‘In the Heights,’ Where the Streets Explode With Dance

The movie’s choreographic team, led by Christopher Scott, gets raw and real with dancers — so many! — who give in to thrilling perpetual motion.

“The streets were made of music,” Usnavi, the hero of “In the Heights.” says to a group of children near the start of the movie. His description of Washington Heights may be true, but it tells only a part of the story: In this film, the streets are paved with dance. The most invigorating ingredient in this movie is its ardent, joyful commitment to bodies in perpetual motion. It doesn’t matter if they’re dancing or just moving through those streets. “In the Heights” is a dance film in which movement, as it passes down from one generation to the next, represents the pulse and velocity of a neighborhood. Whether it’s mambo on 2 — a New York style, in which dancers break forward and back on the second beat of the measure — or just a simple walk, how does rhythm radiate out of the body? Where does a step find its bounce?