Top 10 Most Unexpected Dance Scenes in Classic Hollywood Movies

Bob Fosse’s screen adaptation of the Broadway hit follows Shirley MacLaine as Charity, a taxi dancer in search of love and romance. Early on, she’s a fish out of water at a trendy nightclub. The whole scene is choreographed within an inch of its life, but the entire story halts for a sudden, 7-minute, three-part dance sequence. The number just keeps reinventing what it is. Suddenly, the dancers are doing a dance inspired by a boxing match? What is this? Well, it’s classic Fosse, with more unbothered dancers in striking makeup striking intricate poses than you could ever imagine.

This MGM classic had a helping hand from legendary director-choreographer Busby Berkeley. What starts out to be a pretty standard Ann Miller number soon takes a turn toward the whimsical and then the uncanny. The light shifts, and suddenly she’s dancing on a stage surrounded by disembodied dancers and musicians whose limbs and heads are popping up from the floor. Miller twirls at impossible speeds, having to keep from fainting and from kicking the dancers’ exposed arms. It looks more like Whac-a-Mole than a dance sequence at points. Wait, did Ann Miller invent Whac-a-Mole?

No one had a knack for just leaping into song like Gene Kelly. There’s a reason he’s one of the best dancers ever captured on film. He made it all look so easy. But when his character in the 1955 MGM musical was on roller skates in the middle of a city street, even Kelly surprised us by effortlessly skating into a breezy love song. Drifting along on skates in time to music is one thing. The real gag is when he starts tap dancing. His moves are hard enough to do in regular tap shoes. Even on skates, there’s not a missed beat or leg tremble in sight. The man wasn’t human.

Marilyn Monroe’s iconic musical number is easily the most unforgettable part of this musical comedy. However, it’s co-star Jane Russell’s reprise of the immortal number that really comes out of nowhere. While trying to pass herself off as Monroe’s character, showgirl Russell ditches her fur coat and immediately launches into her showgirl act. Russell goes for it, practically throwing herself off the witness stand to dazzle her captive audience of confused French policemen and a judge who’s having none of it. It’s a rowdy, reckless, and almost lovingly parodic take on her co-star’s performance of the same song.

Audrey Hepburn’s quirky bookseller spends a lot of her time hanging out with bohemian-minded artist types in Greenwich Village. So when she finally achieves her lifelong dream of going to Paris to hang out with other philosophically-minded aesthetes, she does what comes naturally. She launches into an uninhibited, expressive dance set to a jazz number. Aside from its sudden start, the dance is notable because it goes so against the elegant screen persona Hepburn had built up to that point. The visual of her in a black turtleneck and black pants became the movie’s signature icon, featured prominently on the poster.

A list of dances that surprised us wouldn’t be complete with just one Gene Kelly number. Aside from his incredible skill, this sequence from 1945’s “Anchors Aweigh!” was a game changer. Although it wasn’t the first movie to blend animated and real-life footage, it was probably the most ambitious one. Kelly acted and danced alongside Jerry, the mouse from the beloved “Tom and Jerry” cartoons. From the matching of their movements to their shadows on the floor, every detail is accounted for. Audiences were dazzled by the feat. The meticulously-staged and painstakingly hand-animated sequence was well worth the trouble. It set the standard for mixing animated and live action footage.

Busby Berkeley is said to have revolutionized the screen musical. He became renowned for choreography that had dancers placed and directed in such a way that, from above, they looked more like kaleidoscope patterns than actual humans. One of his most notable attempts at this was the “By a Waterfall” number in 1933’s “Footlight Parade.” The number was so big and required so much space that it was filmed on one of the biggest soundstages ever constructed at the time. A Depression Era audience didn’t know what hit them when those dozens of swimmers began spinning in circles.

Walking into a Fred Astaire movie, you’re never really surprised when he starts dancing. It’s just what he does. But even Astaire still manages to surprise us. When he starts singing “You’re All the World to Me” in 1951’s “Royal Wedding,” there’s no reason to expect it to be anything other than another great Astaire number. But then, he starts dancing up the walls and on the ceiling. Huh? This number required the set to be built in a revolving barrel that could be turned at will. The amount of starch used on those curtains to stay in place as the set moved is crazy enough to consider. Astaire had been accused of defying gravity before, but this time, he was really doing it.

This incredible feat of physical comedy was impressive even before we knew Donald O’Connor was in bed for several days afterward. What makes it so unexpected is how the number just keeps getting wilder. It’s a very meta performance, with O’Connor’s character playing an actor dedicated to making his audience laugh. And, well, yeah, that’s exactly what it is, isn’t it? The entire thing takes him from one slapstick set-up to another. Just when we think his poor body can’t take another pratfall or smack in the face, he’s leaping and tumbling around with a dummy and diving through plaster walls.

The Nicholas Brothers are a criminally forgotten sibling act who appeared in many films together. The brothers’ grand opus is featured in the 1943 musical “Stormy Weather.” Known for their highly acrobatic dance routines, the pair spend the entire performance upping the ante and defying the limits of a human body. Not only does their dance look impossible, but like every great dancer on this list, they make it look like second nature. By the end, they should be falling down with exhaustion, but they instead begin jumping into splits down a huge staircase. Dance legend Fred Astaire was among their many fans. He called “Jumpin’ Jive” the greatest dance number ever captured on film.

Which of these dance routines knocked you out? Tell us in the comments.