20. The Fall Senior Showcase (Step Up)
Tyler jumps into the Fall Senior Showcase at the last minute (naturally), saving Nora from mediocrity and securing their future with a wonderfully choreographed dance number that means the world to both of them. It just works, dang it.
19. Finger Tutting (Step Up 3D)
The credits are halfway over, but Step Up 3D just can’t stop dancing. So the film brings out an epic finger tutter to dazzle us with a strange, completely random yet absolutely hypnotic routine. It shouldn’t work. It doesn’t even make sense. But it’s pretty darned magical.
18. Tyler’s Janitor Jam (Step Up)
Tyler dances like a maniac, proving he can ballet just as hard as these MSA students and unwittngly winning the gaze of the lovely Nora in the process. THIS is our real introduction to Tyler Gage. #84 shouldn’t count.
17. Tyler & Camille Do the Running Man (Step Up)
Tyler Gage makes the startling discovery that his foster sister Camille is a natural dancer too. The enormous ramifications of this revelation will not become apparent until Step Up 3D, but it was worth the wait after this endearing set-up.
16. The Battle of Red Hook (Step Up 3D)
Dust clouds. Epic robots. Road warriors. Hand dancers. One of the best battles in the series, resoundingly won by our beloved pirates but impressively contested by the amazing dancers of Red Hook.
15. Ballet vs. The Streets (Step Up)
The opening credits of Step Up beautifully illustrated one of the ongoing themes of the franchise: the thin line between classical dancing and street dancing. Ballet dancers perform beautiful, traditional moves to a badass soundtrack, while street dancers whip out new moves that suddenly feel classical when placed in this context. Yeah, it kinda looks like a lost Paul Abdul music video, but it works anyway.
14. The Busted Window Tango (Step Up 3D)
Deception! Masks! Seduction! All the tension that’s been mounting in Step Up 3D peaks in this old school routine that would have been just as effective in a spy movie. When will Natalie tell Luke that she’s been spying on The Pirates for her Samurai brother? WHEN?!
13. The Moose is Loose (Step Up 2 The Streets)
Everyone knows Moose is the best dancer ever in the history of everything ever ever. But we didn’t know for a long time in Step Up 2 The Streets, until this unexpected revelation on a staircase with impressive baggy pants motions and a crotch-grabbing finale that only gets a teensy bit embarrassing. This was where we all fell in love with Robert Alexander III, a.k.a. Moose, a.k.a. Mooskie.
12. All In (Step Up All In)
The entire Step Up cast (well, almost) came back for this big bravura finale which combined steampunk sand zombies, fire and romance, sending the series off in style (unless there’s a sixth one, of course).
11. Meet the Mob (Step Up Revolution)
The opening of Step Up Revolution sets the stage by making flash mobs seem BADASS. Framing these public shenanigans like a bank heist, unleashing absolutely absurd touches like jumping stilts and dancing cars, introducing us to The Mob and making us fucking love them.
