Top 10 Sexiest Dance Scenes Ever

“The Thomas Crown Affair” (1999)

He is an art thief and she is the insurance investigator assigned to track him down. The result is the hottest cat and mouse game you can imagine. Pierce Brosnan is in rare form as the coolly confident Thomas Crown, and Rene Russo’s Catherine Banning proves a worthy adversary and an even worthier dance partner. As they get to know each other on the dance floor, their game of cat and mouse becomes way more than that. The magnetism is impossible to ignore, and it’s exciting to watch them realize it. Behold, our favorite line in the whole film: “Do you wanna dance, or do you wanna dance?”

“Center Stage” (2000)

This ensemble film about a group of hopeful young dancers was not well-received by the critics, but its dance sequences are another story. During one of the ballets, the dancers got to play out some pent-up sexual tension onstage. One particular segment on a bed brings about one of the movie’s most thrilling and seductive moments. As the dancers’ bodies meet and glide across each other, the audience is pindrop silent. Their routine ends with a kiss that feels almost too real to be choreographed. “Center Stage” didn’t exactly go on to become a classic, but no one can say the dancing was lackluster.

“Honey” (2003)

This story of an aspiring choreographer is quintessential dance movie cheese, but what sets this one apart is Jessica Alba’s star power. Her amateurish naiveté in the role of Honey Daniels, coupled with her sensual and showy dance moves, makes for an electric, steamy watch. The scene where the unassuming Honey takes over the music video shoot, enlisting another backup dancer for a brief, improvised routine is especially erotic. The two have an immediate comfort with each other despite the suggestive and intimate choreography. The scene itself is completely divorced from reality, but it delivers on the eye candy.

“Moulin Rouge!” (2001)

At the Moulin Rouge, even a tango can be dangerous. “El Tango de Roxanne” is a highly dramatic, lusty reinterpretation of the song “Roxanne” by The Police. The melodramatic performance showcases a lovers’ quarrel played out in a pantomime of passion, violence, and dance. It’s an intense representation of the doomed love story between Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman’s characters, but even outside that context, it’s a stunning and scintillating routine. Whether it’s actor Jacek Koman’s booming, gravelly voice or stage star Caroline O’Connor’s sultry movements, “El Tango de Roxanne” is a tango to remember.

“Magic Mike” (2012)

How could we pick just one dance to encapsulate the absolute raw sexuality of the entire “Magic Mike” Cinematic Universe? We could have gone with Joe Manganiello’s gas station strip tease. We could have gone with the dance-off at the end of “Magic Mike XXL.” But we went classic. Channing Tatum’s very first solo in “Magic Mike” is high-energy and completely captivating. It’s a testament to Tatum’s… charisma that he’s mostly-clothed for the entire dance and still manages to make it one of the hottest scenes ever. A striptease is one thing, but it’s the real dancerly talent that puts this one over the top.

“From Dusk till Dawn” (1996)

Some vampires enchant you with their gaze. Others only have a snake and their natural assets at their disposal. As the stripper Santanico Pandemonium, Salma Hayek gyrates and shimmies with a huge yellow snake around her neck. The scene was not choreographed ahead of time, so Hayek, who is afraid of snakes, had to go into a trance to carry out the scene with as much relaxed fluidity as she did. Without dialogue, the entire performance clocks in at nearly five minutes of pure, unadulterated sexuality. Every character is speechless, and so are we. The dance is tinged with the bizarre in a moment between Hayek and the film’s co-star, screenwriter, (and noted foot enthusiast) Quentin Tarantino. And yet every second of this scene is utterly spellbinding.

“Chicago” (2002)

In “Chicago,” murder isn’t just an art, it’s also sexy. The “Cell Block Tango” is a burlesque number performed by the six merry murderesses of the Cook County Jail. Each prisoner is given her own dance routine to explain (and celebrate) the murder she’s been accused of. Director Rob Marshall stages the murder scenes as duets between each lingerie-clad woman and her victim. Like the Black Widow luring her prey, they enchant us using only logic and a variety of slick and sharp dance moves to convince us to see their side of things. It’s a trap we don’t mind being caught in so much.

“All That Jazz” (1979)

This Bob Fosse routine is so risqué we can’t even show it all to you. The legendary director-choreographer definitely liked to push the boundaries of musical theater. This raunchy ensemble number-turned-in-flight-video from “All That Jazz” is the pinnacle of that boundary-pushing work. The dancers begin to take off their clothes in the middle of the number, and simulate acts that seem more at home in a seedy New York burlesque club than a Broadway stage. Fosse’s choreography, with its hip-forward thrusting, always has an erotic edge. But the steamy “Take Off with Us” brings this to new heights. It’s sexy, but with a very bizarre, ominous quality that makes it unforgettable.

“Dirty Dancing” (1987)

From the moment they meet, Baby and Johnny are bringing the heat on the dance floor. Early ‘60s melodrama and repressed sexual tension come to a head in this slow, sweaty dance to Solomon Burke’s soul classic, “Cry to Me.” Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze practically burn a hole through the screen as the newfound dance partners are finally honest about their feelings. They do the only thing they can do. They dance. While there are plenty of sweltering dance numbers, watching them give into their passion for each other just launches this one into the stratosphere.

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

Repressed Small Town Lust & Slinky Jazz Make This a Dance to Remember

Sometimes, A Sweaty Dance Through an Empty Warehouse Is the Only Way to Deal with Things

Elvis & His Hips Meet Their Match in Ann-Margret

The Taxi Dancers of the Fandango Ballroom Know How to Advertise

Open-Shirted Oscar Isaac & Sonoya Mizuno Unwind After a Long Day of Turing Tests

“Flashdance” (1983)

Electrocution be damned. In this iconic dance number, Jennifer Beals’ welder-slash-aspiring-dancer demonstrates her eclectic style of grooving for a customer base who clearly doesn’t deserve it. Her slinky and titillating stage show is played mostly in silhouette. It’s somehow even sexier than seeing everything in full light. But she catches us off-guard with a mid-performance surprise. Halfway through, she pulls a chain and a bucket of water splashes her from above. The moment became instantly iconic, making it into both of the major music videos from the “Flashdance” soundtrack. It also probably resulted in every club with a stage having to institute a “no drenching yourself in water” rule.