If you’ve spent any real amount of time on the CraveOnline Film Channel, you’ll know that we love the Step Up movies. Unironically love them.
These bastions of neo-sincerity dare you to take their naive storylines and adorable characters seriously, and pit them against each other in one breathtaking dance sequence after another. They’re the Broadway Melodies of the 21st Century, and with the fifth film in the franchise hitting Blu-ray today, we wanted to do something special to celebrate that can-do spirit.
There are so many dance sequences in the Step Up franchise that we simply had to catalogue them all and rank them from “Wuh?” to “Wow.” Step Up dance numbers are among the best the screen has to offer, especially in the modern era, and we’ve made a study of what makes them work and what makes them sometimes fail to capture our imaginations.
Related: Download a CraveOnline Exclusive Commentary Track for ‘Step Up 3D’
So join us as we rank every single Step Up dance in the history of the franchise: 92 in total. (Please note: there is a LOT of incidental dancing in the Step Up series, so we are only ranking dances that take center stage for more than a few seconds.)
BEWARE OF SPOILERS…
92. The Step Up Credits Collage (Step Up)
The Step Up movies have a history of concluding with memorable outtakes during the closing credits… a history that began with Step Up 2 The Streets, not the original film, which ended with this uninvolving collage of dances that do little to strike the imagination.
91. The Moose Returns (Step Up All In)
Fan favorite (and secretly the series’ true star) Adam G. Sevani makes his triumphant first appearance in Step Up All In by… doing a little shimmy? Come on, Moose. We know you’re saving the good moves for later, but this is your weakest moment in the series.
90. All In Outtakes (Step Up All In)
The final outtakes of the Step Up franchise (so far) are more lighthearted than usual, but also rely more heavily on gags than sweet dance moves that didn’t make the final cut. This is not primo Step Up.
89. The Many Inadequacies of Andrew (Step Up)
Nora’s dance partner returns and sucks so hard he’s out of the picture before you can even say “montage.” Nora broke Tyler’s heart for THIS?
88. Everyone Comes to Ricky’s (Step Up Revolution)
There’s no better place to celebrate a successful flash mob/heist/thingy than by salsa dancing at Ricky’s, and then forgetting all about it. Like we do every single time we watch Step Up Revolution.
87. Sweat Sugar Sparkle Thong (Step Up All In)
Gasp! The leader of The Grim Knights used to be Alexxa Vega’s backup dancer! This shocking twist added suspense to the ending of Step Up All In, but came in the form of an intentionally cheesy (and brief) music video that’s more of a joke than a real dance sequence.
86. Enter: Tyler Gage (Step Up)
Considering what a folk hero Tyler Gage has become to the denizens of Baltimore, it’s a little disappointing that his first appearance in the franchise was this tame. Tyler shakes his butt and puts the moves on P.J.’s girl, setting the stage for tragedy later, but we all know Tyler can shake his butt better than this.
85. The Mob vs. The Grim Knights
The lowest ranking for an elaborate Step Up dance battle goes to a sequence with some damn fine moves, but without much of a story to tell. The Mob just wants to hang out, The Grim Knights just want to hang out, so they battle over who gets to hang out. The Mob loses, solidifying them as underdogs once again after their major victory in Step Up Revolution, but the two crews seem to whip out similarly complex, crowd pleasing moves. We’re not even sure why The Grim Knights won. Seems like a tie to us.
84. Emily Auditions for Winwood (Step Up Revolution)
Emily’s audition to Winwood concludes with her new teacher saying, “You lack originality and I suggest you find some.” This dance is technically proficient but intentionally uncreative, which tells the story but – by design – never really wows us.
83. Cast Party! (Step Up Revolution)
Everyone dances, isn’t it cute? But the only memorable thing about the final cast party in Step Up Revolution is the fact that Megan Boone from “The Blacklist” actually gets to boogie after being the film’s resident stick in the mud.
82. LMNTRIX Hotel Rehearsal Montage (Step Up All In)
There’s a long line of great rehearsal montages in this franchise, and the hotel basement montage of the fifth film just isn’t one of the best. The dancing is solid but the characters barely emerge through their moves.
81. The Freshman/Sophomore Back-Up (Step Up)
Tyler convinces Nora to enlist some freshmen and sophomores to back them up during the Fall Senior Showcase, so that’s what she does. And then they dance. Nothing wrong with it, but nothing terribly remarkable either.
