10. Dance with Me (1998) - Randa Haines’ film, starring singers Vanessa L. Williams and Chayanne, featured Gloria Estafan’s hit single ‘You are my home’ and fourteen other Dance tracks. ‘Dance With Me’ was an entertaining film that gave viewers a glimpse of the competitive world of Ballroom Dancing. Though critics dubbed the storyline as unimaginative, it grossed more than $15 million at the box office.
9. Black Swan (2010) - A rare combination of Dance and a psychological and horror thriller, ‘Black Swan’ was directed by Darren Aronofsky and starred Natalie Portman and Mila Kuni s. Portman’s performance and Aronofsky’s direction were applauded and the film grossed $329 million worldwide, and won many Academy Award nominations - including Best Director, Best Film and Best Actress. Portman won the Oscar for Best Actress .
8. Chicago (2002) - Adapted from a 1975 Broadway stage musical, Chicago featured the legendary Richard Gere, and Hollywood ‘bombshells’ Catherine Zeta-Jones and Rene’e Zellweger. Gere showed the world that he could shake a leg and the two actresses were also a surprise Dance package. The Film garnered six Academy nominations and won Best Picture at the Oscars. It received a rousing reception from the public and the Daily Telegraph headlined it as ‘The Best Musical in Thirty Years’.
7. Top Hat (1935) - No Dance list is complete without Fred Astaire. ‘Top Hat’ was written by Allan Scott and Dwight Taylor and directed by Mark Sandrich . Writer Irving Berlin ’s numbers, ‘Top Hat, White Tie and Tails ’ and ‘Cheek to Cheek ’, it became one of the all time classics. ‘Top Hat’ was one of Astaire’s most successful films, achieving second place in worldwide box-office earnings for 1935.
6. Dirty Dancing (1987) - The romantic pair of Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey portrayed the love of a student for her Dance instructor. The soundtrack of the Film generated platinum albums, and viewers rated this Dance romance very highly. The New York Times headline said it all: ‘Dirty Dancing Rocks to an Innocent Beat’.
5. All That Jazz (1979) - Bob Fosse’s film won the Palme d’Or at the 1980 Cannes Festival. Featuring Rob Scheider and Jessica Lange, ‘All that Jazz’ relied heavily on the histrionic abilities of its actors and foot-tapping music. Though the Film won four Academy awards, it is still one of the most underrated films produced on Dance.
4. Footloose (1984) - Though remade in 2011, the original still strikes a chord with viewers. Herbert Ross cast Kevin Bacon as an American teenager, Ren McCormack, who revives Dance in a small American town. Critics dubbed the movie as a confused attempt to entertain, but gave a thumbs-up to Bacon’s Dance skills and his realistic portrayal of McCormack. Scathing comments apart, the Film grossed more than $80 million in the United States.
3 Saturday Night Fever (1977) - John Badham and the Bee Gees made the film memorable, with Dance sequences and sound tracks like ‘How deep your love’, ‘More than a woman’ and ‘Stayin’ Alive’. The Film made John Travolta a star. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor. The Film wonderfully expressed the sheer joy of dancing. It has been voted as one of the best 1,000 films ever made. The video game ‘World of Warcraft’ was inspired by Travolta’s Dance movements.
2. Singin’ in the Rain (1952) – This Film is a 1952 Dance-musical, starring Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds . The iconic Film offers an insight into the Hollywood of the late ‘20s, a time of transition from silent films to ‘talkies ’. Initially a modest performer at the box office, ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ has been accorded legendary status by contemporary critics. It is described as one of the best musicals ever made. Kelly and O’Connor’s Tap Dance routines have become rare collections in the archives of Hollywood. The hit single, ‘Singin’ in the Rain’, still continues to be happily hummed by many old-timers.
1. West Side Story (1961) - The swords may be out for me, for ranking ‘West Side Story’ ahead of ‘Singin’ in the Rain’. ‘West Side Story’ is a film that demonstrates Street Dancing at its best, and is set up in an upper New York neighbourbood of the 1950s. The rivalry of two teenage street gangs - of American and Puerto Rican origin (Jets and Sharks) - forms the central theme. The Film has been relived in many stage shows over the past fifty years. It won 10 Academy Awards (from its 11 nominations) – the most ever by a Dance musical The Film has been deemed ‘culturally significant’ by the United States Library of Congress and is preserved in the US National Film Registry .
The Writer is a renowned Kuchipudi Danseuse and Choreographer
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