To be fair, we’re not dancers. Even the slightest of fancy footwork will blow us away. We have it on good authority that all these scenes are pretty impressive, though. Most importantly, a lot of this awesome choreography comes from “dance movies.” Check out the clips, then round up the full-length movies and have a mini marathon.
1. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers: Barn Raising Dance
www.youtube.com/embed/TygmMPbwfjA?feature=player_detailpage
People who square dance or waltz on a regular basis (we’re sure there’s plenty of you) are probably scoffing at us right now. But this dance would have the normal human tangled up in no time. We bet even professionals would take a while to memorize this choreography, especially when you consider all the times two guys are trying to dance with one girl. Or the crazy dance atop the well.
2. Singin’ in the Rain: Gene Kelly’s fevered Singin’ in the Rain sequence
www.youtube.com/embed/D1ZYhVpdXbQ?feature=player_detailpage
Truth be told, “Good Mornin'” is our favorite Singin’ in the Rain song and dance sequence. However, Gene Kelly’s “Singin’ in the Rain” choreography might be the toughest. How did he not break an ankle when dancing along the curb? When you add in the inclement “weather,” it gets a little more rough. No one likes doing anything when their feet are sopping wet. Even more important: Rumor has it that Kelly was running a severe fever that day. But the show must go on!
3. Footloose: The Mill Scene
www.youtube.com/embed/j8XGmZ8HDIU?feature=player_detailpage
Kevin Bacon’s angry solo dance in the mill is not only a great chunk of choreography, it’s also a bit of a gymnastic feat for the actor. From backflips to swinging from rope, Bacon’s muscles and coordination are both on full display in this scene. This was the moment our mamas fell in love… and eventually we did, too.
4. Flashdance: Final Dance
www.youtube.com/embed/Y3BJlOpayWw?feature=player_detailpage
Any girl who can go from the elegance and elongated lines of ballet and interpretive dance straight into spinning around on her back for a breakdance deserves to be recognized. As kids, we were always bored by the first few moments of this dance, just like the judges. But when the music kicks up and the movement gets jazzier, we got interested. And to think… just a few weeks back, she was working in a steel mill.
5. Dirty Dancing: Final Dance/”Time of My Life”
www.youtube.com/embed/l9BbUqHrWFI?feature=player_detailpage
You’d skewer us if we didn’t put this on here. We know it. I mean, Baby spent the whole time at camp learning how to dance with Patrick Swayze. This hardest part of this dance for Jennifer Grey had to have been not swooning and fainting the minute Swayze touched her. And that lift! How many of us dreamed of having a prom moment of improvised dance with our crushes that ended with us leaping into his arms? And, you know, of course he’d catch us.
6. Step Up: Revolution: Shipping Crate Dance
www.youtube.com/embed/KIxNN8ptE90?feature=player_detailpage
Uhhh… no matter how many times we watch this, we’re blown away. Between the longest robot dance sequence ever, the insane trampoline antics and the awesome first scene with the metal pipes, there’s so much to love about this choreography. It’s crazy! And, while the individual dance moves seem super complicated to us, we’re also impressed by the sheer amount of timing perfection that had to go into choreographing a dance with so many people involved.
7. Girls Just Want to Have Fun: Final Dance
www.youtube.com/embed/TASGl0_jnjU?feature=player_detailpage
The lifts! The big hair! The man-midriff! And when he swings Sarah Jessica Parker by her knees? We can’t even. With so many spins, we don’t understand how SJP’s not still dizzy from filming this movie. If the cheesiness of this movie wouldn’t make us sick, we know the dance moves would.
8. Step Up 2: The Streets: Club, tramp, Channing Tatum scene
www.youtube.com/embed/zPLGR0ymhvE?feature=player_detailpage
We’re actually not 100 percent sure this is difficult for people who know anything about dancing. However, we love all the stuff they do on the trampolines that have been installed in the floor. (Do these places exist? Can you take us there?) Also, Channing Tatum.
9. Center Stage: Final Dance (of course)
www.youtube.com/embed/P2XirHXS2k8?feature=player_detailpage
Need proof this is the ultimate choreography? The movie didn’t actually hire that many actors but, instead, dancers. For those people, these moves may not seem all that difficult. For all us little girls who took ballet for three years and then gave up before pointe: This movie is everything we wished for and failed at.
All good dance movies have the same plot points: Dancing and overcoming something. American Girl’s girl of the year, Isabelle, is a dancer who overcomes self-doubt to be the best dancer she can be. Totally relatable, right? If you have a kiddo who might be too young to watch Grease and learn the hand jive, Isabelle’s Dance Jam might be just the right dance movie for her. Make it a super special moment by taking your little girl to the premiere at a nearby American Girl store, or just buy the video and learn Isabelle’s moves together.
This post was sponsored by American Girl.
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