Monday, May 17, 2010

Monday Movie Meme - So You Think You Can Dance


This week's topic for the Monday Movie Meme from The Bumbles is all about dancing. Apparently Molly and Andy attended their niece's dance recital this past weekend, and it inspired them to think of movies that are either focused on dancing, or have memorable dance scenes. Here are ones that come to mind:

1. Footloose - I saw this movie in high school so many times, and always fantasized about being able to dance like those people. One time, a bunch of my friends went to see the movie with our Typing and Shorthand teacher, who was young and sorta cool, and we were so jacked up we went out looking for dance to crash. (We didn't find one.)

2. Saturday Night Fever - Admit it. You've at least tried dancing like that, shaking your booty and pointing that finger. I may have mentioned this while discussing another movie topic, but this was my first rated R movie. My friend Julie's mom took a group of us. I think we were just as impressed with John Travolta's black underwear as with the dancing actually.

3. Dirty Dancing - Isn't there a little bit of Baby in all of us? Uncoordinated and overlooked? I think that is why this movie was such a huge hit. Get out of that corner!

4. Pulp Fiction - Another iconic John Travolta moment. You have to admit, this was really one of the coolest dance scenes ever. The first time I saw it, I just sat there with a stupid grin on my face. Then of course, we had to replicate the dance after the movie was over. That, and eat blueberry pancakes.

5. Mad Hot Ballroom - This is what documentary film is all about...showing inner city kids lifted out of the cycle of dysfunction by their love of ballroom dancing and competition. Watching it leaves you with a feeling of elation. Watch it now!


I know you all must have your favorite dance movie! Please share!


27 comments:

Nicole (Linus's Blanket) said...

Ahh...Footloose. I love any movie that gives me Let's Hear It For the Boy by Deniece Williams. I love that song.

Kathleen A. Ryan said...

I'm contemplating a post, and the first dance scene to come to mind is Pulp Fiction...I'm with you there! I'm familiar with all of your dance scene picks except for the last. I'll have to look out for it!

Susan said...

Dirty Dancing is wonderful! My daughter and I used to watch it all the time!

Literary Feline said...

What a great list of movies! I love Dirty Dancing. :-)

rhapsodyinbooks said...

I love all of those - I guess I love dancing movies! We also just recently rented White Nights and Strictly Ballroom, two other wonderful dancing movies.

Peppermint Ph.D. said...

Grease is also an incredible dancing movie that continues to enthrall generation after generation. My 17 yr. old's drama class performed Grease just this year. :)

caite said...

Funny, I did not think of Pulp Fiction as a 'dance' movie, but you are right. It contains one of the coolest dance scenes of all time!

Trisha said...

I love to dance, so I tend to watch movies with dancing in them. I'd say you really hit it with Footloose. :) Awesome. It's pretty old, but another film that pops into my head when I think of dancing is White Christmas. God I love Crosby and Kaye. Or Holiday Inn with Crosby and Astaire...

Jo-Jo said...

Footloose and Dirty Dancing were the first ones that popped in my head. After pondering it more I could also add several Shirley Temple movies that I absolutely adored that are full of tap dancing.

Zibilee said...

My pick for this category would definitely be Grease, which is one of my favorite movies of all time. I also agree with the great choices of Dirty Dancing and Footloose! Great choices, Sandy!!

kayerj said...

my kids loved foot loose! great picks this week. I thought it was a very fun theme. Kaye—the road goes ever ever on

kayerj said...

I totally forgot about grease--thanks to peppermint phd for the reminder :)

Unknown said...

My favorites go way back.....Swing Time with Fred and Ginger. This one has all of their best dances. Pick Yourself Up, Brush Yourself Off, Start All Over Again and Never Gonna Dance are both wonderful. They always make me want to dance.

I also love, love, love Donald O'Conner's numbers in Singing in the Rain, much more than Gene Kelly's.

I do like all the more recent stuff mentioned here already, too.

The Gal Herself said...

Pulp Fiction was an inspired choice. And this die hard Bruce Willis fan thanks you for the pancake reference.

Unknown said...

Great choices, Sandy! After reading Molly & Andy's post I was thinking about Pulp Fiction, Saturday Night Fever and Mad Hot Ballroom which I just loved! Good choices!

~ Amy

bermudaonion said...

I haven't seen Mad Hot Ballroom, but the other movies are great! The ones that popped into my head are Fame and Flashdance, but I'm probably showing my age with those.

Ana S. said...

That Pulp Fiction scene is a classic, yes :D

Iliana said...

Oh I love dancing and those are some great choices for dance films.

How about the Tango Lesson? Not necessarily my favorite dance movie but seriously, tango dancing is hot! :)

Jenners said...

I would have to add two other quintiseential John Travolta dance movies: Grease and Urban Cowboy.

Seeing him dance in Pulp Fiction was such a highlight. It made me fall in love with that song!

The Bumbles said...

In Bumble world we refer to that move from Saturday Night Fever as "the Andy Point." It is the only dance move Bumble knows and he enjoys throwing it out there at wedding receptions with cheesy 70's songs ;0)

Lauren said...

When I was little, I LOVED the movie Grease (what am I saying, I LOVE the movie now). Anyway, when Pulp Fiction came out, i heard there was an awesome dance sequence. My parents verified this, after having seen it, but since I was still young (I believe in 6th grade), they wouldn't let me watch the movie. Finally, one night when they rented it, they called me in just so I could watch the dancing sequence.

In college I saw the rest of the movie. Great, definitely, but nothing beats the dance scene.

Heidenkind said...

What about Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights? That's a really good movie! Or Save the Last Dance? That movie actually wasn't very good, though...

Alyce said...

Dirty Dancing was the first one that came to my mind. But I love all of the old Rogers and Hammerstein musicals. In fact, pretty much all of the old musicals had some good dance numbers - like Brigadoon.

Kathleen said...

How funny, I think Saturday Night Fever was my first rated R movie too. Me and my friend Christine went to the movie theater and bought tickets and they just let us do that and we felt so grown up. I remember my mom not being real thrilled with the theater people when I told her that!

Alice said...

Saturday Night Fever! Can you believe I haven't watched this so-talked-about movie? Footloose is another good one. Love your selection, Sandy!

Anonymous said...

Eeks! I've been waiting for this topic and now I almost missed it! I hope I can still fit it in my busy schedule for the weekend -- and otherwise it'll have to be a week late ;)

We'll have 1 movie in common: FOOTLOOSE! Would love to see it again ;)

Anonymous said...

BTW I *hated* Saturday Night Fever... But that's because I was a bit too young for it and I had a HUGE crush on John Travolta after Grease ;)

He was actually pretty scary in SNF for a young girl like me ;)

Notice the past tense.. I don't think it's such a horrible movie anymore.