The joy of watching movie dance routines across every era in Hollywood

by SIMONE WICHERS-VOSS

Bosque Film Society Founding Board Member

 

As a young girl I did not participate in competitive team sports, choosing to focus on swimming and dance – classical and jazz. In doing so, I competed with myself, pushing myself to a higher standard, and the love of dance stuck. To this day, I enjoy the cheesiest of dance movies and just cannot stay off the dance floor when the band is playing.

So, I am sure to click on social media clips involving dance. And they always make me smile and marvel. Knowing how much practice, blood, sweat and tears it takes, I am always astounded by dancers’ control; their bodies expressing emotion in perfect time with the music.

The other day, I came across this one. It’s fascinating to see all the different dance era’s woven together in an iconic 1980s disco song like “I’m so excited” by the Pointer Sisters. And I had fun trying to guess which movies the scenes were taken from. I’m in awe of the artistry, not to mention to skill, required to edit all those different dance styles together with precise timing.

After enjoying the remarkable dance sequence, be sure to check out the incredibly long list of movies featured in the clip at the end of this post. And no, I did not have to come up with it – was thankfully provided.

Then I came across this next one! A very different editing style, but with the same song.

And another with Ronson’s “Uptown Funk.”

But before I wrote this short introduction, I invariably fell down the rabbit hole of checking out one list after another on movie dance scenes across the decades.

If you want to avoid that, I suggest reading Sarah L. Kaufman’s 2018 piece in the Washington Post. All the clips are added to the article.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/entertainment/best-movie-dance-scenes/

Kaufman starts with “What do dance scenes add to a movie? Unspeakable bliss, for starters. Dancing starts when dialogue fails. When lovers need to move beyond conversation, when conflicts boil past negotiation, when joy can’t be expressed in any other way than by leaping into the air on a trumpeter’s high note.

“With the rise of movie musicals in the early part of the 20th century, dancing moved easily from stage to screen, becoming bigger, more potent, ever more spectacular – and a lasting love affair with the moviegoing public was born. It’s still going on: Witness the mainstream success of “La La Land,” a film in the golden age mold.”

Enjoy!

 

Reveille With Beverly, Sweet Charity, Grease, You’ll Never Get Rich, Greenwich Village, Time Out For Rhythm, Behind The Eight Ball, Alexander’s Ragtime Band, Call Me Mister, Easter Parade, Thoroughly Modern Millie, She’s Back On Broadway, Silk Stockings, Two Girls & A Sailor, Texas Carnival, Take Me Out To The Ball Game, Cabin In The Sky, Down Argentine Way, Stormy Weather, Xanadu, Bye Bye Birdie, Affair In Trinidad, Can Can, White Christmas, Till The Clouds Roll By, Oklahoma, I Dood It, Living In A Big Way, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, At War With The Army, Flashdance, Viva Las Vegas, Honolulu, Rhapsody In Blue, Good News, Flower Drum Song, Just Around The Corner, Give A Girl A Break, Robin And The 7 Hoods, I Love Melvin, West Side Story, It’s Always Fair Weather, Living It Up, Breakin’, Anything Goes, West Point Story, All That Jazz, Hello Dolly, The Girl Next Door, Moon Over Miami, Broadway Rhythm, Meet Me After The Show, Bloodhounds Of Broadway, You Were Never Lovelier, Up In Arms, Two Tickets To Broadway, The Music Man, Guys And Dolls, Hellzapoppin’, Love Happy, The Sky’s The Limit, Two Weeks With Love, Thank Your Lucky Stars, Lady Be Good, The Toast Of New Orleans, The Daughter Of Rosie O’Grady, Show Boat, The Affairs Of Dobie Gillis, Ship Ahoy, Little Miss Broadway, Young Frankenstein, Second Chorus, The Dolly Sisters, Top Hat, Lullaby Of Broadway, Road To Hong Kong, Funny Face, Babes In Arms, Footloose, The Gang’s All Here, Thousands Cheer, For Me & My Gal, Follow The Fleet, My Sister Eileen, Carolina Blues, On An Island With You, Too Many Girls, Sun Valley Serenade, Wonder Man, College Swing, A Date With Judy, State Fair, Three Little Words.