Dance on Film

Cert

Age group11+

Duration128 mins

The Red Shoes(1948)

This visually spectacular, dreamlike film from Powell and Pressburger is one of the great classics of British cinema.

Centred around a ballet production of Hans Christian Andersen’s traditional tale of the same name, the filmmakers made sure to cast dancers with some experience of acting, rather than the other way around. The form is celebrated in an incredible and influential sequence telling the tragic story that so involves those that perform it. Choreographed by Robert Helpmann.

Cert

Age group16+

Duration103 mins

Black Swan(2010)

Psychological horror from director Darren Aronofsky that follows a leading ballerina undergoing a dramatic and dark change in character.

The effect of pressure for perfection and performance anxiety is explored in this film that is influenced by The Red Shoes but takes the psychological trauma to new extremes. Choreographed by Benjamin Millepied.

Cert

Age group11+

Duration171 mins

Dil To Pagal Hai (The Heart is Crazy)(1997)

Hit love-triangle story from veteran Indian film director Yash Chopra.

The Bollywood genre is famous for its showstopping dance routines, and this film which focuses on a dance company with romantic entanglements forming behind the scenes features a whole host of incredible sequences and symbolism. Choreographed by Shiamak Davar, considered a pioneer of modern Indian dance, in his first film choreography role.

Cert

Age group11+

Duration90 mins

Strictly Ballroom(1992)

Warm-hearted spoof on ballroom dancing from Baz Luhrmann, in which a shy dancer falls for the maverick son of a local dance school owner.

This charming romantic comedy champions self-expression and breaking the rules as an unconventional dancing partnership find their footwork to be more effective than the traditional ballroom steps. Adapted from a play, originally devised by Baz Luhrmann as a student, and choreographed by John O’Connell, who also worked on Luhrmann’s later hit Moulin Rouge.

Cert

Age group14+

Duration106 mins

Leave It On The Floor(2011)

Energetic, melodrama-infused musical inspired by Paris Is Burning celebrating US dancehall culture, with competitors performing in drag.

The vogueing movement is explored in this drama about a club scene that embraces those who are rejected from other aspects of mainstream society. This low budget musical challenges homophobia and embraces LGBT self-expression. Choreographed by Frank Gatson Jr, Beyonce’s creative director.

Cert

Age group7+

Duration113 mins

An American In Paris(1951)

Classic musical filled with beautiful dancing sequences and gripping romantic entanglements.

Set to music by George Gershwin, directed by Vicente Minnelli, and choreographed by and starring Gene Kelly, this film is set against the backdrop of shadows of World War Two as a veteran soldier struggles to make a living from his art in Paris in the post-war years.

Cert

Age groupAll ages

Duration98 mins

Singin' in the Rain(1952)

Widely considered the best musical ever made, this tribute to Hollywood is about an actress who can't sing trying to move into sound films.

Choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, the film deals with the industry’s transition from silent to ‘talkies’, and its stars’ navigation of the studio system. Debbie Reynolds, who features as the behind-the-scenes talent who deserves a starring role was originally a gymnast, and received coaching from Fred Astaire to be able to dance on Gene Kelly’s level.

Cert

Age group14+

Duration82 mins

Frances Ha(2012)

A quirky indie comedy about finding one's purpose in life, focusing on imaginative, spontaneous dancer Frances.

Greta Gerwig, who stars as the Frances of the title, had a childhood passion for dancing, which she incorporated into the script which she co-wrote with director Noah Baumbach in this film about not letting your dreams get away from you. Choreographed by Max Stone, Frances’s dancing is an expression of energy that needs to find the right direction.

Cert

Age group11+

Duration107 mins

The Company(2003)

A beguiling film from masterful director Robert Altman about life in a ballet company, focuses on a young would-be principal dancer.

Lead actor Neve Campbell incorporated her own experiences of ballet training, which was her main focus before she began her acting career, into this film which reveals the intense training required of dancers in a professional company. Featuring excerpts of several famous dances, and set in the Joffrey Ballet, this is an insight into the quest for the perfect performance.

Cert

Age group14+

Duration128 mins

Fame(1980)

Cheesy but delightful musical based in New York's High School of the Performing Arts - the place where dreams come true!

This musical embraces all the performing arts, but is best-known for its eponymous ‘Fame’ dance sequence, which was filmed over 46 days. The film follows a group of students’ personal and creative development over the course of their school career. The film was choreographed by Louis Falco, who also worked in music videos, including Prince’s iconic 'Kiss'.

Cert

Age group11+

Duration86 mins

42nd Street(1933)

The iconic backstage musical, 42nd Street traces the trials and tribulations of getting a Broadway show ready for opening night.

Choreographed by the legendary Busby Berkeley, this classic of the ‘Golden Age’ of Hollywood became the archetypal ‘backstage musical’ and influenced many films that have followed in its path.

Cert

Age group14–16

Duration118 mins

All That Jazz(1979)

Fantastically choreographed and influential musical about an egomaniacal stage director.

Directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse, this 1979 Palme D’Or-winning film is loosely based on Fosse’s own experiences of trying to make the film Lenny and direct a stage production of Chicago at the same time – driving himself into ill health in the process.

Cert

Age group11+

Duration109 mins

Chicago(2002)

Big-screen adaptation of the stage musical set in 1920s Chicago about prisoner Roxie and the vaudeville star she idolises.

Based on Bob Fosse’s 1975 stage musical, and with a story based on real-life jazz age murderers, this bold-as-brass musical scooped the 2003 awards season, earning Oscars, Baftas, and Golden Globes.

Cert

Age group14–16

Duration102 mins

Desert Dancer(2014)

Based on the true story of Afshin Ghaffarian who defied authorities to start a dance company, despite the national ban on dancing throughout Iran.

Choreographed by Akram Khan and based on the true story of Afshin Ghaffarian, this film reveals the story of a young, self-taught dancer in Iran who was inspired by classic dance videos of Gene Kelly and Michael Jackson to form his own dance troupe, whose performances had to be carried out in secrecy under threat of persecution.

Cert

Age group11+

Duration82 mins

Only When I Dance(2009)

Documentary set in the slums of Brazil's Rio de Janeiro about a hardworking teen hoping he can escape poverty by becoming a top ballet dancer.

This documentary follows two aspiring teenage dancers, Irlan and Isabela. For Isabela, concerns over how her skin colour and body image also add another dimension to problems she faces being accepted into a Brazilian dance company, and for both hopefuls the expenses of pursuing their dream puts a financial strain on their families.

Cert

Age group14+

Duration110 mins

Billy Elliot(2000)

Set against the 1984 miners' strike, Billy Elliot is a boy torn between his unexpected love of ballet and the disintegration of his family.

Challenging class and gender stereotypes, this heartwarming film tells of a boy who rebels against conforming to the boxing ring like the rest of his lads, and who finds his true place in the ballet studio instead.

Cert

Age group11+

Duration84 mins

Rize(2005)

Lively documentary about Krumping, an LA street dance style in which the performers take part in epic battles.

Two different LA dance subcultures are explored in this documentary which sets the Krumpers up in a battle against the Clowns. Both using their moves and distinct look to express themselves and avoid the violence and gang culture which pervades their neighbourhoods, these groups of dancers dare to bring joy and humour to those around them.

Cert

Age group7–14

Duration99 mins

Step Up(2006)

Popular dance movie in which a young streetwise troublemaker doing community service at a dance school meets a dancer who needs a partner in a hurry.

A film that celebrates overcoming class prejudice and embracing collaboration in order to reach new creative heights, it saw the release of a popular modern and street dance mash-up series of films. The original is choreographed by Jamal Sims, who has worked on numerous films and theatre productions as well as tour choreography for performers such as Madonna and Miley Cyrus.

Cert

Age group14+

Duration72 mins

The Fits(2015)

After joining a local dance troupe, a young girl finds many of her new teammates suffering from a mysterious fainting epidemic.

This coming-of-age tale uses dance as a metaphor to explore how young girls both benefit and suffer from peer pressure and the dance troupe mindset. Focusing on a military-influenced drill dance group, the film reveals how alternative forms of femininity are expressed through this demanding call-and-response dance form which requires strength and attitude to pull off.

Cert

Age group11+

Duration103 mins

Funny Face(1957)

The frivolous world of high fashion is the backdrop for this charming romantic-comedy musical starring Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire.

Loosely based on the premise of a bookish girl thrust into the fashion world, who is happy to model for a magazine if it means meeting her intellectual heroes in Paris. The film stars Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn as a couple who find themselves drawn together despite being from different worlds, and features an unforgettable beatnik dance scene.

Dance on Film

Singin' in the Rain(1952)

Step Up(2006)

All Stars(2013)

Mad Hot Ballroom(2005)

Ballerina(2016)

Happy Feet(2006)

The Red Shoes(1948)

Black Swan(2010)

Dil To Pagal Hai (The Heart is Crazy)(1997)

Strictly Ballroom(1992)

Leave It On The Floor(2011)

An American In Paris(1951)

Singin' in the Rain(1952)

Frances Ha(2012)

The Company(2003)

Fame(1980)

42nd Street(1933)

All That Jazz(1979)

Chicago(2002)

Desert Dancer(2014)

Only When I Dance(2009)

Billy Elliot(2000)

Rize(2005)

Step Up(2006)

The Fits(2015)

Funny Face(1957)