10 Difficult Dance Scenes Where Actors Struggled with Choreography

#10: “Jump”

“Love Actually” (2003)

The prime minister in this classic Christmas rom-com isn’t supposed to be a technically skilled dancer. He’s really just supposed to do an impromptu celebratory dance through the halls of 10 Downing Street. But Hugh Grant found this scene difficult for a completely different reason. He hated doing it. To hear him tell it, the entire experience of it sounds like a nightmare. Grant is also the first to point out that he’s not actually on rhythm in the scene. The dance is corny and cringeworthy, but that’s kind of why it fits the character so well.

#9: “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off”

“Shall We Dance” (1937)

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were a match made in dance-movie heaven. Their pairings are still classics to this day. But one dance scene was almost too much for even these pros. “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” is a musical number where the two have to dance on roller skates. The rumor is that this whole sequence took 150 takes. There are some who say you can see just how exhausted and uncomfortable they are as the number ends, and the two of them do a choreographed spill onto some nearby grass. Needless to say, given Astaire’s legend as a taskmaster and perfectionist, it’s not at all hard to believe.

#8: Mac’s Dance

“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” (2005-)

For a show as funny and largely unserious as “It’s Always Sunny,” Mac’s genuinely impressive interpretive dance isn’t played for laughs. The character uses it to explore his coming out and his confusion about where he fits in in the world. Actor Rob Mac had to undergo a full body transformation to pull it off. Not only that, Mac is not a dancer in the slightest. He was paired with a genuine ballet dancer in Kylie Shea, and had to at least be believable in the incredibly acrobatic sequence. The hard work paid off. It’s an unforgettable moment that had everyone talking.

#7: Stair Routine

“The Little Colonel” (1935)

Shirley Temple was a wunderkind. She was one of Hollywood’s biggest stars by the time she was 10 years old. But on the set of “The Little Colonel,” a dance routine had to be majorly scaled back for her. Frequent dance partner and vaudeville legend Bill “Bojangles” Robinson was supposed to teach Temple a stair tap routine he had been doing for years. However, with only limited days to teach and rehearse it, Robinson had to pare down the movements for her. Instead, he taught her a modified version that looked just as impressive on camera.

#6: Salsa Club Scene

“Along Came Polly” (2004)

Jennifer Aniston stars as a free-spirited woman who loves to salsa dance. Ben Stiller, however, is the straight-laced risk analyst trying to win her over with his newfound moves. The scene where they dance together required Aniston to take lessons, which she mostly blew off. The salsa club scene was only supposed to take two days. Although the scene doesn’t take up too much screen time in the final film, it ended up taking nearly a week to finish. By the end, Aniston described her feet as looking like “raw meat,” and we thank her for that vivid visual.

#5: “No Dames”

“Hail, Caesar!” (2016)

When Channing Tatum took the role of a mid-century movie star, writer-directors Joel and Ethan Coen hadn’t decided if he would have to tap dance. Anyone who knows Tatum knows he can handle choreography, but his hip-hop style is more at home in “Step Up” than in this movie about the Golden Age of Hollywood. Eventually, Tatum was told he’d have to tap in “Hail, Caesar!,” a far cry from his usual moves. He had only a few months to master what some dancers take years to learn. In the end, he made it look like he’d been tapping all his life.

#4: “A Lovely Night”

“La La Land” (2016)

Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone were not necessarily known for their dancing skills prior to this film. Preparing for the 2016 musical “La La Land” almost became a choreography bootcamp. The movie’s signature number, “A Lovely Night,” had to be rehearsed meticulously before it was shot, as it would be filmed in one take and in real time against the real Los Angeles sunset. There were falls, timing issues, and other mistakes that actors who aren’t incredibly experienced in dancing make. It took retakes and a couple days of shooting, but eventually, the two were able to make movie magic.

#3: “(I’ve Had the) Time of My Life”

“Dirty Dancing” (1987)

The lift isn’t just the movie’s defining image. It’s also the move that young lovers Baby and Johnny have been working up to through the entire movie. Only when they trust each other enough can they finally perform it. Jennifer Grey wasn’t a slouch when it comes to dancing, but like their characters, her skill paled in comparison to Patrick Swayze’s. They never even practiced the lift until it was go-time. Grey was too scared to do it until she had to. The degree of difficulty and the sheer romance of the moment is still breathtaking after all these years.

#2: “Me Ol’ Bamboo”

“Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” (1968)

When Dick Van Dyke looks back on his long and illustrious career, he considers this “the hardest dance number” of them all. As the inventor Caractacus Potts, he performs the breathless number with a bamboo walking stick as a prop. These so-called bamboo poles actually had metal inside of them, and required the ensemble of dancers to wield them like they were almost weightless. The high-kicking routine took almost two dozen takes to complete. If that wasn’t hard enough, Van Dyke had the disadvantage of being several years older than most of the other dancers.

#1: “Good Mornin’”

“Singin’ in the Rain” (1952)

Gene Kelly was famously ill when he shot the title number, and Donald O’Connor had to be put on bed rest after he completed the physical comedy masterpiece, “Make ‘Em Laugh.” Yet no one on the set of “Singin’ in the Rain” suffered like Debbie Reynolds did. Unlike her co-stars, Reynolds was young and was not nearly as proficient a dancer, which Kelly often remarked upon. “Good Mornin’” is a cheerful trio number. Reynolds, Kelly, and O’Connor dance on tables and up and down a flight of stairs. It looks more fun than it is. Once they were finished, Reynolds said her shoes were full of blood.

What’s your favorite dance scene? Tell us in the comments.