Corbin Bleu and Lucas Grabeel shared how that viral clothes swap after ‘I Don’t Dance’ happened
Corbin Bleu and Lucas Grabeel are revealing some behind-the-scenes tidbits about High School Musical 2.
In a recent interview with ETalk, the High School Musical actors opened up about filming the “I Don’t Dance” sequence from the Disney Channel film, notably the viral clothes swap moment between their characters after the number.
In the film, the iconic dance sequence takes place during a baseball game with the Lava Springs staff, when Ryan (Grabeel) challenges Chad (Bleu) to participate in the annual Lava Springs talent show.
‘I Don’t Dance’ scene from High School Musical 2.
Disney+
While discussing the film, Bleu, 35, and Grabeel, 39, addressed the ongoing theories about why their characters swapped clothes, revealing that the outfit swap was actually a suggestion by director Kenny Ortega.
“[He] had the on-the-fly idea at the last minute,” Bleu said. “We already had done a take of that scene and he did his usual [thinking gesture and said] ‘Switch outfits.’”
The pair joked that “I Don’t Dance” already had “so much innuendo, that was just the nail in the coffin.”
Gabreel added that the outfit swap also symbolized that “there’s no good side, there’s no bad side; the theater kids and the jocks can be all on the same team.”
Zac Efron, Corbin Bleu, Vanessa Anne Hudgens, Lucas Grabeel, Chris Warren Jr, Ashley Tisdale High School Musical 2.
The Disney Channel/Kobal/Shutterstock
The High School Musical film series focused on the blossoming love story between star basketball player Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) and math girl Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) as they navigated high school and pushed against the status quo.
Efron, 36, previously revealed in a Netflixinterview with his A Family Affair costar Joey King that the “Bet on It” sequence – another iconic moment from High School Musical 2 – was fully improvised and shot “in three hours.”
“We just had no ideas for what to do on the day,” Efron recalled. “[Kenny Ortega] was like, ‘Dude, we have no concept for this song. What do you want to do?’ I was like, ‘I don’t know, we’re on a golf course.'”
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Efron recalled that “a lot of people got hit in the face” while they filmed the “Get’cha Head in the Game” basketball sequence from the first High School Musical movie.
“Kenny Ortega had pretty big ambitions for this movie,” he said. “But I think he was pleasantly surprised when all the boys were excited to not only fulfill what he wanted but to take it one step further.”
“You can’t predict where a basketball is going,” Efron continued. “[But] I’m still proud of all those guys for doing that ’cause it was hard.”
The High School Musical films are available to stream on Disney+
