Top 10 Choreographed Dance Music Videos of Each Year (2000-2009)

At the turn of the century Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears were the pop couple everyone was talking about, as were the two videos they each released that year. Along with his boy band mates, JT gave the world “Bye Bye Bye.” And while it’s great, it was his better half Britney who broke free with “Oops!... I Did It Again.” Not only did it have more dancing, but Spears did most of it in a skin-tight PVC suit. Now, we’re not professional dancers, but we’re pretty sure that isn’t easy. And we definitely also have to mention J.Lo, who told us that love doesn’t cost a thing, while tossing expensive jewelry, dancing on a postcard and rolling around in the sand.

Christopher Walken dancing and flying around the empty lobby of the Marriott Hotel in Los Angeles. Need we say more? We needn't, but we shall. The brilliance of the video is in the contradictions. It’s a simple premise set in the large, grand lobby. It’s the reality of a guy dancing around mixed with the flying. And it’s Christopher Walken, the guy who stuck a watch up his butt and asked for more cowbell, dancing. And dancing well. In April 2002 VH1 surveyed the music industry and selected the top 100 videos of all time. “Weapon of Choice” came in at number one!

When a video starts with Christina Aguilera in underwear and leather chaps riding a motorcycle into a nightclub you know you’re in for something good. And back in 2002 we sure were. Matching the title of the song, Aguilera didn’t want anything clean and pretty, she wanted the video to be dirty and gritty. Combine that with some great, aggressive choreography and this one comes out on top of 2002. Although, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention Missy Elliott and the “Work It” video which came out that same year and featured great dancing and live bees. Yes, those were actual live honey bees.

Booty shaking, model posing, great choreography and about five or more costume changes. Whether she’s dancing on her own or with a group of gorgeous backup dancers you can’t take your eyes off the Queen B in this video. Throw in an awesome featured rap by her King and it's easy to see why we’re crazy in love with this one from 2003. And we aren’t the only ones. The video took home the awards for Best Female Video, Best R&B Video, and Best Choreography at the MTV Video Music Awards that year.

Usher has been described by some as his generation's Michael Jackson, so it’s appropriate that his video for “Yeah!” harkened back almost 25 years to the King of Pop’s “Rock With You.” And although the video’s director Mr. X wasn’t thinking about the Jackson video when they conceived it, he told MTV that it did come to mind while they were shooting. The dance sequences in the video grow from solo Usher cuts to awesome group work. And while those are great choreographed dances, much of the solo Usher stuff was conceived on the spot. As X told MTV, “Those dance moves are all in his head.” Moves we want to watch again, so please excuse us while we take that and rewind it back.

2005 was a good year for music videos. And when it came to dancing, the best of the best found themselves on opposite ends of the spectrum. On one end we were introduced to OK Go with a one-take video of four guys dancing on motorized treadmills. And on the other end, we got Missy Elliott and a group of amazing dancers in all varieties of settings and outfits. They are both so different, but you can’t look away from either of them. And while the creativity of the treadmill dance is endearing, Missy’s “Lose Control” video attacks us with music, visuals, dancing and a levitating Tommy Lee. It was the most played video on BET and MTV2 that year and we understand why.

Wyclef probably wasn’t the only one who didn’t know that Shakira could dance like this, but after the ​​“Hips Don't Lie” video came out in 2006 everyone knew the truth. And with that, the Colombian singer’s hips became the most famous in the world. The video itself is pretty simple, with a few sets and costume changes and it keeps its focus on Shakira. But given her awe-inspiring and mesmerizing hips, we aren’t lying when we say the video could have been Shakira alone in an empty room and it still would have been the best of the year.

Rihanna’s dancing in the “Umbrella” video is rather simplified, but she does it all with such a sultry grace that she commands the screen. It’s been said that this video is responsible for Rihanna going from “girl next door” to “sex symbol” and it’s easy to see why. Also, the visuals of each section of the video are quite impressive - particularly the way she moves around the computer generated water and the “Goldfinger”-esque full body silver paint job. And as cool as the final act is with Riri and her dancers performing in the rain of fire, we might have to give the very slight edge to Tom Holland when it comes to the rain dancing.

As good as Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” video was, the best to come out of 2008 was a video with a lot more dancing and a lot less everything else. A black and white video of three women dancing on an empty stage might not sound like a great concept. But it is if one of those women is Beyonce! This 2009 MTV Video of the Year award winner was inspired by "Mexican Breakfast,” a 1969 dance choreographed by Bob Fosse. According to Beyonce they kept much of the Fosse choreo and added the “J-Setting, where one person does something and the next person follows.” For anyone who thinks it’s easy, just watch Justin, Andy and Bobby attempt to keep up with Queen B.

While Lady Gaga just missed out on the top spot for 2008, she easily topped our list with the video for her 2009 hit, “Bad Romance.” The basic idea of the video is Gaga being kidnapped and drugged by supermodels who proceed to sell her to the Russian mafia for a million rubles. Gaga has said that she loved working with director Francis Lawrence because she knew she “​​could give him all my weirdest, most psychotic ideas” and he would make it work. But whether you understand that’s what is happening or not it doesn't really matter, because this amazingly weird and wonderful music video is great regardless. The costumes, the sets and all the dancing compliment the catchy beat and all that iconic “Ra-ra-ah-ah-ah.”

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