Dust off those dancin’ feet! Let’s face it: real life would be so much better if everyone broke out into spontaneous—and highly choreographed—dance routines at any given moment, but at least we can watch it happen on our screens. Dance movies are basically sports movies, if you do them right. They’re not always musicals, but always showcases for a ton of technical prowess along with intense drama. Rather than enhance character development and storylines through silly old dialogue, it’s way more fun to witness a triumphant pirouette or high-stakes breakdance battle.
As long as the dancing is good, it honestly doesn’t matter. Plot development is icing on the cake, IMHO. Dance movies are often set in highly competitive scenarios, whether it be ballet, ballroom, or the street. And sometimes, they’re just about dancers living their lives while everything else falls apart! So on that note, we’ve crafted a definitive list of some of the best classic dance films, in no particular order.
We’ve got the beloved classics that are also kinda ridiculous (hello, Step Up, Save the Last Dance, and Center Stage!). We’ve got the ~super-serious~ dramas (yes indeed, The White Crow, And Then We Danced). And we’ve got full-on OTT wackiness (oh yea, Black Swan, Birds of Paradise, and Suspiria!). So curl up with a bag of popcorn and watch some very in-shape people dance their hearts out without even breaking a sweat. Win-win!
Birds of Paradise
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File this one under “guilty pleasures.” This kinda ridiculous film is about two ballerinas competing for the top (and maybe falling for each other?) that joins the pantheon of “dark, twisty, sexy” dance movies that make up a lot of this list.
The Greatest Showman
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Let’s be honest—you’ve probs seen this movie. But if you haven’t, and you love dance, OMG are you in for a treat. Just go ahead and ignore the real-life characters and revel in Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Zendaya (!!) and a whole bunch of icons singing and dancing with gorge circus backdrops. It’s so great, it might inspire a musical.
The White Crow
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This biopic is one of the more ~serious~ films on this list: The Soviet-born Rudolf Nureyev, one of the best ballet dancers of all time, decides to defect to the West. It’s gorge and the dancing’s amazing, but it’s also a cool cat-and-mouse Cold War story on top of that.
Climax
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This movie is…intense. A bunch of dancers go to an afterparty and someone spikes their drinks with hallucinogens. What ensues? Dance-fueled-chaos, right this way. So if you love dance and horror films, this is basically your perfect match.
And Then We Danced
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Dance + sexual awakening = this movie. Basically the polar opposite of Climax, this is just about the most gorgeous film ever about dance and romance and being yourself in a world that doesn’t accept you.
Hustlers
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Is there a character introduction in cinematic history that can go toe to toe with J.Lo pole dancing to a Fiona Apple song? I think not. Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu star in this film about strippers who team up to scam finance bros. It’s based on a true story and, I actually haven’t stopped thinking about J.Lo saying “every girl has muscles to do this” since the film was first released in theaters.
Billy Elliot
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The fact that this film inspired a wildly successful Broadway musical should tell you enough. Billy is a little English boy that just wants to do ballet, so get ready to have your heartstrings tugged.
Dirty Dancing
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The be-all and end-all of dance movies, Dirty Dancing, is the story of Frances “Baby” Houseman, who has the time of her life with Johnny Castle, the dance instructor at the resort where her family is spending the summer. The final dance sequence is downright iconic and will make you question why your own partner can’t lift you like that on command.
Center Stage
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This movie has everything: Peter Gallagher’s eyebrows, young Zoë Saldana, Olympic gold medalist Ilia Kulik, and an overly sexual finale number set to Michael Jackson and Jamiroquai. Come for the fantastic ballet dancing, stay for the inspirational message that you should always dance with your heart even when your turnout is bad. Margot Fonteyn didn’t have great feet!
Black Swan
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Opinions vary as to whether or not this movie is actually scary, but this list isn’t about screaming, it’s about dancing—and Black Swan has plenty of dancing. Natalie Portman plays Nina, a young woman desperate to land the lead role in her ballet company’s production of Swan Lake. Throw in an overbearing but hot director, competition in the form of Mila Kunis, and a psychotic mom living vicariously through her daughter, and you’ve got a big ol’ nightmare ballet stew.
Step Up
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Step Up is ostensibly the gritty, semi-ridiculous tale of a young man from the wrong side of the tracks helping a prim ballet dancer add some hip-hop moves to her big audition routine, but it’s really the story of, *SNIFFS*, how Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan fell in love. Four sequels followed, but this one is—without question—the best.
You Got Served
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Street dance battles and a contest where the prize is getting to dance in a Lil’ Kim video—what’s not to love? Special note for Lost fans: Malcolm David “WAAAAALT” Kelley is in this movie.
Strictly Ballroom
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Baz Luhrmann’s debut film is over-the-top, but in the best way. Scott Hastings partners up with Fran, who’s not really his type in either the romance or dance departments and has no last name. Their worlds collide as the prestigious Pan-Pacific Grand Prix Dancing Championship looms, but all Scott wants to do is bust out his own moves. Fran goes through a seamless transformation, Scott’s hair takes on a life of its own, and a cover of “Time After Time” serves as their love song. There’s also someone called Tina Sparkle, who you know is up to no good.
Flashdance
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Alex Owens is a welder by day and burlesque dancer by night who dreams of becoming a professional ballerina. Who hasn’t been there? Also of note is the soundtrack, which features such classics as “Maniac” and “Flashdance…What a Feeling.” The ’80s were truly special.
Girls Just Want to Have Fun
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Before she was Carrie Bradshaw, Sarah Jessica Parker was Janey Glenn, a high school student who dreams of auditioning for her favorite show Dance TV. The movie also stars a young Helen Hunt and Shannen Doherty, and features Robin Antin, aka the woman who founded the Pussycat Dolls.
Footloose
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The 1984 original, not the 2011 remake, because what is Footloose without Kevin Bacon? Exactly. Case closed.
Honey
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Some may say Jessica Alba’s best role is Nancy Callahan in Sin City, but those people are wrong because her best role is Honey Daniels in Honey, the story of a woman who just wants to become a choreographer. Missy Elliott also stars in this one, which is a good enough reason for anyone to watch, tbh.
Save the Last Dance
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No matter what you think about Julia Stiles’ dancing, there’s no denying that this gem is a classic of the genre. Julia plays Sara, who fails her Juilliard ballet audition then moves to Chicago and learns hip-hop dancing. The best part of all this, though, is that her first new friend is Chenille, a teen mother played by Kerry Washington, pre–Olivia Pope.
Saturday Night Fever
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Not everything about this movie ages well, but John Travolta’s dancing is eternal. Can someone please explain why disco isn’t still a thing?
Magic Mike
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Yes, this is technically a dance movie because remember: The Kings of Tampa aren’t strippers, they’re male entertainers. And male entertaining means dancing to “Pony” or, in the case of the whole group, “It’s Raining Men.” Hallelujah.
Magic Mike XXL
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You can’t watch one without the other, okay?!
How She Move
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This underrated gem stars True Blood and Queen Sugar’s Rutina Wesley as Raya, who tries to earn money for school by entering a step competition. The dancing is great, the drama is intense, and if you pay attention, you’ll see The Vampire Diaries’ Nina Dobrev in one of her earliest roles: Tall Girl in Bathroom.
Bring It On
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Haters will say Bring It On is about cheerleading and not dancing. But those people must not have been paying attention, because the whole point of the movie is that cheerleaders don’t get enough credit for their sophisticated choreography and fierce athleticism. Team Clovers forever.
Suspiria
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All you need to know about Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino’s remake of the 1977 Italian psychological thriller is that there are wicked (!) dance sequences, Tilda Swinton, Dakota Johnson, and lots of blood.
La La Land
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Wherever you stand on the Oscars controversy, you can’t help but grin at the sight of Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone prancing their way through a perfectly lit Hollywood. And you know what? This has nothing to do with jazz!
Hairspray
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If the High School Musical movies left you wanting more Zac Efron and his sweet, sweet dance moves, this 2007 remake of John Waters’ Hairspray (which did spawn its own musical of the same name) should satisfy all your needs. And maybe make you love John Travolta, who plays Edna Turnblad, even more.
White Nights
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If you want to watch the film where Helen Mirren fell in love with her husband, director Taylor Hackford, watch White Nights. If you want to melt at the sight of Mikhail Baryshnikov doing ballet way before he became Aleksandr Petrovsky on Sex and the City, watch White Nights.
Fame
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Long before your boys Timothée Chalamet ruled the hallways of New York’s Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School, the school was called the High School of Performing Arts and was essentially a character of its own in the 1980 musical drama Fame (even though the film technically was shot at another school). What happens when a bunch of teens give the whole stardom thing their best shot in dancing, music, and acting onscreen? Two Oscars (Best Original Score and Best Original Song), one Golden Globe (Best Original Song), and a BAFTA (Best Sound) IRL, NBD. (And the theme song that will be stuck in your head for the rest of the week.)
Work It
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We love a good dance competition movie, and this Netflix original is one you definitely don’t want to miss. The star-studded comedy includes Liza Koshy, Sabrina Carpenter, Jordan Fisher, Keiynan Lonsdale, and Michelle Buteau in its cast. And there’s just as much awkward/relatable booty-shaking as there are jaw-dropping moves, which makes it super fun to watch.
Feel the Beat
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April (Sofia Carson) fails to make it big on Broadway—not because she isn’t skilled, but because of her selfish attitude. She then finds herself back in her small hometown, where she starts to explore a different path to success. Now she’s forced to coach a group of young misfits to get her shot at super stardom.
Yeh Ballet
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This movie is based on the real story of Amiruddin Shah and Manish Chauhan. It follows the story of two teen male dancers who went from living underprivileged lives in Mumbai to dancing in a prestigious ballet school in New York City. We see them as they face bigotry and disapproval from the people around them, but they hold onto their dreams of becoming principal ballet dancers.
Bhangra Paa Le
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Bhangra Paa Le shows off the art of traditional dance bhangra—with a modern twist—putting it on the world stage through an international dance competition. It’s a beautiful Bollywood movie!
Dance With Me
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This might just be the most underrated dance movie of all time. Starring Vanessa Williams and Chayanne, it follows the story of a handsome young Cuban who helps bring a fading dance studio back to life—while falling in love with the head instructor.
Moulin Rouge!
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Can-can dancers, Paris, power ballads…what more could you want? This classically tragic love story may have a heartbreaking ending, but at least it’s highly entertaining to watch.
Every Little Step
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Calling all the former theatre kids out there! This documentary follows real-life dancers as they struggle through auditions for the 2006 Broadway revival of A Chorus Line, and yes, it’s just as dramatic as you think it is.
A Chorus Line
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Or, you know, you could just watch A Chorus Line. Yes, this is a movie musical adaptation of a Broadway show and we said we weren’t doing that…but it’s about dancers! It’s one of the definitive stories about dancers, IMO. It also has Michael Douglas.
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights
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Annoy the nearest Star Wars fan by telling them you prefer Diego Luna in Havana Nights to Andor, I friggin’ dare ya. The seq—, errrr, prequel to the original Dirty Dancing doesn’t have the nostalgic following but it does have the moves.
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
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If you recognize the title of this film from a Gilmore Girls episode about a dance marathon gone wrong it won’t surprise you to learn that this movie is about a dance marathon gone wrong. Believe it or not, it gets even more dramatic than Dean versus Jess.
Silver Linings Playbook
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It feels like a lifetime since Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence made this romantic comedy. I almost forgot it was about a dance competition, but there are a lot of rehearsal scenes and one heck of a final performance.
Saturday Church
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This coming-of-age movie is about a teenage boy who gets into the vogue and ballroom scene in New York City. It stars Michaela Jaé Rodriguez and Indya Moore, who later told similar stories in Pose.
Take The Lead
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Antonio Banderas stars as a ballroom dancer who starts teaching at a school where the students are a little more hip. Does he learn as much from them as they do from him? You better believe it!
An American in Paris
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It was later adapted into a stage musical, but the movie was simply a showcase for Gene Kelly and his dancing talents—more so, perhaps, than even Singing in the Rain. It’s about two artist friends who fall in love with the same woman while one is courted by an heiress. With that much drama, you need to dance it out.
Happy Feet
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It’s a dance movie about penguins! They’re dancing!
All That Jazz
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Before he died, the legendary choreographer Bob Fosse wrote and directed his own biopic… basically. He even cast his former mistress, iconic dancer Ann Reinking, to play a fictional version of herself. The dancing in All That Jazz is electric and dark in Fosse’s signature style, but it’s not a musical. It’s a portrait of an artist.
The Full Monty
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Before Mad Max and its sequel made male strippers protagonists, The Full Monty made them heroes. Set in Sheffield, England, it’s about unemployed steelworkers who decide to raise money by starting a striptease act and promising everyone that they’ll go 100 percent nakes, thus showing more than the Chippendales. They gain the respect of the town and some killer moves in the process.
Swing Kids
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You knew Christian Bale could dance because of Newsies. But have you seen him in this movie about the swing dancing scene in Nazi Germany? It’s a cult classic!
Paris is Burning
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This 1990 documentary directed by Jennie Livingston about the vogue, ballroom, and drag scene is required watching. Love RuPaul’s Drag Race? Love Madonna? These are the real dancers that got us where we are today. Learn your history!
Step Up 2: The Streets
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The sequel flips the original film’s narrative. Now the street dancer trying to make it at a prestigious performing arts school is a girl named Andie. The numbers are just as hot as the original and it’s also weirdly a good representation of what 2008 Youtube culture was like. Check it out if you’re feeling nostalgic or whatever.
Step Up 3D
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This is not my favorite of the franchise (to be fair, I haven’t seen Step Up Revolution or Step Up All In) but there’s a REALLY delightful little dance between Moose and Camille. Both the second and third movie were directed by Jon M. Chu and it’s no surprise that he went on to direct such stunning musical numbers in In The Heights.
Burlesque
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It’s Cher. It’s Christina Aguilera. It’s… Cam Gigandet aka James from Twilight? Also Eric Dane, Kristen Bell, Julianne Hough, Dianna Agron, Stanley Tucci, Alan Cumming, and Peter Gallagher? What a ridiculously stacked cast for a ridiculous, but vv fun, movie.
Sweet Charity
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There’s not a lot of plot to this musical, directed by the iconic Bob Fosse. But that sometimes makes for the best dance numbers, don’t you think? Even if you’re not familiar with the musical, I guarantee that you’ve seen at least one of the dances on TikTok.
Chicago
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In 2023, Rob Marshall made fish dance in the live-action remake of Disney’s The Little Mermaid. But in 2003 he won Best Picture for making actual human beings dance in Chicago. Has anything ever been better than Cell Block Tango? I don’t think so. Roxie Hart longs to have moves like Velma Kelly, and honestly? By the end of the movie, she does.
Ballet Shoes
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Shout out to the millennial girlies who were SEATED in 2007 to see Emma Watson play an orphan with a dream in her heart who auditions for a performing arts school with her sisters.
Pina
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This tribute to choreographer Pina Bausch doesn’t really have a plot and it’s not really 100 percent a documentary. It’s just dance. Who could ask for anything more?
Shall We Dance?
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They don’t make romantic movies like this anymore. They just don’t!! Richard Gere plays a guy in the midst of an existential crisis who starts taking ballroom dancing lessons from Jennifer Lopez to shake things up. And you better believe it does.
Top Hat
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We can’t talk about a movie called Shall We Dance without bringing up Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. But instead of watching the 1937 Shall We Dance, check out their most famous collab.
Breakin’
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If I’m being honest, I mostly know this movie because the sequel’s title (Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo) is one of those go-to jokes about silly sequel titles. But the original film, which is unfortunately unavailable to stream at this moment, has some great break dancing and Ice T’s screen debut. SVU would not exist without Breakin’.
Stomp The Yard
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Why do I feel like this movie was pitched as Step Up meets Drumline? Maybe not, because Step Up came out only a year before, but still… it’s a familiar fish out of water story set in the world of collegiate step competition. We love to root for a dancing underdog who applies their raw talent to a strict, structured, and collaborative style!
Tap
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Gregory Hines! Sammy Davis Jr.! Savion Glover! These are tap legends.
Showgirls
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It’s erotic, thrilling, controversial, and has had people arguing over whether it’s brilliant, terrible, empowering, offensive, or just silly and “so bad it’s good” for decades. That kinda means you have to watch it and decide for yourself, right?
Leah Marilla Thomas is an entertainment writer, UNC alum, and former Hasbro Toy Tester (yes, that’s a real thing) who loves The Good Place and Love Island equally. In her alleged spare time, she’s probably either at the theater, in a park, or watching basketball.