All the right moves: The most iconic movie dance scenes

There are better choreographed dances, more showstopping numbers, and certainly more joyous characters, but there aren't many dances that pack a more emotional punch than the ending of 8 1/2. As the characters gather on set, they play ring-around-the-not-so-rosy director, who has been struggling to create his next film. In a stroke of meta genius, they circle the director on a carnival stage, bringing Fellini's cinema-as-carnival metaphor full circle.

Nobody puts baby in a corner! The famous scene of Patrick Swayze lifting Jennifer Grey above his shoulders is not something that can be put in a box--it transcends classification, lifting our spirits every occasion we see it. 

Tom Cruise has jumped off planes and run on moving trains, but one of his greatest achievements is dancing in his underwear. Yeah, you heard that right. Tom Cruise has almost never been better than when he slid into the frame, danced in his socks and underwear, and gave audiences the teenage version of Home Alone.

You can't make a list of the best movie dance scenes without Singing in the Rain--that would be like making a list of the best movie car chases without Bullitt. It's the most memorable dance scene in movie history. Gene Kelly dancing in the rain, twirling around a lightpost and smiling so bright you could swear he was emoting sunbeams. It's the cinematic equivalent to sunshine after a rainy day.

What if Dorothy's red slippers caused her to dance until she died? That would be depressing, now wouldn't it--a yellow brick road that leads to inevitable death? That's the story of The Red Shoes, a tragic tale of what some artists would do to become famous. With a 17-minute ballet sequence, there aren't many dance scenes that pack this much splendor, poetry and influence (Degas, Renoir and Hitchcock) and this much beauty into one scene. 

What's The Holiday doing on our list? I'm glad you asked--the ending of The Holiday is a warm cup of hot chocolate on a snowy day. As the characters gather for a Christmas dinner, they dance to the beat of romantic bliss having finally found their special someone. 

Burt Lancaster takes over the dance floor like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever, but the dance floor is only a ball for 18th-century socialites. To see him glide across the dance floor is akin to watching a gazelle tip-toe across a pond--the character's so light on his feet, you could swear he didn't have feet at all. 

Does the dance add to the plot of the movie? Probably not, but this is a musical, dang it, and watching two of the great dancers glide under a gazebo during a thunderstorm is a real treat. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers set a high bar for those who followed.

It's a walk off--or dance off, if you may, when two models show off their best catwalks in Zoolander. It's Hansel "so hot right now" verse Derek "Blue Steele" Zoolander, and it's a treat.

When Claire Denis' boot camp drama ends, the closeted sergeant leaves his station and perhaps his life for the dance floor. Letting loose in rambunctious movements, he looks like a meth addict on the streets or a ballet dancer letting out decades of repressed sexual longing. Either way, it's the rhythm of his life--a catastrophically beautiful moment.

A prom dance that is part West Side Story, part Dirty Dancing and part cringe, Grease makes our list for being infectiously fun and ridiculous. It's a high school musical that gels--pun intended--with the year of its release. 

You've never seen a musical like The Young Girls of Rochefort. The colors are a cotton candy swirl, the characters are mostly enjoyable and the entire thing sings to a cheery tune, as if there wasn't a single corner of this town that wasn't a feast for the eyes. When two sisters search for true love, they find it in remarkable ways. You'll fall in love with the movie and with a particular dance number where the camera glides above the town square, packed with people and flying confetti, and lands on our protagonists singing in their sparkling red dresses. 

Alain Delon. That's all you need to know about this dance sequence, which Delon watches with a cigarette perched in his mouth. The sexiest actor ever watches some gals let loose on the dance floor while he saunters, cooly, magnetically and magnificently, through the crowd. 

There's nothing incredibly noteworthy about the dancing--that's actually Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence out there dancing--but the way they shift from ballroom elegance to wild head bopping is transcendent. These characters have always been a little crazy, so why should their dance number be any different? 

This is Bob Fosse's version of 8 1/2, the meta film about filmmaking that started our list. That means it's got to end with a showstopper in which all the characters gather for a comment on the director's state of mind and the lunacy that goes into creating a blockbuster movie--it's actually insane. Still, then again, that's showbiz, folks. 

This dance spoof ends with the worst stuntman ever falling down a cliff for what seems like an eternity. It's hilarious and eventually heartwarming when the character's crush ends up falling for him. 

The sight of these two comedians in suites and fedoras, dancing on stage before sneaking away from the cops, is one of the most joyous moments in all of cinema. The dancing, comedy and choreography all come together magnificently. 

A scene in a thunderstorm where a group of young boys spin their imaginary partners to the tune of chilling winds is simply gorgeous. It is a moment in Fellini's childhood reminiscence that speaks to his longing for something to hold onto. 

The dance scene in Busby Berkeley's musical in which the lady dancers create a fountain of flesh is simply mesmerizing. There are no digital effects here, just the power of cinematography, choreography and acting to create a movie spectacle.

That dance between everyone's favorite babysitter and her crush, or the moment she twirls into the frame to open The Sound of Music. This is wonderful cinema to enjoy.