Top 10 Most Intense Dance Scenes in Movie History

This updated version of the killer doll story went viral for the title robot’s totally iconic moves. As funny as it is, it’s also incredibly creepy to watch this murderous little robot bust a move. Near the climax, the creepy doll confronts David, a toy company bigwig who’s more or less responsible for pushing development on the M3GAN prototype. She doesn’t just run up on him with a knife. No, this is a killer robot with pizazz. M3GAN performs some acrobatic choreography as the Skatt Brothers track “Walk the Night” plays over the soundtrack. It’s a brief scene, but it went on to define the movie, driving most of its marketing.

Sarah is a teenager trying to save her baby brother from Jareth, the Goblin King. She ends up at a ball thrown by the devilish goblin. Surrounded by strange characters and even stranger creatures, Jareth sings an entrancing song as he slowly pursues Sarah across the dance floor. Bowie’s magnetic screen presence is undeniable. Jareth is dangerous and predatory, but as his deceptively sweet song plays over the soundtrack like a lullaby in these beautiful surroundings, you almost forget that he’s trying to trap her. Like most things in “Labyrinth,” it straddles the line between romantic, funny, and deeply eerie.

In Quentin Tarantino’s first feature-length movie, the writer-director introduces us to a crew of crude, unstable, and wickedly funny jewel robbers. Holed up in an empty warehouse after their robbery goes wrong, Mr. Blonde taunts a captive police officer. He turns up the radio to his favorite oldies station, and with a straight razor in hand, dances to Stealers Wheel’s “Stuck in the Middle With You” in front of the cop. He’s not just going to torture him. He’s going to enjoy himself. Then, of course, he tops it all off with one of the movie’s most notorious scenes, all while the peppy 70s tune fills our ears.

This British Technicolor masterpiece involves a ballerina named Victoria starring in a ballet version of the famous “Red Shoes” fairy tale. Forced to choose between her career as a dancer and the love of her life, she goes on stage, knowing that she’s chosen her art. Just as the heroine of the story finds out, this could have tragic consequences. The roughly 15-minute dance sequence isn’t just a showcase for the choreography and incredible production design. It has very real parallels to the dilemma at the heart of the whole movie. What will Victoria choose? Ballet rarely gets more suspenseful.

Arthur Fleck is the least funny clown you’ve ever seen. He fully leans into his dark side, donning the Joker persona, and committing various murders in his ultimate revenge against all who have wronged him. Needless to say, Arthur’s a busy guy. However, he’s not too busy to do a lovely interpretive dance on a long flight of stone steps. He’s unabashedly happy that he’s become a deranged killer. That it suddenly turns into a chase scene when two cops spot him makes it all the more thrilling. The scene is so unforgettable that the real-life steps on West 167th Street have become known as the Joker Stairs.

Adelaide was traumatized by her experience with a doppelganger as a child. However, all is not what it seems in Jordan Peele’s class-based horror movie. At the climax, she’s forced to confront and defeat her vicious Tether, Red, in the underground. Scenes of the two battling it out are interspersed with scenes of Adelaide’s past as a ballet dancer. Though not a traditional dance scene, Adelaide’s ballet is a perfect counterpoint to her fight with her double. As Adelaide’s two selves fight for dominance, her younger self begins to appear in the present, dancing in the halls of the underground.

Mia Goth won praise for her role in this prequel, which sees her homicidal farm girl character dreaming of getting out of her small-town life. The merry murderess sees an open audition as her big chance to become famous and leave town. Her spirited audition turns into an all-out burlesque against the battlefields of World War I, which explode in glittering fireballs behind her. There are a lot of clues that Pearl’s not exactly connected with reality, but this definitely confirms it. In her mind, she’s already a star. The producers don’t agree. She takes the news about as well as you’d expect.

Look, we’ve all done full-on dance numbers in the privacy of our own homes, right? In that way, Buffalo Bill’s not that different from any of us. What makes this impromptu performance a bit more terrifying is that Bill’s a serial killer. His next victim is just several feet away in a pit he’s dug in his basement, plotting her escape. But you wouldn’t know that. He’s too busy enjoying his tunes like it’s just a quiet evening at home. Meanwhile, we also know that the FBI is getting ever closer to finding him. Let’s just say, there’s a lot to unpack here.

A dark and unsettling remake of an Italian horror classic, “Suspiria” makes a direct connection between dance and witchcraft. Susie, a dancing student, twists and contorts her body abstractly and artistically for her teachers. In the next room, Olga’s body just twists and contorts. Like a living voodoo doll, Susie’s moves become paired with Olga’s, whose body becomes physically wrenched every which way by the dance. It’s got to be one of the most gruesome dances ever performed on screen. By the end, Olga’s body is a crumpled mess on the floor and we’re not sure we’ll ever want to dance again.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Vivian’s Dance, “Peeping Tom” (1960)
A Woman Unknowingly Dances Right Into the Trap of a Serial Killer

Angela’s Dance, “Night of the Demons” (1988)
This Demon Knows the Power of Dance

Billy’s Dance, “Lost River” (2014)
Ryan Gosling’s Directorial Debut Features a Disturbing Dance Scene for the Ages

Pennywise’s Dance, “It” (2017)
He Doesn’t Call Himself “The Dancing Clown” For Nothing

Hedwig’s Dance, “Split” (2017)
He’s the Bad Guy, But Check Out Those Moves

Dancers put their bodies through a lot of punishment. “Black Swan” is a relentless journey into the physical and mental toll dancing takes on Natalie Portman’s Nina Sayers. While the climactic performance of “Swan Lake” is one twirling, joint-crackingly nightmarish incident after another, the movie swings for the fences right out of the gate. Nina is dancing alone on a stage when she is attacked by a monstrous, black-winged dance partner. They’re locked in a dance battle that leaves Nina dizzy and dazed. Unlike the rest of the movie, we have no context for it yet. It may be ballet, but there’s nothing pretty about it.

Which of these unhinged dance scenes was your favorite? Tell us in the comments.