How Dance In Movies Has Exploded In The Last Ten Years

Dance films have captured the hearts of many for decades – from old school musicals such as Singin’ in the Rain to absolute classics such as Dirty Dancing and Flashdance.

In the early 2000s, new sorts of dance films started to emerge – they were less cheesy and had serious plotlines outside of the pirouetting scenes. Save the Last Dance was a pioneer in this new genre, and still remains as one of the best modern dance films of a generation. It explores racism towards inter-racial couples and follows a young girl trying to deal with the sudden death of her mother. Around the same time, the charming story of Billy Elliott made it to the big screen – an 11 year old boy who fights the stereotypes, swaps boxing for ballet and never looks back. Set during the 80’s political strikes, this film also has dark undertones and much more to it than a few twirls in a ballet studio.

Nevertheless over the past decade, dance films have continued to explore new ground and capture new audiences. In 2006, Take the Lead starring Antonio Benderas made ballroom dancing cool again for the younger generation. An internationally renowned dancer starts teaching ballroom in a New York school’s detention class. Inspired by a true story, Benderas earns respect from the group as they create their own style of dance fusing hip hop and street moves with ballroom.

Darren Aronofsky pushed the boundaries of dance movies even further with his 2010 blockbuster Black Swan. This chilling thriller is completely different to any film in this genre before it, and at times is frightening and disturbing – not your typical film about a prima ballerina! The plot follows a professional ballet dancer who wins the title role of the White Swan in the latest New York City Ballet production. She becomes consumed with the representations of the black swan and the white swan, and starts to lose her mind as she tries to perfect her performance. Natalie Portman won an Oscar for her lead role, and the highly acclaimed film also won Best Motion Picture.

Over the last ten years we’ve also seen plenty of spontaneous dance scenes in movies which aren’t necessarily dance films. From a little dance on the way to work to show how happy a character is, (500 Days of Summer) to hilarious performances at a beauty pageant (Little Miss Sunshine) dance is really taking off in Hollywood, and not just by directors and actors who are experts in the discipline.
What’s your favourite dance movie or scene of the past decade? Let us know!

Tags: dance movies, dance films, Take the Lead, Save the Last Dance, Billy Elliott