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Pop Culture

People are debating the best dance scene in a movie, and John Travolta is everyone's favorite

Don't sleep on Ginger Rogers, Patrick Swayze, and Pee-Wee Herman, though.

via Jim Dooley/Wikimedia Commons

John Travolta at IIFA 2014.

One of the great things about the art of cinema is how it captures dancing in a way no other medium can. Sure, you can see people dancing in a theatrical production, but it's all from one vantage point, and you will never see epically-staged scenes such as Busby Berkeley's 42nd Street or close-ups on fantastic footwork like in Flashdance.

Dancing in films isn’t just about movement; great dance scenes capture emotion, help you understand the characters, and allow the actors to express themselves in ways you can’t capture with dialogue alone. From the golden age of Hollywood to today, filmmakers have used dance to inspire, dazzle, and surprise the audience.

But what is the greatest dance scene in film history? X user Emira Han, who calls himself a "film addict," asked fellow users on the platform to share the best dance scene ever, and over 1.6 million viewed the tweet and 2,100 people responded. Emir chose Jackrabbit Slim's twist contest from 1994's Pulp Fiction, where John Travolta and Uma Thurman danced to Chuck Berry's "You Never Can Tell" as his favorite.

The Pulp Fiction dance scene is memorable because it provides a wonderful playfulness in a gritty film—specifically, in a scene where Travolta is uncomfortable taking his crime boss’s wife out for a night on the town. Further, after making his career on the dancefloor in iconic films such as Saturday Night Fever and Grease, Travolta’s star had faded by 1994, and seeing him dancing again was a joyous and welcome return to form for the actor.

Name the best dance scene in movies.

I’ll start:

pic.twitter.com/7SsRYpw0vj
— Emir Han (@RealEmirHan) March 30, 2025

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were divine in Top Hat. His ceiling dance in Royal Wedding was a masterclass in footwork and special effects.

Unparalleled grace and movement. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers ‘Dancing Cheek to Cheek’ in ‘Top Hat’. pic.twitter.com/j5KqG8bFDL
— Philosopher King, Oracle (@signalborder) March 30, 2025

The Ceiling Dance de Gene Kelly pic.twitter.com/fLgcDCE0a5
— Pascal Gavillet (@PascalGavillet) March 30, 2025

Nobody puts Dirty Dancing in the corner.

I’m voting Dirty Dancing’s finale. pic.twitter.com/TGXIbBX6Ql
— JP (@newinattica) March 30, 2025

Kevin Bacon was electric as the boy who taught a sleepy small town to dance in Footloose.

pic.twitter.com/72zGWgclrr
— LANE_17 (@elaineakins449) March 31, 2025

Even though The Blues Brothers was a comedy, it had some great dance numbers with musical performances by Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, and, of course, John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as Jake and Elwood Blues.

There's at least 3 in the Blues Brothers to choose from. pic.twitter.com/beSGFvlxKN
— West Coast Hockey Bias (@MarcelAndRogie) March 31, 2025

Vera-Ellen and John Bracisa's Tap number in White Christmas was incredible.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Al Pacino's Tango with Gabrielle Anwar in Scent of a Woman helped earn him the Academy Award for Best Actor.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Cab Calloway and the Nicholas Brothers inStormy Weather is known as one of the most incredible dance scenes ever.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Napoleon Dynamite had the greatest moves of any millennial.

pic.twitter.com/FtwwB61Tth
— Raoul Duke (@batcountry1980) March 31, 2025

Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner were marvellous in The King and I.

Deborah Kerr & Yul Brynner

"Shall We Dance" in The King and I (1956)

That’s the tweet.pic.twitter.com/ax6bGUEDxd https://t.co/FpFOD8sg6r
— BUILD MORE HOUSING! (@Dartagan_Llore) March 30, 2025

Pee-wee Herman (Paul Reubens) entertained a rowdy crowd of bikers while dancing to "Tequila" in Pee-Wee's Big Adventure.

Not. Even. Close. pic.twitter.com/ioydGAIe7F
— Sean Whalen (@SeanType53) April 1, 2025

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

James Cagney, known for starring in gangster films, rebranded himself as a song-and-dance man in Yankee Doodle Dandy, for which his performance earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

By far, the most popular actor in the thread was John Travolta, who had memorable performances dancing in Saturday Night Fever (1977), Grease (1978), Urban Cowboy (1980), Pulp Fiction (1994), and Michael (1996). Where did Travolta get all of those moves? According to SlashFilm, he trained "like Rocky" to get in shape for Saturday Night Fever.

I don’t know which is the best, but I do know John Travolta owns 3 of top 5 out there.

Pulp Fiction
Urban Cowboy
Saturday Night Fever
— D (@dan636680) March 31, 2025

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

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Pop Culture

Christopher Walken dancing in over 50 movies all perfectly spliced into a single music video

Most people don’t know he studied dance as a child.

via YouTube

These days, we could all use something to smile about, and few things do a better job at it than watching actor Christopher Walken dance.

A few years back, some genius at HuffPo Entertainment put together a clip featuring Walken dancing in 50 of his films, and it was taken down. But it re-emerged in 2014 and the world has been a better place for it.

Walken became famous as a serious actor after his breakout roles in "Annie Hall" (1977) and "The Deer Hunter" (1978) so people were pretty shocked in 1981 when he tap-danced in Steve Martin's "Pennies from Heaven."

But Walken actually started his career in entertainment as a dancer. He took his first dance lessons at the age of three. "It was very typical for people—and I mean working-class people—to send their kids to dancing school," he told Interview Magazine. "You'd learn ballet, tap, acrobatics, usually you'd even learn to sing a song," he later explained to Interview magazine.

As a child, he also studied tap dance and toured in musicals. He even danced with a young Liza Minelli. "I'd been around dancers my whole life, having watched my parents make musicals at MGM, and Chris reminded me of so many of the dancers I knew growing up," Minelli said according to Entertainment Weekly. "He's talented in every way."

Craig Zadan, Executive Producer of "Peter Pan Live!," agrees with Minelli. "I think that if he had been around in the heyday of MGM, he would have been a big star of musicals on film," he told Entertainment Weekly.

His dance moves were put center stage in 2001 in Spike Jonze's video for Fatboy Slim's song "Weapon of Choice." Walken says he did it because one day he'll be too old to cut a rug. "You think, 'Well, do it now!' You know, you get too decrepit to dance," he told Entertainment Weekly.

This article originally appeared on 02.15.22

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Hollywood icon Bruce Willis is retiring due to a cognitive condition called aphasia

via Gage Skidmore/Flickr

Bruce Willis at 2010 San Diego Comic Con.

The family of legendary action star Bruce Willis shared some sad news on social media Wednesday, March 30. The actor is suffering from aphasia, a language disorder, and will step back from his career on the big screen.

Willis, 67, starred in some of the most iconic films of the past five decades, including the “Die Hard” franchise, “Pulp Fiction,” “The Fifth Element,” and “The Sixth Sense.”

“To Bruce’s amazing supporters, as a family we wanted to share that our beloved Bruce has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities. As a result of this and with much consideration Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him,” his family wrote in a joint statement.

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Johns Hopkins describes aphasia as “a language disorder caused by damage in a specific area of the brain that controls language expression and comprehension. Aphasia leaves a person unable to communicate effectively with others.” It can be brought on by a stroke, head injury, brain tumor, infection or dementia.

One can imagine how hard it would be to act with that disorder.

"This is a really challenging time for our family and we are so appreciative of your continued love, compassion and support,” the Willis family added.

Although Willis will not be filming any more films, he can retire knowing that he was one of the most unique onscreen personas in film history. He was the tough guy with the heart of gold and often portrayed believable, blue-collar action guys at a time when over-the-top ridiculously swole actors such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone ruled the box office.

As an actor, he also had a wry sense of humor that brought a sense of levity to the harrowing positions he found himself in, whether a fiery building or behind the wheel in a car chase. It shone brightly in the ’80s on “Moonlighting,” the romantic detective comedy co-starring Cybill Shepherd.

Rumors circulated that Willis may be facing health issues as an explanation for the glut of direct-to-DVD and video-on-demand films he’s made over the past several years. According to IMDb, he currently has eight films that have been completed or are in postproduction set to be released.

Now, with this announcement, his family can put those rumors aside and the public can focus on appreciating the great films he’s made over his storied career. “We are moving through this as a strong family unit, and wanted to bring his fans in because we know how much he means to you, as you do to him,” his family said.

His family signed off its announcement with Willis’ lighthearted philosophy of life. It sounds a lot like something you’d hear from the mouth of John McClane.

“As Bruce always says, ‘Live it up’ and together we plan to do just that,” his family said.

Yippie-ki-yay to that.

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pulp fiction

People are debating the best dance scene in a movie, and John Travolta is everyone's favorite

Don't sleep on Ginger Rogers, Patrick Swayze, and Pee-Wee Herman, though.

Christopher Walken dancing in over 50 movies all perfectly spliced into a single music video

Most people don’t know he studied dance as a child.

Hollywood icon Bruce Willis is retiring due to a cognitive condition called aphasia

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pulp fiction

Don't sleep on Ginger Rogers, Patrick Swayze, and Pee-Wee Herman, though.

Most people don’t know he studied dance as a child.