See these Broadway musicals featuring show-stopping dances

See all types of dance from classic musical theatre to signature moves coined by pop icons.

Gillian Russo
Written byGillian Russo
Six
Chicago
Moulin Rouge! The Musical
The Book of Mormon
MJ The Musical
Hell's Kitchen
The Outsiders
The Great Gatsby

Six

Broadway
Musical
Award winner

Six reimagines the six wives of Henry VIII as a pop group, each of whom sings an infectiously catchy song about Henry's mistreatment of them to determine who will lead the group. The five not singing their solo at any given time support with background vocals and movement — even if they're not very supportive of each other. (Or are they?) It's impressive to watch the Queens move almost as a unit, with every head nod, step, and hip perfectly synchronized, thanks to Carrie-Anne Ingrouille's choreography.

In a nutshell, watching Six is like watching a pop star and their backup dancers at a high-energy concert. And you know when you're at a concert, you want to stand up and groove, too! Unfortunately, you can't dance along during the show, but the best part of the Six choreography is that it's simple and clean. With a quick few YouTube tutorials (and a trip to see the show live), you can learn the dances move-for-move and pretend you're a Broadway queen at home.

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Six

Chicago

Broadway
Musical
Classic
Award winner

Chicago is almost synonymous with one of the most iconic Broadway choreographers of all time: Bob Fosse. Sharp, angular arm movements (like the above); hip rolls; snaps; and small, specific movements define his signature, sultry style of jazz. It's all on display in every moment of Chicago, a thrilling story of a wannabe vaudeville star-turned-murderess whose crime gets her on the front page of every newspaper in the city.

Fosse choreographed the original Chicago Broadway production in 1975, but he died before the 1996 revival was in the works. So Ann Reinking, who originated the role of Roxie, choreographed the new production in his style and won the Best Choreography Tony Award (Fosse only got nominated!). That revival is still running 25 years later, so Chicago is just as much Reinking's show as Fosse's — but he'll always be known for all that jazz.

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Chicago

Moulin Rouge! The Musical

Broadway
Screen to stage
Jukebox musical
Award winner

You can-can-can expect to see plenty of energetic choreography at Moulin Rouge! The Musical, and the 36 kicks each can-can dancer has to do in succession in the opening number are just the start of this mind-blowing dance musical. Choreographer Sonya Tayeh incorporates multiple different styles into this story of love and showbiz in bohemian, 20th-century Paris. Oh, and did we mention Tayeh won a 2020 Best Choreography Tony Award for doing so?

You'll see plenty of jazz and musical theatre choreography, but there are also elements of ballroom dance, as in the iconic number "El Tango de Roxanne," and even classical ballet-inspired moves. Like the award-winning film it's based on, Moulin Rouge! The Musical features dozens of pop songs from various decades mashed up into medleys. It's fitting, then, that the choreography is just as diverse and eclectic as the music and the show itself.

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Moulin Rouge! The Musical

The Book of Mormon

Broadway
Musical
Award winner

Casey Nicholaw is the master of modern musical comedy choreography. His work is bouncy, fun, and often infused with physical humor and/or at least one instance of tap dancing. If you've seen AladdinSomething Rotten!, or Mean Girls, you're familiar with his Tony-nominated work, which he often also directs. Another case in point is The Book of Mormon, the irreverent comedy about Mormon missionaries that's been on Broadway for 11 divine years.

Take the song "Two By Two," for example — Elders Price and Cunningham are hoping to get sent on mission to Disney World, so Nicholaw invented "cheesy theme-park choreography," as he himself describes it. And in "All-American Prophet," the Book of Mormon ensemble dances their way through the true story of Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon religion, truthfully yet comically. As David Schmader of The Stranger puts it, "If you want to economically underscore the ridiculousness of someone's argument, have them make it while doing an aggressively energetic 'funky strut' dance."

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The Book of Mormon

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MJ The Musical

Broadway
Jukebox musical
Award winner

There's a reason Michael Jackson is the only musical artist in the Dance Hall of Fame: He was a dancing machine. His dancing versatility was almost as expansive as his catalogue of hit songs: He popularized dances from the sharp, rigid robot to the totally opposite, smooth moonwalk. These signature moves and plenty more are all on display in MJ The Musical, which takes audiences through Jackson's life and career as he rehearses for his 1992 Dangerous World Tour.

Though Jackson's hit music is obviously a key part of MJ The Musical, it's really a dance show. Many of the rehearsal scenes and flashbacks alike feature Jackson and his backup dancers performing on stage, and dance numbers let the actors move smoothly through scene transitions. Plus, director/choreographer Christopher Wheeldon teamed up with "movement consultants" Rich and Tone Talauega, brothers who actually danced with Jackson, to make the movement as authentic to Jackson's style as possible. If you come out of MJ The Musical feeling energized, blame it on the boogie! (Not that that's a "Bad" thing — you can't help it.)

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MJ The Musical

Hell's Kitchen

Broadway
Jukebox musical
Award winner

You may come to Hell's Kitchen eager to hear the songs of Alicia Keys, who co-created this musical loosely inspired by her coming of age in NYC. But you're going to want to stay for the electric, explosive choreography of two-time Tony Award nominee Camille A. Brown.

Her movement blends Juba, step, contemporary, hip-hop, ballet, and more, capturing the energy of the city and its diverse residents. That's fitting for a show told through the eyes of a 17-year-old who sees her community as a vibrant place of art and opportunity.

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Hell's Kitchen

The Outsiders

Broadway
Musical
Award winner
Page to stage

The Outsiders doesn't feature traditional Broadway dance, but the movement is by far the most arresting aspect of the show. Depicting the class and turf war between two teenage gangs, the well-off Socs and downtrodden Greasers, the musical features multiple scenes of impeccably stylized fight choreography.

It's gritty, it's punchy, and it's as stunning to watch as it is heartbreaking. In The Outsiders, movement tells the sad story of how these teens have learned not to express themselves with words, but with fists.

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The Outsiders

The Great Gatsby

Broadway
Musical
Award winner
Page to stage

It wouldn't be a musical set in the 1920s without a little — okay, a lot — of Charleston dance. Plenty of it is on vibrant display in The Great Gatsby on Broadway, based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel about a doomed, forbidden romance. The scenes set at Jay Gatsby's lavish, crowded parties are where you'll see most of the dance as everyone gets down in their flapper dresses and pinstripe suits. We defy you not to want to dance with them.

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The Great Gatsby