Iconic Dance in Film

This will put a spring in to your step if all else fails… The students at AMDA (the American Musical and Dramatic Academy) in New York studied rigorously for their Fall Dance Concert of 2015. Named Iconic, it was a modern celebration of 20th Century dance on film re-imagined through live performance. Cain DeVore, an independent filmmaker and screenwriter, actor and teacher put this video together to inspire the students.

It is a whistle-stop tour of the best dance in movies from the 1920s up to the present day. Pop Dancin Fool by Barry Manilow over the clips and you get a truly exhilarating few minutes. As well as a reminder of what has been achieved in the past this video, in its own way, lays down the gauntlet for today’s filmmakers – get dance fully and properly back in to the movies now!

The full list is below if you want to see how many movies you spotted correctly.


1. THE LITTLE COLONEL - Bill "Bo Jangles" Robinson & Shirley Temple - 1935
2. 42nd STREET - Choreographed by Busby Berkeley - 1933
3. THE RED SHOES - Moira Shearer & Anton Walbrook - 1948
4. TOP HAT - Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers - 1935
5. WHITE CHRISTMAS - Vera Ellen with Danny Kaye - 1954
6. STORMY WEATHER - Bill Robinson - 1943
7. BORN TO DANCE - Eleanor Powell - 1936
8. PULP FICTON - John Travolta - 1994
9. SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER - John Travolta - 1977
10. MOULIN ROUGE - The Can Can - 2001
11. STORMY WEATHER - Nicholas Bros. - 1943
12. CHICAGO - Catherine Zeta Jones & Gregory Mitchell - 2002
13. (see 2)
14. STEP UP 3-D - 2010
15. BILLY ELLIOT - Jamie Bell - 2000
16. (see 11)
17. SINGIN' IN THE RAIN - Gene Kelly - 1952
18. WHITE NIGHTS - Gregory Hines & Mikhail Baryshnikov - 1985
19. SINGIN' IN THE RAIN - Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds & Gene Kelly - 1952
20. ROYAL WEDDING - Fred Astaire - the "Ceiling Dance" - 1951
21. SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS - 1954
22. MARY POPPINS - Dick Van Dyke - 1964
23. (see 21)
24. (see 22)
25. 42nd STREET - Ruby Keeler - 1933
26. CENTER STAGE - Ethan Stiefel - 2000
27. FOOTLOOSE - 1984
28. A CHORUS LINE - 1985
29. JAILHOUSE ROCK - Elvis Presley - 1957
30. BAND WAGON - Fred Astaire & Cyd Charisse - 1953
31. OKLAHOMA - Bambi Linn & James Mitchell - Choreographed by Agnes deMille - 1955
32. SILK STOCKINGS - Cyd Charisse - 1957
33. 42nd STREET - The Ziegfeld Girls - Choreographed by Busby Berkeley - 1933
34. SUN VALLEY SERENADE - Nicholas Bros. - 1941
35. STEP UP 3-D - Moose - 2010
36. GUYS AND DOLLS - 1955
37. FLASHDANCE - Marine Jahan - 1983
38. STEP UP 3-D - Pandora - 2010
39. (see 35)
40. (see 34)
41. (see 11)
42. GREASE - John Travolta - 1978
43. TOP HAT - Fred Astaire - 1935
44. ALL THAT JAZZ - Choreographed by Bob Fosse - 1979
45. CENTER STAGE - Amanda Schull - 2000
46. (see 44)
47. THE SEVEN LITTLE FOYS - James Cagney - 1955
48. (see 19)
49. TOP HAT - The Piccalino - 1935
50. GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 - Ginger Rogers - 1933
51. THE WIZ - 1978
52. FAME - Antonia Franceschi - 1980
53. FOOTLOOSE - Kevin Bacon - 1984
54. DOWN ARGENTINE WAY - Nicholas Bros. - 1940