Discuss the role of dance in one of the films listed below—how are the dance sequences used to develop the plot and/or individual characters and relationships? What makes the dances significant or important in the film? How do the dances color your perceptions of the characters or the story? What do movement sequences and music choices tell the viewer about these characters? Discuss the use of dance in the plot through the arc of the film and select at least three specific scenes to analyze which demonstrate character development through movement choices/choreography in those particular scenes. Please do NOT summarize the film—I have seen it! Summaries will NOT receive credit. Some of these films may be available at local libraries, and all of them should be available on Netflix, iTunes, or rent from Amazon.

Mao’s Last Dancer (Chi Cao, Bruce Greenwood) PG
Chicago (Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere) PG-13
Black Swan (Natalie Portman) R
Dirty Dancing (Patrick Swayze) PG-13
All That Jazz (Roy Scheider, Anne Reinking) R
Center Stage (Ethan Stiefel, Amanda Schull) PG-13
Stomp The Yard (Colombus Short, Meagan Good) PG-13
Step Up (Tatum Channing) PG-13
White Nights (Mikhail Baryshnikov, Gregory Hines) PG-13
Take the Lead (Antonio Banderas) PG-13
Swing Kids (Robert Sean Leonard, Christian Bale) PG-13
Honey (Jessica Alba) PG-13
Shall We Dance? (Koji Yakusho, Tamiyo Kusakari) PG
Shall We Dance? (Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez) PG-13
Tap (Gregory Hines) PG-13
Save the Last Dance (Julia Stiles, Sean Patrick Thomas) PG-13
Strictly Ballroom (Paul Mercurio, Tara Morice) PG
Dancers (Mikhail Baryshnikov, Julie Kent) PG
One Last Dance (Patrick Swayze, Lisa Niemi) PG-13
Dancer (Sergei Polunin) NR
WarDance PG-13

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