Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo perform a unique dance sequence in Yorgos Lanthimos' new film, "Poor Things."The dance, choreographed by Constanza Macras, is inspired by Portuguese folklore and was shot over 12 hours.Macras told BI the extras in the scene had no dance experience and that one move was created by Stone.

One of the most joyously off-kilter scenes in Yorgos Lanthimos' "Poor Things" starts with a declaration.

"Bella so much to discover," Emma Stone's character Bella says, referring to herself in the third person in broken English.

Bella has been coming of age at a fast clip. The science experiment of Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), Bella is somewhere between a girl and a woman: She has the body of a once-dead woman from Victorian London, but the brain of that woman's unborn child. (Like many things in Lanthimos' films, it's important to just go with it.) The result is a woman who is physically and anatomically an adult, but intellectually is somewhere between a child and an adolescent — as evidenced by her stilted speech and hefty capacity for childlike wonder.

Shortly after her comment during a dinner in Lisbon, a band begins playing dissonant music. Bella bolts to the dancefloor — though her movement is more like a gallop, much to the chagrin of her sometimes-lover, the seedy lawyer Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo).

A spiky, interpretative-dance game of cat-and-mouse ensues, as Bella alternates between reveling in the power of her physicality and rebuffing Wedderburn, who desperately attempts to tame her more outrageous moves and outbursts.

It's mesmerizing, bizarre, and, most importantly, very funny — a signature Lanthimos moment that belongs in the pantheon of the director's best strange and wildly entertaining dance interludes (see: 2009's "Dogtooth" to 2018's "The Favourite").

Below, Business Insider spoke with "Poor Things" choreographer Constanza Macras to break down exactly how the scene came together.

The dance is inspired by Portuguese folklore

Macras, who was born in Buenos Aires and has danced all over the world, watched a dance from a Lanthimos movie long before meeting the filmmaker.

A member of her theatre company, DorkyPark, performed the dance from "Dogtooth" in shows. But it wasn't until Macras finally saw the movie years later that she made the connection.

"I was amazed how precise the performer did the dance," Macras told Business Insider with a laugh.

Then things got more meta. After seeing her work, Lanthimos reached out to Macras and asked her to choreograph the dance sequence in "The Favourite," which became a highlight for its mix of interpretive dance and synchronized moves.

Months before Lanthimos began principal photography on "Poor Things," he called upon Macras again to create a dance number.

"I got the script, actually the full script, and that was very nice because it wasn't just the scene," Macras said. "Reading the whole thing gave it context to imagine what you're doing."

Lanthimos sent her three pieces of music he was considering to use for the scene, all of which had a Portuguese sound, as the scene would be set in Lisbon. So Macras researched Portuguese folklore for inspiration.

"Yorgos said he wanted things to be exact," Macras said. "Like in 'The Favourite,' it was coming up with a dance that was imperial but not actually. So, for this, it was bringing an innocence of Portuguese folklore. This was the base of the Bella and Duncan dance."

Macras then collected a group of her dancers and got to work. She started without the music sent to her, then gradually incorporated it.

After a few weeks, Lanthimos gave his feedback.

"We changed a few things, he took out a few things, the decision was quite fast," she said. "Yorgos is clear about what he likes and doesn't like."

Emma Stone in "Poor Things."




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Emma Stone came up with one of the dance moves

Now, it was time to teach stars Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo.

Two weeks before shooting began, Macras worked with the actors on the scene for two hours each day.

One of Macras' dancers would dance with Stone, and another would dance with Ruffalo. Macras would oversee the dances and give notes when necessary. Then, finally, both Stone and Ruffalo danced together.

Macras said they both learned quickly, but it was clear Ruffalo was the less confident of the two.

"Mark was a bit afraid of dancing at the beginning," she said. "But he worked very hard to get it right and it shows, because the finished dance looks natural."

Meanwhile, Stone was so comfortable that she began adding to the dance.

"Emma suggested that part at the beginning when she gets on the dance floor and starts spinning around," Macras said. "At a certain point, the two began to own the dance, because they had done it so much."

Emma Stone filming the dance scene in "Poor Things."




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None of the extras had dance experience and the scene was shot 60 times over 12 hours

When it was time to shoot the dance, Macras was confident that Stone and Ruffalo would do great. But she wasn't certain about the rest of the performers in the scene.

Macras said none of the people on screen in the dance scene are actual dancers; Lanthimos likes to cast his extras on the look he's searching for, not their dance ability. That meant Macras would have to go through the steps with the extras, too.

In the dance, the extras coupled together do their own dance, but there are moments when the entire dance floor, including Stone and Ruffalo, do a synchronized dance together. Cordinating the extras was one of Macras' biggest challenges.

"My assistant would literally give them the steps during shooting," Macras said. "I gave a name to each step so they knew what happened next. Some things would repeat, some things would not. It was hard to follow. So my assistant would yell out 'Leg!' then 'Chest!' and just repeated and repeated so everyone would be in sync, and it worked."

While the scene is just under two minutes of screen time, Macras said filming it took a full day.

"It took more than 12 hours to shoot," Macras said. "We did it more than 60 times."

The dance has rightfully gone viral

Along with the movie receiving 11 Oscar nominations, the dance has become one of the film's most memorable moments. It's even being imitated on TikTok.

Macras is in shock that it's become so popular.

"I thought it was nice, but not something people would go crazy about," she admitted.

Asked if she'd be interested in producing the dance for the Oscars telecast if asked, Macras said she'd gleefully accept.

"Please, please, please tell them," she proclaimed. "I would love to. That would be great!"