America loves dance and dance movies. Dancing has played a major cultural activity since Colonial times. European immigrants brought dances to the Americas. African dances were brought by slaves and greatly influenced popular dance in America and the Caribbean. Stage dancing has been performed for hundreds of years and grew in the 19th Century with minstrel shows, vaudeville, burlesque, and musical theater.
With the advent of sound movies in the 1920s dance films have continued to be popular. Some of the great Golden Age movie dancers were Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Ruby Keeler, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Eleanor Powell, James Cagney, Rita Hayworth, the Nicholas Brothers, Whitey Lindy Hoppers, Dean Collins, Jewel McGowen, Ann Miller, Gene Kelly, Cyd Charisse, Vera-Ellen, Donald O’Connor, Leslie Caron, Dan Dailey, Debbie Reynolds, Gower and Marge Champion, Carol Haney, Gwen Verdon, Mitzi Gaynor, Ann Margret, and others.
Today, a total of 62 million adults social dance in the U.S., according to the National Endowment for the Arts. Dance participation involves 39 million who attend dance events, 41.3 million who attend musical theater, and 5.1 million who take dance lessons. There are 681,250 professional dancers in the U.S., 66,266 private dance studios, 3,707 high school dance programs, 314 certified college dance schools, and over 350 professional dance companies.
Swing
Big band swing music and dance were very popular in the 1930s and 1940s. Most dances were slow dance or foxtrot, faster dances were swing/jitterbug and Lindy Hop. People listened to music on the radio. Big ballrooms offered large dances with big name bands. Swing music originated with African-American boogie woogie played at juke joints and rent parties from the 1870s, as well as Delta blues and 1920s New Orleans jazz.
Music and dance of the 1930s and ‘40s had a retro swing dance revival in the 1990s. Cable TV, CDs, and Internet access to older music and culture generated retro theme dances and parties. Swing dance clubs opened up across the country.
Swing Dance Movies
Day at the Races, 1937, Whitey Lindy Hoppers, Frankie Manning, Norma Miller.A Day at the Races – Lindy Hop scene – 1937
Buck Privates, 1941, Dean Collins, Jewel McGowen.
Hellzapoppin, 1941, Whitey Lindy Hoppers, Frankie Manning, Norma Miller.
Ride ‘Em Cowboy, 1942, Dean Collins, Jewel McGowen.
Swing Kids, 1993, swing dancing in 1930s Germany.
Xanadu, 1980, rock musical with swing and rock dancing, stars Gene Kelly, Olivia Newton John.
Malcolm X, 1992, Lindy Hop, Frankie Manning, Norma Miller.
Ballroom Dance
European immigrants brought ballroom dances to the Americas, such as English, Spanish, and French country dances, contra dances and quadrilles. Eastern European dances came such as the waltz and polka. Ballroom dancing has been popular since the 19th Century and grew rapidly with ragtime and foxtrot music in the early 20th Century. It was greatly popularized with recordings, radio, and movies, and by dancers Vernon and Irene Castle, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, and Arthur Murray dance studios. Today the most popular ballroom style dances are the slow waltz, foxtrot, tango, Viennese waltz, and the quickstep.
Ballroom Dance Movies
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dance in Follow the Fleet.
Burn the Floor, 1999, ballroom dance show.
Marilyn Hotchkiss’ Ballroom Dancing and Charm School, 2005, Robert Carlyle, Marisa Tomei. Mary Steenburgen, John Goodman.
Shall We Dance, 2004, Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez.
Strictly Ballroom, 1992, Paul Mercurio and Tara Morice,
Take the Lead, 2006, ballroom and tango dancing with Antonio Banderas and Katya Virshilas.
Ballet
Ballet is a highly stylized dance that requires long and intense training. It originated in Italy in the 15th Century and later in Denmark, France, and Russia. In the early 20th Century, ballerina Anna Pavlova popularized ballet in England, the U.S., Latin America, Australia, and China. Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn were superstars that further popularized ballet worldwide in the 1960s.
Ballet Dance Movies
The Turning Point, 1977, ballet drama with Mikhail Baryshnikov, Leslie Brown, Shirley MacLaine, and Anne Bancroft.
Billy Elliot, 2000, ballet, with Jamie Bell.
Black Swan, 2010, ballet, horror, with Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Barbara Hershey, and Winona Rider.
The Company, 2003, an inside look at the Joffrey Ballet company, with Neve Campbell, Malcolm McDowell, and James Franco, directed by Robert Altman.
Dancers, 1987, ballet, about making a Giselle film with Mikhail Baryshnikov.
First Position, 2012, ballet, documentary.
The Red Shoes, 1948, ballet, about a dancer cursed to dance non-stop with Moira Shearer.
Save the Last Dance, 2001, audition dance, ballet, hip hop, with Julia Stiles and Thomas Carter.
The White Crow, 2018, biopic about Rudolf Nureyev played by Oleg Ivenko.
White Nights, 1985, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gregory Hines.
Center Stage, 2000, ballet drama, about the inside world of professional dance. Stars Amanda Schull, Zoe Saldana, Peter Gallagher, and Ethan Stiefel.
Contemporary Dance
Contemporary dance is a combination of ballet, modern, theatrical, and jazz styles that developed in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century. Originators included Isadora Duncan, Ruth St. Denis, Ted Shawn, Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor, Bob Fosse, and others. The style is used on stage, Broadway musicals, and film.
Contemporary Dance Movies
A Chorus Line, 1985, musical, with Michael Douglas, Terrence Mann, and Alyson Reed.
All That Jazz, 1979, jazz dance, Bob Fosse choreography, with Roy Scheider, Ann Reinking, Leland Palmer, and Ben Vereen.
Cabaret, 1972, jazz dance, Bob Fosse choreography, with Liza Minelli and Joel Grey.
Cats, 2001, ballet and contemporary dance, Andrew Lloyd Webber musical.
Chicago, 2002, jazz dance musical, Bob Fosse choreography, with Catherine Zeta Jones, Renee Zellweger, Richard Gere, and Queen Latifah.
Damn Yankees, 1958, musical with Bob Fosse choreography, stars Gwen Verdon and Tab Hunter.
Flashdance, 1983, modern dance with Jennifer Beals, Michael Nouri, and Marine Jahan.
Suspiria, 2018, witch coven at a dance academy, with Dakota Johnson and Tilda Sinton.
West Side Story, 1962, jazz and Latin dance with Jerome Robbins choreography, stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Rita Moreno, and George Chakiris.
Tap Dance
Tap dancing has been around for 300 years in America, emerging from European clog dancing and African step dances. It was performed on stage, minstrels, vaudeville, burlesque, Broadway musicals, and film.
Tap Dance Movies
Broadway Melody of 1940, Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell.
42nd Street, 1932, choreography by Busby Berkeley, with Ruby Keeler.
An American in Paris, 1951, Gene Kelley, Leslie Caron.
Bojangles, 2001, Gregory Hines, Savion Glover.
The Cotton Club, 1984, Gregory Hines, Maurice Hines.
Kiss Me Kate, 1953, Bob Fosse choreography, Bob Fosse, Ann Miller, Carol Haney, Tommy Rall, Bobby Van, and Jeane Cuyne.
Orchestra Wives, 1942, Glenn Miller Orchestra, Nicholas Brothers.
Singin’ In the Rain, 1952, Gene Kelley, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O’Conner, and Cyd Charisse
Stormy Weather, 1943, Nicholas Brothers, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Lena Horne, and Cab Calloway.
Sun Valley Serenade, 1941, Glenn Miller Orchestra, Nicholas Brothers.
Swing Time, 1935, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
Tap, 1989, Gregory Hines, Savion Glover, Sammy Davis Jr., Bunny Briggs, Sandman Sims, Jimmy Slyde, Harold Nicholas.
Top Hat, 1935, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
Down Argentina Way, 1940, Nicholas Brothers.
Tango
Tango originated in Buenos Aires, Argentina and became a worldwide dance craze in the early 20th Century. Tango has been greatly popularized by Carlos Gardel, Juan Carlos Copes, Rudolf Valentino, Vernon and Irene Castle, Pablo Veron, Carlos Saura, and the Broadway musicals Tango Argentina and Forever Tango.
Tango Movies
Tango, 1998, director Carlos Saura, Juan Carlos Copes, Mia Maestro, Cecilia Narova, and Carlos Rivarola
Assassination Tango, 2002, Pablo Veron, Geraldine Rojas, Robert Duval, and Luciana Pedraza.
Love and Dance, 2009, Polish dance film.
Our Last Tango, 2015, about Juan Carlos Copes and Maria Nievres.
Tango Lesson, 1997, Pablo Veron, Sally Potter, Carolina Iotti, and Fabian Salas
Tango Bar, 1987, Raul Julia.
Scent of a Woman, 1992, Al Pacino and Gabrielle Anwar
Take the Lead, 2006, ballroom, tango, Antonio Banderas and Katya Virshilas.
Latin, Salsa
Latin dances were developed from African dances brought by slaves to Cuba and other Caribbean islands. Modern Latin dances emerged in Cuba, such as rumba, bolero, mambo-salsa, and cha cha. Bachata and merengue were developed in the Dominican Republic. Mambo was very popular in the 1950s. Salsa emerged from mambo and disco in the 1960s and ‘70s by Puerto Ricans and Cubans living in New York City.
Latin Dance Movies
Dance With Me, 1998, with Vanessa Williams and Chayanne.
Cuban Fury, 2014, Nick Frost and Rashida Jones.
Dirty Dancing Havana Nights, 2004, with Diego Luna and Romola Garai.
The Latin Dream, 201, Fernando Sosa and Tatiana Bonauro.
Salsa, 1998, Robby Rosa, Miranda Garrison, Celia Cruz, and Tito Puente.
Shine, 2017, with Musetta Vander, Alysia Reiner, and David Zayas.
Streetdance 2, 2012, with Falk Heentschel and Sofia Boutella.
West Side Story, 1962, mambo/salsa vs. rock competition, Jerome Robbins Choreography, stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Rita Moreno, and George Chakiris.
Dirty Dancing, 1987, with Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey.
Rock n’ Roll and Disco
Rock n’ roll emerged out of boogie woogie, jump blues, and rhythm & blues in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Jump blues was a fast tempo style of blues and boogie woogie with artists Louis Jordon, Wynonie Harris, Amos Milburn, Roy Brown, Big Joe Turner, and others. Rock was popularized by the American Bandstand TV show and original rock n’ roll artists Bill Haley, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Eddie Cochran, Jerry Lee Lewis, Louis Jordan, and others. Early rock dancing was mostly Swing dance variations such as East Coast Swing, Lindy Hop, Jive, Jitterbug, and Boogie Woogie. There are many examples of Swing dancing in 1950s rock n’ roll movies, including Elvis Presley and Bill Haley movies.
Disco became prominent in pop music and dance in the 1970s. Disco clubs emerged in all major cities, such as Studio 54 in New York City. Popular disco singers were the Bee Gees, Donna Summer, Rick James, KC and the Sunshine Band, Diana Ross, ABBA, and many others. John Travolta disco dancing was popular in the Saturday Night Fever movie. Disco went out of style in the 1980s and evolved into different genres such as dance and electronic music. Later there was a revival of disco led by the music of Cher, Madonna, Michael Jackson, and others. Hustle dancing also became a regular dance at ballroom, swing, salsa, and country dances.
Rock Dance Movies
Grease, 1978, rock musical with John Travolta and Olivia Newton John.
The Blues Brothers, 1980, rock and R&B musical with John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, and Ray Charles.
Bye Bye Birdie, 1963, rock musical with Ann Margret and Bobby Rydell.
Footloose, 1984, Kevin Bacon.
Hairspray, 2007, rock musical with Nikki Blavatsky, John Travolta, Queen Latifah, Zac Efron, and Brittany Snow.
Rock Around the Clock, 1956, rock musical with Bill Haley.
Viva Las Vegas, 1964, rock musical with Elvis Presley and Ann Margret.
Saturday Night Fever, 1977, disco dancing with John Travolta.
Hip Hop, Breaking
Hip hop music and breakdancing emerged in the Puerto Rican community of the Bronx in the 1970s. In the 1980s DJ parties popularized the music and it spread worldwide. It was also popularized in the Soul Train TV show and movies, such as Fame, Flashdance, Breakin’, Electric Boogaloo, and Beat Street.
Like disco, hip hop has its own fashion style and culture. Hip hop is a freestyle street dance that evolved from breakdancing. It has been commercialized as part of contemporary jazz dance for the stage, film, and international competitions. Derivatives of hip hop dance include jookin’, turfin’, jerkin’, and krump.
Hip Hop Dance Movies
You Got Served, 2004, hip hop dance competition.
Beat Street, 1984, hip hop and break dancing.
Breakin’, 1984, hip hop and break dancing.
Center Stage, 2000, ballet and hip hop, about the inside world of professional dance. Stars Amanda Schull, Peter Gallagher, and Ethan Stiefel.
Honey, 2003, hip hop and contemporary dance with Jessica Alba.
Save the Last Dance, 2001, ballet and hip hop with Julia Stiles and Thomas Carter.
Step Up, 2006, hip hop and contemporary dance with Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewey.
Country Dance
Country western music and dancing evolved from English, Irish, and Scottish country music and dances since American colonial times, especially in the Appalachian Region. It became what we now call Bluegrass music and clog dancing. Bluegrass was popularized by Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt, Earl Shrugs, and the Stanley Brothers in the 1940s.
Country music grew out of bluegrass music and African-American blues in the 1920s with the Carter Family, Jimmie Rogers, and Vernon Dalhart. Hank Williams sang honky-tonk in the 1940s and greatly popularized country music. Western swing emerged in the 1930s and 40s with Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Sons of the Pioneers, and Bob Wills.
Widely popular country western dancing involves the two-step, country waltz, and line dancing.
Urban Cowboy, 1980, country music and dance, set in Houston, with John Travolta, Debra Winger, and Scott Glenn.
Footloose, 2011, country line dance with Julianne Hough.
References
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