Top Dance Movies of the 70s and 80s

Reminiscing Popular Dance Culture Through the Decades

May 18, 2009

Take a Trip Down Memory Lane and Enjoy These Classic Dance Flicks.

Have a night out with old friends and bring the nostalgia back from the late 1970s and 1980s. The following are hit movies that will bring all the memories back of some popular dance movies.

This hit movie which released in 1977, brought the disco music scene into the mainstream. This movie stars John Travolta as 19-year-old Tony Manero, a trouble-maker from Brooklyn that spends his weekends dancing at a disco night club and entering dance competitions to escape from his personal problems. This movie had one of the most famous soundtracks which featured songs by the Bee Gees.

This famous musical released in 1980, is about students from the New York High School of Performing Arts who are seeking fame as dancers, singers and actors. A TV series was released in 1982 on American television as a spin-off to the movie and ran until 1987. The soundtrack of the movie is best known for the hit songs "Fame" and "Out Here on my Own."

Breakin' (Breakdance: The Movie)

This 1984 film brought the breakdancing culture of the 80s into the mainstream. This movie is about Kelly, a Jazz dancer that meets two breakdancers who combine their dance styles to create their own. This movie features the hit song "There's No Stoppin' Us" by Ollie and Jerry. Rapper/Actor Ice-T debuts in this movie as a club MC. This movie followed with the sequel released in the same year, Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo.

This movie released in 1983, is a sequel to Saturday Night Fever. It stars John Travolta again as Tony Manero. He moves to Manhattan and is working as a dance instructor and is a waiter at a dance club. He now hopes to make it as a Broadway dancer. He ends up landing a role as a lead dancer in the Broadway production Satan's Alley. This movie's soundtrack featured many of the Bee Gee's hit songs.

This 1983 movie popularized the dance scene of the 80s. This movie is about 18-year-old Alex Owens (Jennifer Beals), a steel worker during the day and an exotic dancer at night. She tries to pursue dance professionally by trying to get into a prestigious dance company in Pittsburgh. The movie covers romance and ofcourse dance. The soundtrack of this movie includes the hit songs "Maniac" and "Flashdance... What a Feeling."

This Canadian movie released in 1985, was not much of a hit but it definately illustrated the popularity of the aerobics/dance craze. This movie is about single mom Samantha who works as a secretary but has dreams of becoming an aerobics instructor. She ends up starting her own health club which leads to her landing a job as a host of an exercise TV show.

Dirty Dancing

This 1987 Box Office hit, is about 17-year-old Frances "Baby" Houseman (Jennifer Grey) who goes on vacation at a resort and ends up falling in love with the resort's dance instructor Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze) who is not accepted by her family. This film is known for its soundtrack with such hit tracks as "The Time of My Life." This movie covers both romance and dance.

So pop in a movie and enjoy a night filled with disco, breakdancing, leg warmers and romance.

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