My mind instantly goes to old movies. Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Gene Kelly. Top Hat. Singing in the rain. An American in Paris. Busby Berkely movies. Someone else will know better recs, this is not really my area.

Also, The Red Shoes by Powell and Pressburger.

The original Shall We Dance? has some lovely stuff in there.

We watched Leave Her To Heaven the other night. Gene Tierney rocks in it, playing a really evil demon woman.

We saw The Aristocrats tonight. Funny and filthy, just as I expected. Worth seeing if you like comedy or like exploring the creative impulse. There is a mime in it who is actually hilarious--go figure.

She might like The Tango Lesson. It's a b&w indie, and excessively introspective, but there is very nice dancing.

I went with a friend to see Ladies in Lavender, and I know what you're all thinking. I'm a huge fan of both Maggie Smith and Judi Dench, dames as awarded, and they were both wonderful in this--Dench was luminous.

I look at her raddled and ruined in Chocolat and then in this she just glowed. Inappropriately, yes, but marvelous all the same. The interiors were dark and small and confining, full of musty old framed photos and dark furniture and squeaky wood floors where every footfall sounded hollow. Daylight streaming in windows beckoned to the freedom of the sea and the fields, and made the fusty interiors darker and smaller by contrast.

The younger characters were well-played, but the two women were the stars, and despite the fact they're well past "middle age," they delivered the sorts of performances their reputations are built on. Yes, the story is far-fetched and overly sentimental, but Smith and Dench play it very real, and very human. I'd see it again.

If she's looking for balletic-style dancing, try The Red Shoes and An American in Paris. For old-fashioned hoofing, you can't beat Singin' in the Rain, and even though there's not a lot to Summer Stock, I love Gene Kelly's dance number with no music but what he creates with a squeaky board and a piece of paper on the floor (the predecessor of Stomp). This also has the fantastic number "Get Happy," sung by Judy Garland in a tuxedo top and hat, surrounded by adoring dancing men in tuxes.

For fun dancing with not much plot beyond the basic romance, almost any Astaire/Rogers pairing will do, with Top Hat and Swing Time at the top of the list. I also really adore Easter Parade, since it has the fabulous dancing of Astaire and Ann Miller, and the adequate dancing but divine voice of Judy Garland.

For more modern films with modern dancing, All That Jazz has more Fosse choreography than Cabaret, but I would track down the PBS recording of the stage show Fosse for pure dancing (no pesky plot to worry about with that review). Most modern musicals with dance numbers suffer from the MTV-style school of editing, to cover up the fact that most of the principal performers are barely adequate dancers (Chicago, anyone?).

ETA my favorite dance number of all time! Seven Brides for Seven Brothers: the barn raising dance. Absolutely amazing.

Thanks for the recs, all! I think "beautiful dancing" just means they do it well, I didn't really ask. Off to Netflix.

Oh dear Loward. Over at TwoP someone posted links to a spoof article about Katie Holmes starring in Jerry Maguire 2 and another poster responded:

Cuba -- I wish you did not have to lower yourself to this.

After Boat Trip, just how bad would a movie have to be to be considered "lowering oneself"?

Dance movie: The Company.

I was JUST gonna post about the barn dance in Seven Brides. So much fun to watch!