Top 10 Dance Scenes on Film

Dancing ain't just for musicals anymore - and really, it never was. Just as a well-written line, strategic camera angle, or thoughtfully placed score can inspire emotion in a moviegoer, so can an inspired sequence of choreography. Here, in no particular order, are 10 of film's best dance scenes:

10. The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing

("White Christmas")

Okay, "White Christmas" is a musical, and a rather treacly one at that. But in the midst of all the hoke, supremely skilled hoofers Vera-Ellen and Danny Kaye join forces for a glorious al fresco pas de deux. One breathtaking moment finds Vera-Ellen executing a perfect supported turn as her frothy pink frock spins with an almost dreamlike quality. The accompanying song extolls the possibilities of the right moves, and watching Vera-Ellen and Kaye makes even the most hardened cynic a believer.

9. Golden Years ("A Knight's Tale")

Unlike #10, the choreography in this cult-favorite's sequence is far from impressive. It's meant to look improvised, as Heath Ledger's swashbuckling poser struggles to comprise a folk dance of his native land. However, along with a lovely juxtaposition of the old - jewel-toned medieval garb - with the new - David Bowie - is the late Ledger's genuine smile. His triumph and sense of fun reminds the viewer that in dance, joie de vivre comes first, steps come second.

8. Do You Love Me ("Dirty Dancing")

In a film of stunning dance sequences, this scene - in which Jennifer Grey's Baby famously carries a watermelon and stumbles upon the resort staff's hangout - may appear loosey-goosey at first. After all, the movement here is largely composed of gyrating. However, this moment represents Baby's "split second:" one glimpse of the sweaty group breaking all the rules (way closer together than ballroom dictates), and she sees the liberated, empowered person she wants to be. The film hasn't even hit the one-hour mark, yet it's already demonstrated how the right dance can change a life.

7. Three-Way Tango ("Take the Lead")

This 2006 Antonio Banderas inspiring-teacher vehicle may be long forgotten, but the memory of a particular sequence remains. During the film's turning-point dance competition, two of Banderas' students begin a sensual two-step, which quickly becomes two against one as a jealous would-be lover muscles in. Jenna Dewan, the young woman in this number, is a former Janet Jackson backup dancer who went on to star in "Step Up" this same year.

6. Everything Old Is New Again ("All That Jazz")

Most every kid has put on a show for their parents - but it's a little different when your dad is the world's most famous living choreographer. In Bob Fosse's thinly-veiled movie memoir, Joe Gideon's (Roy Scheider) preteen daughter (Erzsebet Foldi) and long-suffering girlfriend (Ann Reinking, Fosse's real-life lover and muse) put a fresh-faced spin on a classic song during a rare night at home. To be sure, "All That Jazz" features several dance sequences that are far more edgy - see the brilliant "Air-otica" number - but this is by far the most relatable and subtle, showcasing the close relationship between the two females that Joe loves, and leaves, the most.

5. You Should Be Dancing ("Saturday Night

Fever")

In the late 1970's, certain moviegoers who may or may not have later given birth to me attended "Saturday Night Fever" multiple times. Watching this scene in the middle of the film, I can certainly understand why. Long before his Quentin Tarantino-revived career lent itself to subpar action flicks, John Travolta was an irresistible mixture of sexual charisma and swinging hips. One of the longest sequences in the film, "You Should Be Dancing" is just as much an endurance test as a disco dance - and Travolta carries it off with energetic aplomb.

4. The Way You Make Me Feel ("Center Stage")

It's often difficult for performers used to the stage to effectively convey their energy and passion to viewers seeing them secondhand on a screen. In this rock-ballet reimagining of Michael Jackson's tribute to want, Ethan Stiefel - who has been termed the best male ballet dancer in today's landscape - presents lithe lust on a platter, with a cocksure yet lovable conviction. At one point executing ten (count 'em!) turns, Stiefel is dancer-as-magician, and he knows how to wow 'em.

3. Barn Raising ("Seven Brides for Seven

Brothers")

This sequence combines spectacle and skill as the titular Pontipee brothers battle it out with their snobby uptown counterparts to raise a barn and woo their dream girls. The scene starts out innocently enough, in a simple partner square dance, but soon escalates into jumps, turns and flips that combined with loose lumber are practically death-defying. Of course, "West Side Story" set the bar for high-stakes dance-offs, but "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" injects a little down-home spunk into the mix.

2. The Music and the Mirror ("Every Little Step")

This documentary about the history of the best-known musical about struggling dancers, paralleled with struggling dancers auditioning for the 2006 revival, has a meta quality that makes it all the more compelling. Quite possibly the most compelling, however, is the "Music and the Mirror" sequence. The finalists for the lead role of Cassie execute complicated footwork along with challenging vocals and Cassie's spoken pleas - juxtaposed with footage of Donna McKechnie in the original cast performing the same number. To be sure, the life of a professional dancer is a short, tough one, with little money or recognition to be gained and many injuries to forever hobble a once smooth step. "A Chorus Line" gets it. The dancers who voluntarily live this insecure, untethered life get it. And as the two remaining Cassie hopefuls recite "all I know how to do is point my toes and leap," the audience really gets it.

(Note: the movie clip is not available online, but please enjoy the original Cassie, Donna McKechnie!)

1. Billie Jean ("This Is It")

Legend has it that the powers that be behind the late Michael Jackson's video "Billie Jean," told him to "just dance." As someone used to executing choreography from age five on, this may have been the most liberating advice Jackson ever heard. In rehearsals for his "This Is It" tour, Jackson appears to be heeding the same advice as he rehearses "Billie Jean:" it's just the man, the music, and the moves as his crew looks on and a legion of fans in cinemas grieve for a lost talent. "You just went to church," tour director Kenny Ortega informs the awestruck young backup dancers. Preach it, MJ.