TOP 10 HOLLYWOOD DANCE FILMS.

Feet moving to the beat, hips swaying to the rhythm – dance movies are a treat to the cinephiles and dance-lovers alike.
And if you are both, here are 10 Hollywood dance movies that are must-watch!

                            1. Singin’ In the Rain (1952)

A classic musical that shows the transition of the silent era into talkies in a comic manner, this is one of the best dance movies of all times. Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O’Connor lit up the movie with their amazing dance steps. The combination of vaudeville and tap was memorable, and the title song especially has been copied and parodied over the years. One of the most feel-good movies, we begin our list with this one.

                       2. The Red Shoes (1948)

Adapted loosely around Hans Christian Anderson’s fairytale of the same name, ‘The Red Shoes’ was a ballet drama that featured real ballet dancers and starred Moira Shearer, Anton Walbrook and Marius Goring. This UK film told the story of a ballet dancer who is at her crossroads and must choose between the love of her life and her career. One of the best dance classics, we recommend this as a must-watch.

                       3. Saturday Night Fever (1977)

The movie credited with making John Travolta a household name, Saturday Night Fever was symptomatic of the 70s. If we distinguish the movies by dance genre, no prizes for guessing that this one was out-and-out disco. Even for those who did not know would guess so from the name of the movie. Based on a magazine article called ‘Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night’, this movie took the discotheque culture to the big screen. When it comes to the soundtrack, who else would be on the list but Bee Gees and other contemporary disco artists.

                     4. Footloose (1984)

This movie was so popular that it was remade in 2011. It is a rebel dance film where an upbeat teen restores rock music and dance back into a small town where all these were banned. Based on actual incidents that occurred in a religious community of Oklahoma, ‘Footloose’ went on to become a cult movie. Amidst forbidding elders and conservative politicians, young Kevin Bacon stirs up some rock n’ roll as the repressed youths let their hair down.

                 5. Save The Last Dance (2001)

One of the first movies that depicted the fusion of classical ballet with modern hip hop, ‘Save the Last Dance’ was directed by Thomas Carter who has made another dance movie – ‘Swing Kids’ (1993). Julia Stiles, playing a Julliard’s hopeful, learns how to incorporate hip hop into her dance to notch it up – will the help of Sean Patrick Thomas.

                      6. Step Up (2006)

A dance movie that went on to be made into 2 sequels, ‘Step Up’ is the most popular dance movie franchises in recent times. Contemporary, street, ballet, pop-and-lock, break dance – the dance styles are many and the dancers lithe and graceful. ‘Step Up’ series, as far as the storyline is concerned, again deals with uptown ballet dancers being taught the ropes of street dance in the face of an impending dance-off.

                  7. Dirty Dancing (1987)

The movie that brought the Cuban dance style Mambo into everyone’s lives was ‘Dirty Dancing’. It was a massive box office hit and was the first movie to sell more than a million copies on home video! It took away a lot of awards that year – both the movie and the soundtrack, and left audiences panting. Whether with the sheer flexibility required for the dance sequences, or the hot chemistry between the lead pair – we leave it upon you to decide!

                     8. Chicago (2002)

We choose the remake over the original – Renee and Catherine look amazing in this one, and it was the first musical to win an Academy Award for Best Picture after more than 4 decades! Vaudeville was gone with the last century, but to see contemporary actors doing such entertainment acts is always a novelty to the hungry movie buff.

                      9. Black Swan (2010)

Definitely one of the best psycho thrillers in recent times, ‘Black Swan’ was a great dance movie too! Revolving around a production of the very popular Tchaikovsky’s ‘Swan Lake’, a talented ballet dancer slowly loses her mind trying to dance herself to perfection.

                  10. Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

Alright, so it was not a dance film per se. But the ballroom dance competition looms in the future as the story progresses and it the climax setting of the movie – and that is good enough for us. Especially if we can have Jennifer Lawrence, who is a self-confessed bad dancer and hunky Bradley Cooper doing some pretty good ballroom dance!
To wrap it up with the whispers of some good news – there is a remake of the original ‘Dirty Dancing’ that will hit the screens in 2014. Who plays Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey? Lea Michele and Derek Hough – possibly!


                                                                source:mensx