Dance is an ancient form of communication and expression of conviction. Being associated with cinema further enhances the significance of dance worldwide. Fascinating dance movies are being produced in different cultures and regions across the world. The feature has brought to you this time some of the best dance movies among them. Let's get introduced to them.
Top 10 distinctive dance movies in the movie history
Ginger & Fred | 1986 | Italy
IMDb: 7.3/10
Pippo and Amelia, the dancing couple, famous for their impersonating Ginger and Fred iconic characters, are getting back with their popular live TV show.
With such a story, Federico Fellini directed this comedy film. Tonino Guerra, Tullio Pinelli, and the director himself contributed to the screenplay of the movie. This film, centered on business in the glamor world, stars Marcello Mastroianni, Franco Fabrizi, and Giulietta Masina.
The movie got Golden Globe, BAFTA, and National Board of Review award nominations as the best foreign film.
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French Cancan | 1954 | France
IMDb: 7.4/10
The story depicts how the owner of a night cafe turned an ordinary laundress into a popular dancer by teaching French Cancan dance.
Jean Renoir, the famous filmmaker in the silent movie era, directed this film where the screenplay was prepared by Andr-Paul Antoine and the director himself. The film, starring Francoise Arnoul, Jean Gabin, and Maria Felix, was a homage to nineteenth-century cafe musicians and dancers.
Jean Renoir won an honorary Oscar in 1975 for his great contribution to the movie industry.
Swing Kids | 2018 | South Korea
IMDb: 7.5/10
In the direction and screenplay of Kang Hyeong-Cheol, this film tells a tale of a dance group every member of which has a story of their own struggle and accordingly pursues their own dreams through tapdance.
The story of the film, starring Kyung-soo Do, Oh Jeong-Se, and Jared Grimes, originates from the musical Rho Ki-Soo by Jang Woo-Sung. The film won Blue Dragon Film Awards for Best Cinematography-Lighting,
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Blood Wedding | 1981 | Spain
IMDb: 7.6/10
Under the direction of Carlos Saura, the story of this film follows a dance group that tries their level best to stage the play 'blood wedding' with very limited props.
The story of this play-inside-film was written by Antonio Artero, Antonio Gades who was also in the movie casts, Alfredo Manas, and the director himself. Along with Gades, Cristina Hoyos and Juan Antonio Jimenez starred in the movie.
This first installment of Saura's flamenco trilogy premiered out of the competition at the Cannes Film Festival.
Pina | 2011 | Germany
IMDb: 7.7/10
Pina is a documentary movie based on the famous German dance choreographer- Pina Bausch.
Despite the death of Pina during filmmaking, the film director Wim Wenders and his production team successfully completed the rest of the works by the inspiration of the dancers of Tanztheater dance style. Pina himself was a great contributor to this Neo-Expressionist style of dance.
The movie features footage of him as well as his contemporary dancers and followers of the Tanztheater dance style.
It was the Oscar nominee in 2012 as Best Documentary Feature.
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Shall We Dance? | 1996 | Japan
IMDb: 7.7/10
The movie is about a frustrated accountant who one day suddenly sees a ballroom dancer, attracted to her, and immediately joined the dance class. Since then his life starts to take a drastic turn.
Masayuki Suo did both the screenplay writing and the direction of the film.
This influential movie, starring Tamiyo Kusakari, Naoto Takenaka, and Koji Yakusho, was later remade in English.
The movie won the Japanese Academy Award in 14 categories and the National Board of Review award as Best Foreign Language Film.
Black Swan | 2010 | America
IMDb: 8/10
This psychological thriller is the best ever dance movie in history. The story of the film advances with a promising dancer who is going to compete for performing the most popular ballet 'Swan Lake' composed by Tchaikovsky.
Andres Heinz prepared the main story where Mark Heyman and John McLaughlin co-wrote the screenplay along with Heinz. Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, and Vincent Cassel star in the film under the direction of Darren Aronofsky.
Natalie Portman won several prestigious awards including Oscar and BAFTA for performing the lead role in this movie.
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Sagara Sangamam | 1983 | India
IMDb: 8/10
This musical film portrays the life-long endeavor of a born classical dancer who goes forward with his passion for dance despite all of the poor socioeconomic conditions.
The film originally released in Telegu Language, starring Kamal Haasan and Jaya Prada, was directed and screenplay by K. Viswanath.
The movie, dubbed in Malayalam, Tamil, and Russian languages, was shown in the Asia Pacific Film Festival, AISFM Film Festival, and Moscow International Film Festival. This romantic drama won National Film Awards in two categories, Filmfare Awards South in three and Nandi Awards in six.
Hear Me Move | 2015 | South Africa
IMDb: 8.1/10
Finding the cause of his father's death, the son of a famous street dancer became a worthy opponent of the city's dominant dance team. This movie, made with such a story with a great climax, is directed by Scotness L. Smith and scripted by Fidel Namisi.
This first South African dance movie stars Nyaniso Dzedze, Mbuso Kgarebe, and Wandile Molebatsi.
The film got the African Movie Academy Award for Best Editing, South African Film and Television Award for Best Soundtrack.
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The Red Shoes | 1948 | UK
IMDb: 8.1/10
This film focused on a ballerina who falls into a great dilemma where she will have to choose only one between her lover and her passion for ballet.
The movie was scripted by Keith Winter, Michael Powell, and Emeric Pressburger where Powell and Pressburger directed the film as well. The concept mainly came from the fairytale ‘The Red Shoes’ (1845) by Hans Christian Andersen. Several professional dancers like Ludmilla Tcherina, Robert Helpmann, Moira Shearer acted in this film.
The film got Oscar in Best Original Score and Best Art Direction, and Golden Globe for best original score.
Final words
I this article, we have compiled some of the greatest dance films of all time. These movies represent diverse cultures. With the addition to rich art like dance, these movies have won the hearts of patrons of culture as well as movie lovers. As a result of the proliferation of technology, movies made by fusion between different styles of dance are attracting more and more attention from the viewers.