There’s no dearth of simply exquisite and peppy onscreen dance sequences, so as promised, here’s a part Deux of my personal favorites!
1) ‘Tango Masterclass’ from Santa Clarita Diet (2017-present)
Suburban dads everywhere would totally think highly of Timothy Olyphant/Joel Hammond’s bizarre but ‘passionate’ take on the tango in Santa Clarita Diet. And to think, it only took the man a single YouTube video to learn all the tricks of the trade! As Gomez Addams would put it- “BRAVA!!” (& encore, por favor)
2) ‘The Good Reverend’s Cabaret’ in Miracle Workers Season 3 (2019-present)
Daniel Radcliffe is remarkable as Ezekiel, an eccentric preacher with shades of grey to his character in the third season of Simon Rich’s comedic anthology Miracle Workers, and also a vision to watch in a scene that requires him to squeeze into quite the revealing outfit and burst into a sizzling one-man burlesque performance and strut his stuff, all while a peppy rendition of “She’ll Be Coming Round The Mountain” blares in the background. Steve Buscemi egging him on from the audience during this extremely extra dance routine is also a truly underrated moment that stays rooted in one’s mind. I would definitely not shy from inviting the good Reverend over to future raves.
3) ‘Ecstacy fuelled freestyling’ in Sleeping with Other People (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6PWzZv35V8
This romcom centers around Jake and Lainey (played by Jason Sudeikis and Alison Brie respectively), two sex addicts attempting to fix their love life by educating each other on improving their personal relationships and attempting to break free of toxic/manipulative ex-lovers. And while the two may be unlucky in love, they sure know how to liven up a party… particularly when they’re both high as a kite on ecstasy! Honestly, you haven’t lived until you’ve watched this duo sultrily shimmying to David Bowie’s “Modern Love”. This energetic duet especially works two-fold as it not only highlights the charming pair’s scintillating onscreen chemistry, but also proves the theory that kids’ birthday parties are only tolerable if one is high on drugs.
4) The victory dance and high kicks of Roar (2022)
While the execution of the individual storylines in this progressive women-centric anthology was inconsistent and occasionally uninspiring at best, it does feature two equally memorable dance scenes that are both empowering on their own. The first one is a victory dance from my personal favorite episode in this series, ‘The Woman Who Was Kept On a Shelf’, as viewers witness protagonist Amelia not only standing up on her own two feet (both literally and figuratively), but also delightfully twirling around in public, enjoying her blissful moment under the sun after years of being exhibited on a shelf by a boisterous husband who claims her as his literal trophy wife. Betty Gilpin deserves accolades for channeling major main character energy in this dance sequence which had me cheering for her character as she finally took the leap of faith.
The second dance number occurs in the final episode titled ‘The Girl Who Loved Horses’ which is set in the Wild West and is as equally downright fun and silly as the latter. It features the lead pair of a tomboyish cowgirl on a revenge mission and her cloistered, simple-minded neighbor indulging in some rambunctious high kicks under the moonlight after getting drunk off some hooch. Yet another high point of this scene is that it also succeeds at subverting the trope of the goody-two-shoes preacher’s daughter.
5) ‘Parking lot freestyle’ from Hot Rod (2007)
If it’s one absolutely random dance number that deserves to have top billing on every top 10 dance sequence article in existence, it’s this one. Well, this… as well as an out-of-the-blue scene featuring an angsty Andy Samberg dancing in the woods (à la Footloose) and Chester Tam’s Richardson grinding against random people on the street without a care in the world while also throwing caution (and a handful of flyers) to the wind. Let’s face it, though, any movie that offers Bill Hader ample opportunity to showcase his dancing chops is a timeless classic in my books!
6) ‘Dancefloor duet’ from The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir (2018)
And to round out this list of memorable and diverse dance routines in cinematic history, we have an Oscar nominee (Bérénice Bejo) matching steps on the dance floor with a National Award winner (Dhanush), all set to a colorful and fast-paced Bollywood-esque party anthem. Nuff said.
Don’t forget to check out part 1 here if you haven’t yet.
