Many dance films boast impressive choreographies, enticing hip swings and romantic moments. No wonder, because dancing often has a very passionate component. For World Dance Day on April 29th, here is a streaming selection of seven classics.
The dance film “Flashdance”, released in 1983, is associated with a very special song – with “Flashdance … What a Feeling” by the singer and actress Irene Cara (1959-2022). A passionate young dancer, Alex (Jennifer Beals, 59) works as a welder by day, but her big dream is to dance professionally. Will she make it into the Pittsburgh Conservatory of Dance? Paramount is currently streaming the 80s flick.
“It all started like a normal summer vacation for Baby,” says the trailer for Dirty Dancing. But suddenly she was “in the middle” because Frances “Baby” Houseman fell in love with her dance teacher Johnny Castle in 1987. Jennifer Gray (63) became world famous as “Baby”, Patrick Swayze (1952-2009) as Johnny finally became one of the great heartthrobs of the decade. Probably forever unforgettable: their dance together to the song “I’ve Had The Time of My Life”. The film is currently available on the Wow streaming service.
How versatile John Travolta (69) is, he has proven over and over again in the past decades – whether in cult films like Quentin Tarantino’s (60) “Pulp Fiction”, in comedies like “Look who’s talking!” or in action stunners like “In the Body of the Enemy”. But he became a Hollywood superstar during the heyday of disco, as Tony Manero in the 1977 dance film Saturday Night Fever and the 1983 sequel Staying Alive. Both are currently also available at Wow.
The musical adaptation “Grease” in which Travolta played the leading role in 1978 alongside Olivia Newton-John (1948-2022), who died last year, is also an absolute worldwide success. As the rebel Danny, he and the innocent Sandy (Newton-John) become lovers. The actor mourned his “Grease” love on Instagram in August 2022: “I love you so much […] From the moment I saw you and forever – your Danny, your John!” “Grease” is currently streamable via Paramount.
The “Step Up” series offers more modern dance film entertainment. When shooting the first film from 2006, it was not only in front of the camera that there was a lot of crackling between the main actor Channing Tatum (43) and his partner Jenna Dewan (42). In 2009 their wedding was scheduled in real life, but the couple divorced in 2019. Meanwhile, several parts followed on the screen, but no longer with Tatum and Dewan. The first part and the successors are currently available on Netflix, among others.
Kevin Bacon (64), the man with the oh so rough image thanks to his roles, in a dance film? As the newcomer in a small town, the actor not only enchanted his film partner Lori Singer (65) in “Footloose” in 1984, but also the cinema audience. It was Bacon’s breakthrough. “Sex and the City” star Sarah Jessica Parker (58) also had one of her first movie roles in “Footloose”. The film is included in the Paramount subscription.
According to the MTV Movie Awards, Julia Stiles (42) and Sean Patrick Thomas (52) gave the best film kiss of 2001 in the dance film “Save the Last Dance”. After her mother’s tragic accident, Sara (Stiles) gives up ballet dancing and moves in with her father on Chicago’s South Side. Derek (Thomas) manages to reignite her love for dancing. Unfortunately, film fans with subscriptions can only watch the bookable “Cinema of Hearts” channel on Amazon Prime Video.
