Dancers Digest - dance-themed or featuring notable dances.
by Elaine_Hope | created - 04 Apr 2023 | updated - 5 months ago | PublicDance-themed movies or movies that feature dancing, putting a smile on my face. I hope they do the same for you too.
I am the original owner of the Dancers Digest, founded in 1992. I lost my business, and the website along with it, when I became terminally ill. So I am staying happy vicariously by watching other people dancing while trying to gain back my websites.
I am not diligent with updating my IMDb lists. Please don't forget to follow, bookmark, and check back every now and then. Also, please share this list with someone who might enjoy it.
The list is in chronological order. If you follow my lists and want to watch the latest additions, please sort the list by "Date added."
Enjoy!
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1. Shall We Dance (1937)
Approved | 109 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A ballet dancer and a showgirl fake a marriage for publicity purposes, then fall in love.
Director: Mark Sandrich | Stars: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore
Votes: 7,856
2. West Side Story (1961)
Approved | 153 min | Crime, Drama, Musical
Two youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy.
Directors: Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise | Stars: Natalie Wood, George Chakiris, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn
Votes: 121,224 | Gross: $43.66M
The movie that got me interested in musicals.
3. Saturday Night Fever (1977)
R | 118 min | Drama, Music
Anxious about his future after high school, a 19-year-old Italian-American from Brooklyn tries to escape the harsh reality of his bleak family life by dominating the dance floor at the local disco.
Director: John Badham | Stars: John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gorney, Barry Miller, Joseph Cali
Votes: 87,538 | Gross: $94.21M
If you dance Hustle and Disco, this is a must-watch.
4. Flashdance (1983)
R | 95 min | Drama, Music, Romance
An 18-year-old female amateur dancer who performs nightly at a dancing bar, and works as a welder during the day, dreams of joining the Pittsburgh ballet school.
Director: Adrian Lyne | Stars: Jennifer Beals, Michael Nouri, Lilia Skala, Sunny Johnson
Votes: 59,572 | Gross: $94.90M
Did you know that this movie was banned in many countries in the 80's?
5. Footloose (1984)
PG | 107 min | Drama, Music, Romance
A city teenager moves to a small town where rock music and dancing have been banned, and his rebellious spirit shakes up the populace.
Director: Herbert Ross | Stars: Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, John Lithgow, Dianne Wiest
Votes: 92,368 | Gross: $80.04M
6. Dirty Dancing (I) (1987)
PG-13 | 100 min | Drama, Music, Romance
Spending the summer at a Catskills resort with her family, Frances "Baby" Houseman falls in love with the camp's dance instructor, Johnny Castle.
Director: Emile Ardolino | Stars: Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, Jerry Orbach, Cynthia Rhodes
Votes: 256,508 | Gross: $0.62M
According to my Mother, this was very much based on true circumstances.
7. Strictly Ballroom (1992)
PG | 94 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A maverick dancer risks his career by performing an unusual routine and sets out to succeed with a new partner.
Director: Baz Luhrmann | Stars: Paul Mercurio, Tara Morice, Bill Hunter, Pat Thomson
Votes: 29,412 | Gross: $11.74M
You have to watch the Paso Double in this movie. OMG.
8. Scent of a Woman (1992)
R | 156 min | Drama
A prep school student needing money agrees to "babysit" a blind man, but the job is not at all what he anticipated.
Director: Martin Brest | Stars: Al Pacino, Chris O'Donnell, James Rebhorn, Gabrielle Anwar
Votes: 329,011 | Gross: $63.90M
The movie was good, and the Tango scene was so cute and sexy.
9. Shall We Dance? (1996)
PG | 136 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A successful but unhappy Japanese accountant finds the missing passion in his life when he begins to secretly take ballroom dance lessons.
Director: Masayuki Suô | Stars: Koji Yakusho, Tamiyo Kusakari, Naoto Takenaka, Eri Watanabe
Votes: 11,737 | Gross: $9.68M
Japanese.
This original movie, later remade by the Hollywood, resonates with many, especially when you understand the subtle cultural nuances that can be found across the Eastern culture.
10. The Full Monty (1997)
R | 91 min | Comedy, Drama
Six unemployed steel workers form a male striptease act. The women cheer them on to go for "the full monty" - total nudity.
Director: Peter Cattaneo | Stars: Robert Carlyle, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Addy, Wim Snape
Votes: 114,134 | Gross: $45.95M
Not really a dance movie, but yeah, I had to include it. Crude but happy movie!
11. Lord of the Dance (1997 Video)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary, Music
Since its premiere, Lord of the Dance has been captivating audiences and critics around the globe and has grossed over one billion dollars worldwide. Now fans will have a once in a lifetime... See full summary »
Director: David Mallet | Stars: Michael Flatley, Bernadette Flynn, Daire Nolan, Gillian Norris
Votes: 941
The one and only Michael Flatley's Riverdance: Lord of the Dance. He dazzled the audience with his production and put Irish dancing on the map.
12. The Tango Lesson (1997)
PG | 100 min | Drama, Music, Romance
A scriptwriter comes to Paris to work on her film. There she takes up tango lessons and forms a relationship with the dancer.
Director: Sally Potter | Stars: Sally Potter, Pablo Verón, Morgane Maugran, Géraldine Maillet
Votes: 2,470 | Gross: $1.30M
This movie makes my heart flutter. Beautifully emotional dances that tell the story.
13. Dance with Me (1998)
PG | 126 min | Drama, Music, Romance
Rafael Infante (Chayanne) comes to Houston from Cuba to work at John Burnett's (Kris Kristofferson's) dance studio. He meets Ruby Sinclair (Vanessa Williams), a cute dance instructor there. Chemistry? Will John know he's Rafael's dad?
Director: Randa Haines | Stars: Vanessa Williams, Chayanne, Kris Kristofferson, Joan Plowright
Votes: 6,880 | Gross: $15.81M
Good ol' days. Would you believe if I said I knew almost every dancer in this film?
14. Tango (1998)
PG-13 | 115 min | Drama, Musical
Mario Suarez is a forty-something tango artist, whose wife Laura has left him. He leaves his apartment and starts preparing a film about tango.
Director: Carlos Saura | Stars: Miguel Ángel Solá, Cecilia Narova, Mía Maestro, Juan Carlos Copes
Votes: 3,070 | Gross: $1.69M
What a delight! I can watch this film hundred times more.
15. Billy Elliot (2000)
R | 110 min | Drama, Music
A talented young boy becomes torn between his unexpected love of dance and the disintegration of his family.
Director: Stephen Daldry | Stars: Jamie Bell, Julie Walters, Jean Heywood, Jamie Draven
Votes: 142,857 | Gross: $22.00M
16. Chicago (2002)
PG-13 | 113 min | Comedy, Crime, Musical
Two death-row murderesses develop a fierce rivalry while competing for publicity, celebrity, and a sleazy lawyer's attention.
Director: Rob Marshall | Stars: Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Taye Diggs
Votes: 243,419 | Gross: $170.69M
Broadway turned a film.
17. Shall We Dance? (2004)
PG-13 | 106 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A romantic comedy where a bored, overworked Estate Lawyer, upon first sight of a beautiful instructor, signs up for ballroom dancing lessons.
Director: Peter Chelsom | Stars: Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci
Votes: 49,601 | Gross: $57.89M
US version of the original Shall We Dance (1996, Japan). The ending was a bit weird.
18. Mad Hot Ballroom (2005)
PG | 105 min | Documentary, Family, Music
The students of several New York City elementary schools learn ballroom dancing and compete in a city wide dance competition.
Director: Marilyn Agrelo | Stars: Heather Berman, Emma Therese Biegacki, Eva Carrozza, Evangelina Carrozzo
Votes: 3,552 | Gross: $8.12M
19. Stomp the Yard (2007)
PG-13 | 115 min | Drama, Music, Romance
When his brother is murdered, a street dancer moves to Georgia to work his way through college. He joins a fraternity's step dancing team for a competition. Will he also get an education and the girl?
Director: Sylvain White | Stars: Columbus Short, Meagan Good, Ne-Yo, Darrin Dewitt Henson
Votes: 26,448 | Gross: $61.36M
20. The LXD: The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers (2010–2012)
Not Rated | 85 min | Action, Adventure, Music
Chronicles the journey of seemingly ordinary people who discover they have extraordinary powers and must choose their place in an epic war between good and evil.
Stars: Roger Aaron Brown, Chadd Smith, Terence Dickson, Straphanio 'Shonnie' Solomon
Votes: 798
21. The LXD: The Uprising Begins (2010)
Not Rated | 80 min | Action, Adventure, Music
Join seemingly ordinary people who discover they have extraordinary powers in a groundbreaking mythology about hope, greed, love and the force that moves us all.
Directors: Jon M. Chu, Ryan Landels, Charles Oliver | Stars: Luis Rosado, Wilbur Urbina, Alize Albuquerque, Daniel 'Cloud' Campos
Votes: 155
22. The LXD: The Secrets of the Ra (2011)
Not Rated | 105 min | Action, Adventure, Music
True heroes reveal themselves as forces of good and evil go head-to-head towards an explosive showdown. This season, dance goes evil.
Directors: Jon M. Chu, Ryan Landels, Scott Speer | Stars: Dondraico 'Draico' Johnson, Josue Antonio, Mykal Bean, Stephen Boss
Votes: 227
23. The LXD: Rise of the Drifts (2011)
Not Rated | 84 min | Action, Adventure, Music
Every adventure has a beginning. From visionary creator Jon M. Chu (Step Up 3D), the epic journey continues in its third volume, THE LXD: RISE OF THE DRIFTS. As the prophecy unravels, the ... See full summary »
Directors: Jon M. Chu, Charles Oliver, Christopher Scott, Jamas Sims | Stars: Chantel Aguirre, Anjelo 'Lil Demon' Baligad, Kendall Glover, Jessica Lee Keller
Votes: 32
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