Dance
11 essential street dance movies
Whether your favourite style is ballet, breaking, hip-hop or stepping, these are the classic dance movies always worth a rewatch -- from the 80s, 90s and 00s.
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There’s nothing quite like the excitement of watching street dance battles up close, especially when the audience is part of the action. That's what makes Red Bull Dance Your Style so much fun -- each round, the winner is determined on the spot by the crowd. Adding to the thrill, entrants don't know until the moment a track starts playing what they’re going to be dancing to. It’s a truly electric competition that's all about improvisation.
Red Bull Dance Your Style is back for 2023, with the Australian finals hitting Sydney on July 15 before a global final happens in Germany later this year. But if you need something to tide you over until this year's competition rolls around, Hollywood has your back. There’s no shortage of dance movies that will entertain, inspire and have you burning up the living room floor with a few moves of your own. But what are the absolute essential flicks?
Here, we’ve rounded up ten of the movies every street dance fan knows, loves and probably needs to rewatch. It’s not a complete list of every good dance-centric movie – fans of silver screen’s yesteryear may also like to turn on Saturday Night Fever or Footloose, while those with more of a taste for arthouse cinema should hit Darren Aronofsky’s ballet thriller Black Swan and Pablo Larraín’s Spanish language masterpiece Ema.
But these are the classics -- the ones full of rehearsal montages, rival dance crews, dramatic final dance numbers (and probably a compelling romance subplot). They’re the ones we can't help but love, and come back to time and time again. So dive in below to get your street dance fix, and don’t forget to be there at the Red Bull Dance Your Style finals in Sydney on July 1.
01
Flashdance (1983)
In this classic dance movie, Alexandra Owens (Jennifer Beal) works at a steel mill but dreams of becoming a professional dancer. Forty years on from its release, there’s still a lot to love about Flashdance, from the famous Giorgio Moroder soundtrack to the monologue from Beals that so beautifully captures the joy of dance: “The music starts and you feel it, your body moves and there’s something inside of you that just clicks and you’re gone. It’s like you’re somebody else for a while.”
02
Dirty Dancing (1987)
…but the mother of all 80s dance movies is, of course, Dirty Dancing. Featuring Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Beal, a forbidden romance and one iconic line (“Nobody puts baby in the corner,” of course), this ’87 favourite still charms. For more, check out the 2004 prequel, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights — and keep an eye out for the sequel, set to be released sometime in 2024, in which Grey is set to reprise her role.
Breaking Beyond (2023)
A very recent edition but an essential none the less. Breaking Beyond is a new series from Red Bull TV that takes you on a journey around six home cities of the Red Bull BC One All Stars. See what gives them the passion to dance and the homes they started their journeys from.
1 min
Breaking Beyond
Visiting an iconic city every episode, Breaking Beyond explores breaking and hip-hop culture around the world.
03
Strictly Ballroom (1992)
Dance movies love to spotlight the tension between new and old and formal and informal, pitting style against style. Strictly Ballroom is no exception. Baz Luhrmann’s glittery classic follows the frustrated son of ballroom dancers (not that kind) who wants to establish his own style — featuring inventive steps that are not ‘strictly ballroom’, landing him in hot water with his folks and the dance authorities. Bright, bold and so much fun.
04
Centre Stage (2000)
The brutal, cutthroat nature of professional dance is on display in Centre Stage, which sees a group of 12 ballet students compete to make the cut for a prestigious American Ballet Company. It’s a fun noughties ride with a great cast (including Zoe Saldana’s screen debut!) and much of the cast are real-life dancers, which helps make for some great dance sequences.
05
Save The Last Dance (2001)
Not every element of it has aged brilliantly, but Save The Last Dance still reads like a love letter to dance. Seventeen-year-old Sara Johnson (Julia Styles), a promising ballet dancer in suburban Chicago, hopes to be admitted to Juilliard School. But when a terrible accident forces her to move to the city’s South Side, she discovers hip-hop — and a new romance.
06
Honey (2003)
At the height of her noughties power, Jessica Alba played Honey Daniels, a dance teacher at a New York City community centre. In a classic dance movie set up, Honey dreams of being a hip-hop choreographer, but her mother wants her to teach ballet. The film was inspired by the real life story of choreographer Laurieann Gibson (who has worked with the likes of Lady Gaga and Beyonce) with the silver screen adaptation made more exciting by cameos from the likes of Missy Elliot and Genuwine.
07
You Got Served (2004)
The dance sequences in You Got Served are second to none, making it an indispensable favourite for any street dance fan. This 2004 flick follows a street dance crew who face off in battles in a Los Angeles warehouse, but the plot is less important than what happens in the battles. Those opening and final dance scenes are the sort of thing you could watch on repeat over and over – truly inspiring stuff.
08
Step Up (2006)
Before he worked the stage in Magic Mike, Channing Tatum showed off his skills in Step Up. In what was one of his breakthrough roles, Tatum played hip-hop dancer Tyler Gage, a young man undertaking mandatory community service as a school janitor when he meets ballerina Nora Clark -- serendipitously landing a dance role opposite her that could change both their lives.
09
Stomp the Yard (2007)
Stepping, or step-dancing, takes centre stage in Stomp the Yard. Developed by African American fraternities and sororities, stepping involves synchronised percussive movement, singing, speaking, chanting, and drama. True to the style’s roots, Stomp the Yard is set at a fictional university, where street dancer DJ Williams (Columbus Short) finds himself in a tug of war between rival fraternities, both of whom want him on their team.
10
Magic Mike (2012)
Loosely based on Channing Tatum’s own experience as an, ahem, exotic dancer in Florida, Magic Mike boasts some incredible dance sequences. But it’s also very funny and smartly written, with Tatum boasting as much charm as he does physical skill. We’ve singled out the first movie for this list, but fans of the Tatum oeuvre will want to seek out the two sequels as well.
Want more street dance movies? Check out this round-up of the 10 best dance films and docos on Red Bull TV.