For this list, all narrative feature films where dance is crucial to the plot are fair game, and all the titles on our list are available to rent and purchase across major digital platforms. Ready to take it from the top? Here are 32 of the best dance movies of all time.
Best dance movies
1. Footlight Parade (1933)
An early musical touchstone less than a decade after the revolution of sound in film stars James Cagney as a failed Broadway director who sets his sights on pre-show entertainment for movie theaters. Originally laden with mild vulgar humor too hot for the incoming Hays Censorship code, Footlight Parade is most famous for its “By a Waterfall” number, utilizing hundreds of dancers.
2. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
Stanley Donen‘s MGM musical spectacular is often cited as the best musical ever made. Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, Debbie Reynolds and Jean Hagen star in this classic showbiz rom-com set at the industry-shaking dawn of the talkies. The final moments (“Stop that girl!”) are so swoon-worthy, they’ll still make your heart leap.
3. La La Land (2016)
The takeaway of Damien Chazelle‘s acclaimed spin on the classic musical is the love story. At risk of understatement, it’s one for the ages. Sharply written and performed, it’s a kind of love story we haven’t seen on screen before, at least certainly not done this well. It’s about two creative people (Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone), wildly ambitious and all but defined by their lofty dreams, who really see each other and help each other. The dreams come true—at the cost of their union. Love it or hate it, it’s hard to deny the picture’s layers of brilliance.
4. A Chorus Line (1985)
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning stage show (one of the longest-running in Broadway and West End history), Gandhi helmer Richard Attenborough’s movie musical pulls back the curtain on the personal lives and professional aspirations of Broadway dancers. Nominated for three Oscars and two Golden Globes. Jack Mitchell/Getty Images
5. Fame (1980)
More iconic than truly great, Alan Parker’s teen drama loosely inspired by A Chorus Line chronicles the life and times of students at New York City’s High School of Performing Arts. The picture is perhaps best known for its anthemic, Oscar-nominated title song.
6. Dirty Dancing (1987)
One of the most iconic romances of the ’80s stars Jennifer Grey as a listless teen who falls for a dance instructor (Patrick Swayze) from the wrong side of the tracks. Quotable, immensely re-watchable and unusual, it’s a time-capsule tale of rebelliousness and blossoming sexuality.
7. Save the Last Dance (2001)
Julia Stiles and Sean Patrick Thomas star as an interracial young couple who bond over preparation for a dance audition. Effortlessly sexy, endearing and funny, with remarkable chemistry from the leads, Save the Last Dance grossed ten times its budget at the box office and received low-key warm critical reception. A far inferior sequel with a different cast was released straight to video half a decade later.
8. Saturday Night Fever (1977)
John Travolta is a film star of the highest order in a gritty, pulse-raising bildungsroman about a working-class Italian-American youth in Brooklyn. Roger Ebert’s At the Movies co-host Gene Siskel often cited this as among his favorite films.
9. Cabaret (1972)
Bob Fosse‘s grounded, yet electrifying period musical holds the record for most Oscar wins for a film that didn’t win Best Picture, released the same year as The Godfather. Time has been very good to Cabaret, a historical snapshot of a place where darkness and fear are sinking their talons far and wide… and where sometimes sad hookers sing beautiful songs. Among the eight Academy Awards Cabaret racked up were Best Actress honors for a luminous Liza Minelli and Best Supporting Actor for a haunting, comic Joel Grey. NAP/Entertainment Pictures/ZUMAPRESS.com
10. Top Hat (1935)
Along with Swing Time, this RKO Pictures release is the best and most famous musical starring the incomparable Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It’s an all-dancing escapist confection about mistaken identity on a European holiday. Highlights include dry, sparkling dialogue, gowns that are to die for, the iconic songs of Irving Berlin and—of course—jaw-dropping dance numbers.
11. An American in Paris (1951)
Inspired by George Gershwin‘s 1928 composition of the same name, Vincente Minnelli‘s classic romantic musical stars Gene Kelly as an American ex-GI-turned-artist in a Parisian love triangle. An American in Paris won the Academy Award for Best Picture, it’s preserved in the Library of Congress and the American Film Institute named it the ninth best musical of all time.
12. Center Stage (2000)
Nicholas Hytner‘s ripe teen drama centers on diverse young dancers at a fictional NYC ballet academy. A modest hit in its time, Center Stage has a substantial fanbase to this day. Center Stage also marked the feature debut of now-megastar Zoe Saldana.
13. West Side Story (1961)
Robert Wise’s electrifying musical of star-crossed love between rival street gangs is the most awarded musical in Oscars history (10 wins, including Best Picture). If there is a flaw here, it’s that the supporting stars Rita Moreno and George Chakiris steal all the thunder whenever they’re on screen. Steven Spielberg’s hotly anticipated remake is slated for a holiday release later this year.
14. Grease (1978)
Thanks entirely to time capsule-worthy, million-watt performances from leads John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, Randal Kleiser‘s blockbuster ’50’s high school musical is a marked improvement upon its stage source material. Fox’s 2016 Grease LIVE! is, by a margin, one of the very best broadcasts of its ilk, a lively surprise.
15. In the Heights (2021)
Lin Manuel-Miranda‘s long-awaited big-screen spin on his pre-Hamilton Broadway smash (from Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu) delivered the summer’s most rocking big-screen block party. The semi-autobiographical tale of big dreams and romance in Washington Heights puts all-singing, all-dancing phenom Anthony Ramos front and center. He’s one of the year’s great breakthroughs, invaluable to the movie’s success.
16. Hairspray (2007)
Based on a 1988 John Waters comedy and the Broadway sensation it inspired, this blissful musical deals with racial tensions of 1960s Baltimore. The seriously impressive cast includes John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Queen Latifah, James Marsden, Amanda Bynes, Christopher Walken, Allison Janney and Zac Efron. Latifah plays Maybelle “Motormouth” Stubbs, a radio DJ and record shop owner. Perhaps the best part of Hairspray is her stirring performance of “I Know Where I’ve Been.”
17. Black Swan (2010)
One of the few horror pictures ever to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, Darren Aronofsky’s supernatural ballet freakout garnered Natalie Portman an awards season sweep in the Best Actress category. Black Swan is a parable about the dangers of obsession and perfectionism. Perfection is not a human trait.
18. Footloose (1984)
“Let’s daance!” A star was born when Kevin Bacon won our hearts as a displaced Chicago teen rebelling against a small-town minister (John Lithgow)’s ban on dancing. Followed by a lesser but hardly charmless 2011 remake.
19. Billy Elliot (2000)
Jamie Bell became an international star (and the youngest-ever BAFTA Best Actor winner) thanks to Stephen Daldry‘s charming and emotional drama about a boy becoming a professional ballet dancer in northeastern England during the 1984-85 coal miners’ strike. Sometimes Billy Elliot feels like heightened reality, but witty writing and great acting (Julie Walters plays Billy’s dance teacher) keep us fully invested. You’ll laugh; you’ll cry.
20. Step Up (2006)
The same year as She’s the Man, mega-hunky and multitalented star-on-the-rise Channing Tatum appeared opposite Jenna Dewan in a romantic dance drama where a hunk from the wrong side of the tracks joins forces with a privileged dancer for a showcase opportunity of a lifetime. Spawned a film franchise, TV series and more.
21. All That Jazz (1979)
Bob Fosse’s semi-autobiographical drama, primarily inspired by a chunk of his career where he was simultaneously editing feature film Lenny and staging Chicago on Broadway. Nominated for nine Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor (RoyScheider).
22. Chicago (2002)
One year after superior (if less dance-heavy) musical Moulin Rouge! regrettably lost top honors to A Beautiful Mind, Rob Marshall’s sexy, well-performed adaptation of Chicago won Best Picture at the Oscars. The best part is positively, absolutely, Catherine Zeta-Jones, in full command of her formidable powers. What a star.
23. Annie (1999)
The best adaptation of —by a margin—of the stage hit (and arguably Rob Marshall’s best film) is an ABC Wonderful World of Disney original TV film, performed (brilliantly) by Victor Garber, Kathy Bates and Audra McDonald. It’s streaming on Disney Plus right now.
24. Viva Las Vegas (1964)
One of the best and most popular movies of the Elvis and Ann-Margret’s respective careers, Viva Las Vegas is splashy fun, about a blossoming romance between a race-car driver and a swimming instructor. It was one of the highest-grossing films of 1964.
25. Magic Mike (2012)
Steven Soderbergh‘s comedic drama follows a hunky and naive 19-year-old (Alex Pettyfer) who enters the world of male stripping under the guidance of a seasoned pro (Channing Tatum). Magic Mike was a surprise summer smash—and a critical hit, too. This is the film that made Tatum one of the most sought-after stars in the world.
26. Shall We Dance (2004)
Based on a 1996 Japanese film of the same name, this crowd-pleasing romantic comedy stars Richard Gere as a lawyer who takes ballroom dancing lessons to bring the spark back between him and his wife (Susan Sarandon). Lopez plays his dance instructor. Shall We Dance co-stars Bobby Cannavale, Lisa Ann Walter and Stanley Tucci.
27. Climax! (2018)
Gaspar Noé’s psychological horror sees a toxic catastrophe befall a dance troupe. There’s sex, absolutely jaw-hit-the-floor exhilarating dance sequences, and a lot of disturbing violence. What a trip. You won’t be bored!
28. Suspiria (2018)
Luca Guadagnino‘s wildly divisive remake starring Dakota Johnson and Tilda Swinton is far more dance-heavy than its iconic 1977 predecessor (it certainly has time to be, with a full hour added to the runtime), with some seriously icky, even sexualized body horror. Some critics said the reimagining was bold and brilliant; others called it a pretentious slog. You be the judge.
29. Strictly Ballroom (1992)
Before Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!, Baz Luhrmann left a mark with an uncommonly energetic and subversive romantic comedy, the first installment of his “Red Curtain Trilogy.” Paul Mercurio and Tara Morice star in the Australia-set story of a top ballroom dancer who pairs with a plain girl for a National Championship title.
30. Happy Feet (2006)
In between directed madly violent Mad Max and family classic Babe pictures, incomparably ambidextrous savant George Miller helmed this Oscar-winning delight centered on a toe-tapping penguin named Mumble. A sequel followed in 2011.
31. The Red Shoes (1948)
The gold standard of ballet pictures. Widely regarded as one of the best British films ever, Michael Powell’s impressionistic masterpiece stars Moira Shearer as a ballerina torn between love and the demands of her art. Powell was one of the most respected filmmakers of his time, his career tragically derailed following 1960’s Peeping Tom, an early slasher that was simply too shocking for audiences of the time (it’s now regarded as an all-timer, like The Red Shoes).
32. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
Three words: Barn raising dance. It’s arguably the most heart-pounding song-and-dance number ever committed to film. A less-than-woke plot about seven unruly brothers and their—erm—captive dates is thrillingly directed by Singin’ in the Rain’s Stanley Donen. Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images Next, The Most Uplifting Movies on Netflix Right Now
