Favorite Dance Sequences
Slumdog Millionaire - “Jai Ho” // Dev Patel & Freida Pinto
This sequence during the end credits of Danny Boyle’s Oscar winning film Slumdog Millionaire is completely superfluous, but completely makes the movie. A celebration of happiness and love, it closes the film on just the right note and leaves one with so many “feel good” feelings it is almost overwhelming.

Favorite Dance Sequences
Strictly Ballroom - Paul Mercurio & Tara Morice
The first in Baz Luhrmann’s The Red Curtain Trilogy and my personal favorite, this dance sequence never fails to leave a smile on my face. Scott Hastings and his partner Fran become better versions of themselves by learning to dance together. This sequence becomes an expression not only of their feelings for each other but a statement about being yourself, defying the rules and living your life free of fear. And the dancing is top quality too.

Favorite Dance Sequences
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights - “Do You Only Want to Dance” // Diego Luna and Romola Garai
Oh, yes, the prequel to Dirty Dancing made in 2004 that featured Patrick Swayze playing a younger version of Johnny Castle … this fact alone justifies this film’s existence. While this film never quite captured the original film’s magic (partly because it wasn’t really about a young woman’s sexual awakening but about dancing … what a bore), it still holds a special place in my heart for its dancing sequences and this is my favorite. Even from this gif set, you can see the sequence is edited to death (let a shot run for more than 2 seconds!!!), I still enjoyed the movement. The way Javier and Katey move is passionate and perfect.

Favorite Dance Sequences
Breakin’ - “Ain’t Nobody” // Lucinda Dickey, Adolfo Quinones & Michael Chambers
And here is where it becomes painfully apparent that in no way does my list of favorite dance sequences = best dance sequences (that would be an entirely different list), but I cannot say that this sequences doesn’t hold a special place in my cold, dead heart. Despite being not very well shoot or choregraphed and despite being so painfully 80’s that the only thing missing is Dynasty reference someplace, it still shows us a timeless tale of a classically trained dancer learning the latest dances moves and learning to step out of herself to “feel the music”. But, I’m not even going to lie, this is on this list because I always imagined myself as Kelly in this sequence while I was learning to break dance in my living room (oh, the carpet burns).

Favorite Dance Sequences
Dirty Dancing - “I’ve Had the Time of My Life” // Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey (X)
For many of us of a certain generation (hey, old folks), this was the dance sequence and there was no second place. The enduring affection many have for Dirty Dancing, perhaps the best of the genre I like to call “teach me to dance, teach me to love”, boils down to a few factors (the love story, the music, Swayze being Swayze), but one of the best factors is the dancing. The passion and expression through Baby and Johnny’s impeccable dance moves makes one believe that they are in love. How could they not be when they move so well together? This sequence is just joy, joy in the music, joy in the movement and joy in each other. Who doesn’t want to dance like that with someone someday?

Favorite Dance Sequences
Gray Matters - Heather Graham and Bridget Moynahan (X)
Sometimes, there is a moment in a movie that is so adorable, it almost makes the movie. Gray Matters would be fairly forgettable if it wasn’t for this gem of a dance sequence buried somewhere in the middle of it. Gray and her soon to be sister-in-law Charlie reenact a dance sequence from an old movie (because that is what movie dance nerds do .. don’t deny it) and it becomes perfectly obvious during the sequence that Gray has a thing for her brother’s girlfriend. Okay, so this may have won my heart because it is adorable and gay. I will admit to that.

Favorite Dance Sequences
Footloose - Footloose // Kevin Bacon and Chris Penn
Dancing as an act of rebellion and a sign of freedom is an old concept and in cinema, it has been around since the beginning. This is one of my favorite sequences because I think it captures the joy of dance as an expression of liberation in a way that brings a smile to my face. A small town lifts its ban on dancing and suddenly the teens of that town break out in the latest dance moves that they’ve probably been practicing in secret. So great.

Favorite Dance Sequences
West Side Story - America // Rita Moreno and George Chakiris (X)
I love the use of colour and costume in this dance sequence and the way it has a back and forth rhythm as the sides present their arguments for and against the “new world”. Maybe all discussions on immigration should have a West Side Story style dance battle.