In this essay, I explore the relationship between dance, choreography, violence and torture, particularly in relation to the television show So You Think You Can Dance. I argue that the act of choreography can sometimes be thought of as a violent encroachment on the body, and consider how torture and abjection are concepts useful to unpacking this power dynamic, particularly when dealing with torture as mediatized visual pleasure. I end with a short analysis of torture in Luca Guadagnino’s 2018 remake of Suspiria.