Dance Movies - Dance in the World of Film and Video

If you love watching dance, you will enjoy the following dance movies made especially for film. Some provide dance segments within; sometimes dance dominates the story; and in some cases the plot and dancing share equal importance. No matter the emphasis, each movie discussed here was a hit in its time, is still popular today, and can be readily found on DVD.

∙Beginning in 1933 Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers made ten dance movies, becoming a dancing sensation. Through dancing rather than through dialogue, they express their emotions and the plot advances. These plots are predictable: Fred wooing Ginger, falling in love, then out of love and finally coming together. Each dancers' movement vocabulary manages to be different, growing out of various locations: a golf course, ship's engine room, gazebo, roller rink, ship's deck, gymnasium, and so on.

Their movements look spontaneous arising naturally from the plot. Every detail, however, is carefully crafted and rehearsed. For example Astaire, in the final dance for "Swing Time" (1936), spent hours working out details to set the mood for the passionate expression of love without a word spoken between them. In an empty art disco night club, a rejected Fred walks slowly to the music as Ginger follows. He takes her hand. They begin to step slowly side by side. She walks away; he follows, pulls her back and they fall into a ballroom position that slowly builds to a rapturous dance. After Ginger left the duo, Fred continued dancing in 22 musicals, and in 1949 he received a special academy award "for his unique artistry and his contributions to the technique of musical pictures."

∙Gene Kelly, another strong male dancer and choreographer, burst on the scene in the 40s. He is probably best remembered as the carefree man splashing through puddles, skipping in the streets, climbing a lamppost, while stomping in the rain. Dance critic Peter Wollan claims this to be, "the single most memorable dance number on film." Singin' in the Rain" (1952) placed 10th on the American film Institute's ranking of great dance movies. Not only is the dancing excellent, but also the plot is one of the best in a dance movie. Kelly, the dancer and choreographer, in "An American in Paris" (1951) received a special academy award for his contribution to this movie. The finale, a seventeen-minute ballet dream sequence is unforgettable.

∙Coming out of the 70s dance craze John Travolta strutted into stardom in "Saturday Night Fever" (1977), becoming an instant icon. Travolta portrays 19-year-old,Tony Manero, a frustrated Brooklyn paint-store clerk who transcends the drudgery of his daily life through dance. When he enters the dance floor every Saturday night, he becomes king of disco and dreams of a better life in Manhattan. We long remember the excitement of these trendsetting dances and the BeeGee's soundtrack.

∙Following closely on the heels of "Saturday Night Fever" is another of the popular dance movies, "Dirty Dancing" (1978). The title, a packaging gimmick. doesn't deliver the promised sexually charged dances. The sophisticated choreography impressed the viewer as too professional for a group of hotel workers who dance nightly after work and put on an occasional performance. Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, who play the lovers, are well-known professional dancers. The love plot between these two young people from different social backgrounds has been presented many times and more successfully. It is possible, however, to enjoy the fine dancing for its own sake.

∙In "Flashdance" (1983) 18-year-old Alex (Jennifer Beals) a welder during the day and a flashdancer at night, hopes to study at the Pittsburgh Conservatory of Dance. Her dream seems highly improbable since she has never had a formal ballet class. But she has received encouragement from an elderly former dancer who acts as her mentor. Beals' dances are performed by a French dancer, not acknowledged in the credits. Also the love story with her factory employer fails to convince. Reasons to see the film do exist: two short break dancing segments, the award winning song, What a Feeling, and Jennifer Beals' acting ability.

Strictly Ballroom (1992) a fabulous, offbeat film depicts the insular world of Australian ballroom dancing.All the characters' lives center around the ballroom and the dance studio. Some rather odd and dramatic characters make for a mad-cap comedy. Only the two lovers rise above this madness, Scott and Fran , the ugly duckling. Scott has been trained by his parents (professional ballroom dancers) since childhood to win the Latin section at the Pan Pacific Grand Prix Amateur Championship. The movie appears even more outlandish when the viewer realizes that all the fuss centers on a local event. Conflict arises when Scott wants to perform his own steps and not the prescribed ones. Fran, a beginning dancer, encourages Scott and becomes his partner. If you like quirky films, excellent ballroom dancing and a tender love story, take in this film.

First-rate ballet stories created as dance movies is a rare occurrence. One of such dance movies, The Red Shoes (1948), was by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, respected British filmmakers. Its release created a huge increase in ballet studios throughout the United States. Remembered today as the perfect ballet film, the plot remains convincing and the dance engaging. The center of this balletic masterpiece is dominated by a 17-minute surrealistic dream dance. Based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, the young orphan puts on red shoes that keep her dancing until she dies. This long dance sequence, starring Moira Shearer, is beautifully integrated into two stories. One love story focuses on choosing between a dance career and marriage; the other reveals the creative activity of a major ballet company. The Redshoes issued in 1999 as an early Rank DVD remains a popular choice for all who enjoy ballet.

No one had tried to make a comparable ballet film after The Red Shoes until The Turning Point (1977). The director wanted the film to depict realistic back-stage ballet life. The main story traces the rapid rise of a young dancer Emilia (Leslee Brown a lead dancer with ABT) from Oklahoma. She comes to New York, joins a leading ballet company, gets a lead in a new ballet, and dances with Baryshnikov--all in a few months. The other story focuses on two aging ballet dancers who faced the career/marriage dilemma. For these dancers the decision appeared irrevocable. One woman chose dance the other marriage and a family. The film grips the audience with brilliant, breath-taking ballets. They begin with the La Bayadere entrance under the opening credits and continue throughout. This film won The Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture.

More recent is one of my favorite dance movies and a source of inspiration - Billy Elliott (2001), a British movie set in a 1984 northern English mining town. The story follows an eleven-year-old boy (Jamie Bell) struggling against great odds to become a ballet dancer. Billy Elliott depicts ordinary working people and barely describes the world of ballet dancers. The dancing while not polished, captivates us by its energy and honesty. Billy first dances as the only boy in a ballet class filled with young beginners dressed in white tutus. Later when he tries to show his father his dancing, he fights his way through a long and gutsy sequence full of clog and tap dance steps. I only wish Bell had danced more! (The actor, Jamie Bell, has real dancing as well as acting ability.) The film did win the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture.

∙It is great to see the reemergence of dance movies and musicals with the current success and popularity of the films like "Hairspray," and "Momma Mia." ∙

;The dance sequences and choreography in both films brings dance alive in today's American pop culture...Dance and music are shown to bring people of different ages together in fun, and fine veteran actors, John Travolta and Meryl Streep, cross generational boundaries both within the story and in real life, where teens are buying the movies and soundtracks with great enthusiasm.

Go to Dance Video from Dance Movies

These reviews were put together by Dancer and Teacher extraordinaire, Judy Cobau, in Charleston, SC. Contact us with of your favorite dance movies .... Contact Us about your Favorite Dance Movies