some people will always mistake the irreverence as what the series is all about.  I'm not one of those folks, a good thing as it gives me a chance to look at the week-to-week progression the characters experience as they basically grow up with the show.

So many different themes return here: the surface-level of the CeCe/Rocky dynamic being thrown for a loop (as it has been on previous occasions)...the overcoming of personal adversity...adults not necessarily being the mature ones...and a new revelation about Rocky.

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I mentioned above that the parental characters are not always portrayed as great role models for the gals (and for that matter, for anyone), even if they are gainfully employed and are often shown trying hard to make ends meet.

We've seen this play out with CeCe's mom over and over: she wasn't altruistic throughout much of Jingle It Up (as she tried, with little subtlety, to make sure she received EXACTLY the gift she demanded from CeCe) and her behavior in Up Up And Away wasn't as motherly as it would appear at first, as she seemed way more interested in letting Gunther and Tinka act as selfish as possible to further her own vindictiveness.  To some extent other than in Add It Up, it's hard to tell what Mrs. Jones really wants, except to keep Flynn and CeCe in line.

Apply It Up has a similar dynamic going on for Rocky's parents - the last time they played a central role was in Doctor It Up, the first appearance of her father and his proclivity towards practicality, in wanting his daughter to follow in his footsteps (until proven otherwise by the performance CeCe, Rocky, and Ty choreographed at the hospital).

Okay, that's established, right?

It's fair that they let Rocky know she can't afford Chicago Fine Arts...throughout the series both the Blue and Jones families (and their friends) are given a very urban, middle-class-but-not-by-much atmosphere.

So why did he and his wife basically tell her they bragged about it to their coworkers?  I don't know why that bugs me so much, maybe it is just the idea that they knew they would never be able to pay for it...yet wanted to use their daughter's success to show off to the (unseen) colleagues they have, even though they knew all along at that dinner at Crusty's that they were going to disappoint her.

Sure, they relented after Doctor It Up and realized their daughter was an artiste and not a worker bee...but to what degree did they truly let that sink in?  For them to tell her she couldn't attempt to work part-time to pay for school...they know how determined Rocky is to work to be the best at anything she accomplishes, once she's in the mode of trying to accomplish it.  Wouldn't they have figured she would have tried to actually make part-time employment work, as opposed to CeCe's futile moments at the mall in Jingle It Up?

Seems the message they sent is, "Hey, go chase your dreams...if we think we can pay for it.  otherwise, well...um...I dunno."

Not encouraging.

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After Rocky and CeCe's scheme to get her a scholarship (by claiming at the admissions office Rocky only had one parent) backfired badly, their final scene in Apply It Up is at the windowsill, where Rocky is relegated to the outside (due to her parents disallowing her from "ever" entering CeCe's apartment again, a regulation that probably will fade away at some point later in the season)...

To me it's the culmination of the repeated disappointments that Rocky experiences here.  Not disappointments in the same vein as Show It Up, where her competitive desire and ego are tested, or even Wild It Up, where she intentionally goes rogue at school to try to prove a point to her peers.

Here...it's about opportunities missed, and thus it's important to describe those very avenues...

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After Rocky finds out on set that CeCe has applied for both of them to try out at Chicago Fine Arts, she immediately demonstrates resistance, complaining that CeCe's "trying to commit online fraud on my behalf," but the concept of a fine arts academy eventually wins her over - even if she tries not to admit she was inspired by her less-intellectual compatriot.

As the audition process evolves, and Rocky starts to see what opportunities attending would bring...her enthusiasm and determination increase, reaching its absolute peak in the "Something to Dance For" segment.  I don't think it's coincidental that a Zendaya solo tune would be chosen here, given how much this episode brings a new shade to who Rocky really is.

The lyrics convey so much of what Rocky (and CeCe) both understand about themselves, while the adults around them - not just their parents, but the arrogant Gary Wilde on Shake It Up Chicago and the school's director - are too busy distracted to care about or notice:

A dream like this, is not something you wish for
A dream like this, is not something you ask for
When it's a gift worth taking a chance for
Then this is something you dance for


Just like the end of Glitz It Up, CeCe's rather perceptive about where her friend really is, book-smartness and achievement hunger aside.  In the aforementioned episode (as expounded by me here) she catches Rocky imitating the catwalk reenactment that CeCe herself had been lightly rebuked over seconds previously...

Here, after Rocky lights up over the possibility Chicago Fine Arts could fast-track her to an Ivy League school, CeCe comments, "So what you're telling me is...you want this just as much as I do."

Rocky stops being dismissive and plays it off for laughs, asking CeCe to try to get her to pull her leg over her head (as they had seen another candidate pull off).  Compared to the beginning of the episode...this is a major leap for her, to finally let her guard down and go after her goal.

I think of the moment in Reunion It Up in the flashforward daydreams of both Rocky and CeCe...that recurring theme of them needing each other to be motivated to achieve what they want.  CeCe's observation isn't so much Rocky being dependent on her friend to gain inspiration, but rather CeCe realizing that Rocky herself was at that same juncture, as they both awaited the grind of the audition environment.

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After the "Something to Dance For" sequence, both Rocky and CeCe get sent off into one-on-one interviews with the dance director...

from the previews before the episode aired, to when I finally saw it, I kept thinking "A Chorus Line."

For those who weren't around in the 70s or 80s...that musical is probably my favorite of all time, all centered around vignettes in an interview/monologue/singing format.  Audition prospects revealed their motivations, their characters, their insecurities during their portions of the show, and its unconventional, ensemble-driven approach made it at the time the longest-running musical on Broadway.

It's a much edgier production than anything Disney could ever produce, due to theater's older audience, but the introspection inherent to the concept can be seen in smaller scale in Apply It Up.

With CeCe, two portions of her interview stand out:

- Her self-description before she's even been asked a question.  In some ways that's the most like A Chorus Line that the scenes ever get...the introduction, the awkwardness, the fumbling for words.  Even her cheesy gimmick of pretending she's being called on her cell phone...there's a sense that she's so used to trying to scheme through things (and eventually would do so to try to save Rocky's shot at attending, later in the episode) that being herself at its fullest is much more difficult.

- When she finally opens up and states, "The dance floor is the one place I get to be a genius," that moment is both rewarding and yet so incredibly vulnerable.  It's not teary-eyed like Start It Up's "I go around thinking I'm cool" or Add It Up's "Because people can be mean" lines are...but Bella's tight-lipped delivery sells how humbling that admission is for CeCe.

It's not so much that CeCe was pretending to be anything else...but just as much as it was difficult for her to admit her dyslexia to Rocky...getting to the core of her real strengths (dance) in comparison to the rest of her life (not exactly an academic wunderkind) still required a degree of self-awareness and clarity that her start-of-interview goofiness lacked.

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Where CeCe's interview bolsters elements we've already known about her persona, Rocky's is illuminating, and in some ways contrasts with the expectations placed on her character.

Yeah, she's a hard-studying overachiever who can't stand it when she's not in first place...at least that's what we've been led to think for some time.

I'd say the first time that that front was broken down was Break It Up, where her injury and subsequent surgery forced her to realize how much her pursuit of achievement and success on its own wasn't enough to sustain her dream.  For all the (continued) talk about grades and milestones...and for her sass having to deal with the uncomfortable stretcher...certainly the potential cost of her injury cut out plenty of pretenses.

Rocky's initial interview phase, where she could not help but define herself almost entirely based on her connection to CeCe...it's somewhat surprising.  When she's at CeCe's house later on, trying to figure out ways to deal with the high tuition, she suggested she couldn't aim for better grades (to try to impress her parents), for "as we all know, [higher grades than what she already has -] that's impossible."

Yet when grilled, Rocky never calls herself a "great student" (which she is) or talks up her Shake It Up Chicago experience  (For that matter, CeCe doesn't mention her time on the show either.)  Instead, she's...CeCe's best friend and dance partner, earning the retort "I want to hear...who is Rocky."

For someone who earlier this season (Shrink It Up) couldn't stand having CeCe "dragging her into things" and "making all the decisions for her," she suddenly seems a little bit at a loss for words.

Once Rocky finally spills a yarn about her own life, we discover, finally, maybe why she usually pushes so hard to chase accolades and grades...as she describes how dance freed her from the awkwardness of being taller than everyone else at her age, and how often folks would comment on that.

Really, is that all that different from CeCe's response?  It's simple to categorize the Shake It Up leads based on their contrasting traits, but both have a combination of intense brashness and desperation...and in their energy and drive, seem a little bit on the fringe.

Rocky definitely wants to reach her goals...but sometimes those goals need to be spelled out first, whether via the concrete scoring of a report card, the arrogance and hubris of the school's director, or the frivolous dreaming of her best friend.  Maybe it doesn't even matter what those incentives are...but that for her, they're an escape from a reality of not fitting in, and from a home life where creativity isn't appreciated.

If Wild It Up after all is the only time that we do see Rocky demonstrate an ability to gather "friends" outside her small circle...then it's not surprising that dance is her outlet, and regardless of grades and others' approval, it's that pioneering spirit that's her something to dance for.

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Rocky's initial reaction to receiving a smaller mailing than CeCe speaks volumes: for someone as smart as she is, to tear the letter apart before opening it hints at an impulsiveness she actually shares with her comrade, something she tries to suppress with her academic skills, only for it to reappear when faced with real stress and the starkness of uncertainty.

In that direction, it's interesting that even knowing how unsuccessful most of CeCe's schemes are...once the scholarship issue came up, she was more than willing to go along with the low-percentage strategy her friend offered.

- Looking once more at the final scene Rocky and CeCe share in Apply It Up...CeCe gets sheepish about losing her acceptance and scholarship, initially deflecting it by expressing her lack of desire to attend without Rocky...but surely she knew going into their plan (given how often she gets in trouble at school) that this was a last-ditch effort at best.

Is she a little too embarrassed to let Rocky have the opportunity to be grateful for that sacrifice? (Kinda like Rocky's own inability to directly acknowledge early on that CeCe's idea to have them apply to Chicago Fine Arts WAS a great idea.)  Sure, it wasn't the smartest choice, but given their bond and their ability to relate that others haven't figured out...maybe it really was the only decision she allowed herself to have.

CeCe never once entertained the idea of going to Chicago Fine Arts on her own.  The episode doesn't highlight that enough but her actions, her thought process...I never got the impression even once that that could have been a possibility for her.

Bella certainly understands that about her character, and appropriately retweeted this exact observation from a fan.

- As Rocky closes out her conversation by noting that she's "banned" permanently from CeCe's residence and grounded for two months for her stunt, I can't help but ask...for all of Rocky's aversions to getting in trouble, flashing back to "Shrink It Up," she obviously has learned over the years that her friend's willing to take risks to make things happen...and she ultimately is responsible for bringing herself along with those crazy directions CeCe goes in.  Given that (and her actions in "Wild It Up,") does Rocky REALLY fear trouble and disapproval, or has she been conditioned into doing so, by her strict parents?

- If Rocky's parents had no intention of trying to pay for the school, then what was her getting grounded for all about?  Yeah, it's not like "trying to falsify forms" is a good thing, but is that worth two months of restrictions, or is that them going overboard?  It's almost more about "proving a point" rather than getting to the reason WHY Rocky ended up playing along with CeCe's flawed ploy.

The parental characters aren't well-developed enough to really figure out too much about them, but I find it interesting that prior to Doctor It Up, Rocky's mom never mentioned to Rocky's dad that their kid was on local TV in the Windy City.  The show's chronological speed isn't apparent, but working on the assumption that each episode represents about a week's or two time...that's plenty of weeks of appearances on Shake It Up Chicago that the family somehow hid from her dad.

Was her interest in dance something that was well-cloaked behind the report card talk?  Except it seems Rocky's mom was aware enough throughout that time period.

It's definitely another instance where that mom and dad simply did not see the forest for the trees.  Knowing Rocky's history, did her parents really think their flat "no" would get her to give up, or to avoid attempting something left-field CeCe would suggest?  As soon as they didn't even give her the avenue of trying to get a job to pay for tuition, the seeds were set for the kids' desperation move.

- Doctor It Up basically established Rocky's father as so busy with traveling around and working that it's rare for him to be at home.  So it makes sense Rocky could get away with even visiting CeCe at all after the grounding...

Yet it also shows how much the gals really rely on each other for moral support, and by extension...Rocky's parents' brief understanding of such.  I'm reminded of Gunther and Tinka's parents in Valahootsit It Up complimenting CeCe and Rocky for showing up for dinner considering how peculiar the exchange students are, though the dynamic is different here.

If Rocky's parents really never wanted her to interact with CeCe again, they probably could've made that happen, and Rocky's tendency towards seeking approval might be piqued...but that didn't happen.

To me the friendship atmosphere in the series serves as a reaction to the kids' home environments: they have each other because only they realize a dream isn't something you ask for.

Bella once commented - I can't find the link at the moment - that part of her strong connection with Zendaya occurs from the mere fact they're the only two who can understand the experience of being chosen as THE leads in Shake It Up, from obscurity to stardom in such a short period of time, through all the tapings, appearances, and interviews.

(Both Bella and Zendaya visited that exact concept early on in this Good Morning America interview from December.)

On a smaller scale, CeCe and Rocky demonstrated that in Apply It Up.

Glamour profession

I don't know if it's the luck of the draw or just my own way of watching SIU, but I don't think I've ever seen the entirety of Glitz It Up...

Yet I always seem to be in the right place to catch my favorite part of that episode, which actually is one of my very favorite moments in the series so far: the "CeCe wins the 2005 Little Cutie Queen Pageant" scene.  If anything, those final 55 seconds reveal so much more about CeCe and Rocky - and the show itself - than a simple closing gag would suggest initially.

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First things first...assuming the show is set in the present day...the pageant CeCe attempts to reenact would've been half-a-decade in the past by the time that scene occurs!  Very easy to look at it and say, "It's just a natural reaction to being snubbed by her protege a minute or two ago," and that's one rather straightforward interpretation.

But in the wake of getting on Shake It Up Chicago with your best friend?  Interesting that that memory of 2005 still lingers on...I can totally relate to that, but in this case the longing for that past experience seems a little out of place by high school.

Then again, when Flynn compares Tinka's competitiveness to that of hir sister during the Break It Up, we get a little bit of an answer...that there's always a competitive fire for Ms. Jones no matter how long ago those opportunities came to mind.

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Rocky's interjection to the platform and to wearing the same accessories CeCe donned...those moments represent so much more than simple cleverness.

To me they capture the essence of the character: Rocky's the book-smart girl yes, and the one who on the surface aspires to life beyond dance (at least that's how CeCe perceives her in her Reunion It Up flashforward)...but really, in her heart, loves recognition and success in any form.

CeCe may have been way more blatant about it all day long.  Her best friend though wants those same things...success, recognition, achievement.  All the talk about grades and "helping others out" sometimes seems targeted towards the same ends...particularly Rocky's desperation to be liked by the grumpy retiree in Give It Up.

That leads to a concluding thought...

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In Reunion It Up, CeCe and Rocky each comment during their flashforward scenes how their respective compatriot needs to be there to "push [themselves] to be the best they could be."  They also seem to think in their horrified future perceptions though...that their respective counterpart has accomplished so much on her own in comparison, leaving only CeCe or Rocky alone to realize what could've been.

Maybe it's something that they more easily see in each other than in themselves...or at least that's the case most of the time, except in some serious contemplation (i.e. Start It Up and Add It Up, where CeCe has to be reassured by Rocky that she is both strong and extremely capable).

For all the silliness of Glitz It Up's ending...it conveys succinctly how much both gals want to be considered successful in their endeavors, in methods that are only divergent in form rather than motivation.  Through the excitement of this exercise of assigning themselves first place...the yearning heart of this series once again reveals itself, a mixture of determination and self-realization, of never being quite sure where or how to get to the top, but wanting the validation of achievement.

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An addendum:

CeCe's "BUSTED!" yell at Rocky as she catches the latter in her own reenactment walk...is reminiscent of the brashness she shows at the start of Break It Up, where she amusingly cuts off Rocky's attempts to explain the origins of summer holiday.

In that brief call-out, we find out two things:

- CeCe totally gets that Rocky is way more like herself than she would care to admit
- Even if her own logic is flawed, CeCe can see through Rocky's attempts to deflect that comparison via her intellect.