The Top 3 Holiday Movie Dance Scenes
December 15, 2016

Last night I officially kicked off my holiday movie viewing, with the 2003 American classic film Elf. (I am a self-proclaimed Christmas NUT.) I’ll watch many more Christmas-themed movies over the next 10 days—Meet Me in St. Louis, It’s a Wonderful Life, The Muppet Christmas Carol, A Christmas Story, Love Actually, Jingle All the Way, The Shop Around the Corner (and this is just a short list, people)—but I’ll definitely make time for holiday films with pretty memorable dance scenes, like these three:

Sure, White Christmas has some memorable dance production numbers (and “Sisters,” despite its limited actual dance moves, has always been a favorite of my two sisters and me, for obvious reasons), but I think the real gem here is “Choreography.” That’s the number Danny Kaye does with a group of modern dancers who are clearly a stand-in for Martha Graham’s company. Not sure why Kaye wears a beret, but his disdain for the drama of modern dance makes me giggle.

I feel like Martha would be proud:

Then there’s the “Jingle Bell Rock” number from Mean Girls, in all its inappropriate glory. I’m not sure what’s better: That first, unexpected thigh slap, or Amy Poehler doing the routine in the aisle as she attempts to videotape.

But for my money, the real holiday tour-de-force is Fred Astaire’s drunk dance in Holiday Inn. He’s just SO GOOD: His plastered dance moves seem uncannily real, yet he still retains the grace and smoothness we’ve come to associate with his style.

Holiday Inn – Drunk Fred Astaire Film Cip by Flixgr

OK, so what are your holiday favorites? And will you be using any of these numbers above as inspiration for your studio’s holiday performances?

Don’t miss a single issue of Dance Teacher.

Subscribe to our newsletters

Sign up for any or all of these newsletters

You have Successfully Subscribed!