Shall We Dance? A Look at Ballroom Dancing on Broadway

Today, Sony Pictures Classics releases HA-CHAN, SHAKE YOUR BOOTY! in theaters nationwide. Co-written by Josef Kubota Wladyka and Nicholas Huynh and directed by Josef Kubota Wladyka, the film received the U.S. Dramatic Directing Award and a standing ovation at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, along with his mother, the real-life Ha-Chan.  Inspired by the spirit of Josef’s mother, Ha-Chan, HA-CHAN, SHAKE YOUR BOOTY! follows Haru and Luis who love competing in Tokyo’s ballroom dance scene, but after tragedy strikes, Haru withdraws into isolation. When friends coax her back to the studio, she develops an infatuation with the new instructor. She must face what comes next as sparks fly. 

The film, which was shot in Tokyo, stars Academy Award and Golden Globe nominee Rinko Kikuchi (BABEL, THE BROTHERS BLOOM), Alberto Guerra (GRISELDA, NARCOS: MEXICO), Alejandro Edda (AMERICAN MADE, NARCOS: MEXICO), YOU (COME COME EVERYBODY, 9 BORDER) Yoh Yoshida (FLYING COLORS, POISON BERRY IN MY BRAIN) and Damián Alcázar (THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN). 

Broadway has always known that sometimes the best way to tell a story is to put on your dancing shoes. From elegant waltzes and fiery tangos to quicksteps, foxtrots, rumbas and cha-chas, ballroom dancing has found its way into Broadway musicals for generations. Sometimes it's simply part of the spectacle, while other times the act of two characters taking the floor can say more about their relationship than pages of dialogue. With ballroom dancing continuing to captivate audiences on television and beyond, we're taking a spin through Broadway history to revisit some of the shows that have brought the ballroom to the stage.

Ballroom

You can't talk about ballroom dancing on Broadway without starting with a musical actually called Ballroom. The 1978 musical, directed and choreographed by Michael Bennett, centered on Bea Asher, a widow who finds a new community—and an unexpected romance with mail carrier Alfred Rossi—at a local dance hall. Based on Jerome Kass' television film Queen of the Stardust Ballroom, the musical featured music by Billy Goldenberg and lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman. Dance wasn't merely decoration: the ballroom was the center of Bea's social and romantic awakening. Accordingly, Bennett filled the production with social dancing. Its score included numbers such as "The Dance Montage," "The Tango Contest," "The Stardust Waltz" and "I Wish You a Waltz," while the choreography moved through styles including the tango, waltz, foxtrot and hustle. The production opened at the Majestic Theatre in December 1978 and played 116 performances.

Burn the Floor

Three decades later, Broadway got an even bigger dose of ballroom with Burn the Floor. Unlike a traditional book musical, the 2009 production put dancing itself front and center, assembling an international company of ballroom dancers at the Longacre Theatre. The show covered virtually the full ballroom spectrum, including the waltz, Viennese waltz, foxtrot, tango, quickstep, cha-cha, samba, paso doble, rumba and jive, along with swing and Lindy Hop. Dancing with the Stars favorites Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff were among the performers who appeared during the Broadway engagement. Instead of treating ballroom as something genteel or old-fashioned, Burn the Floor emphasized its athleticism, sensuality and speed, giving traditional partner dancing a decidedly contemporary Broadway makeover.

Tango Argentino

Before Burn the Floor, another dance spectacular had already demonstrated just how thrilling partner dancing could be on a Broadway stage. Tango Argentino opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre in 1985 following an earlier New York engagement at City Center. Conceived and directed by Claudio Segovia and Héctor Orezzoli, the Spanish-language revue traced different styles and eras of Argentine tango through music and dance. Juan Carlos Copes served as choreographer. The production became one of Broadway's most significant showcases for tango, playing 199 performances and helping introduce a theatricalized version of the Argentine dance tradition to a much wider American audience.

The King and I

Few Broadway dances are as instantly recognizable as "Shall We Dance?" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I. The number comes as Anna introduces the King of Siam to a Western style of partner dancing. What begins as a lesson becomes one of the musical's great expressions of the complicated chemistry between the two characters. As they sweep around the room together, the polka allows them a degree of physical closeness that their usual conversations do not. It's a perfect example of what ballroom and social dancing can accomplish in musical theatre: the steps aren't merely choreography—they move the relationship forward.

My Fair Lady

Ballroom dancing also plays an important role in My Fair Lady, where Eliza Doolittle's transformation is put to one of its greatest tests at the Embassy Ball. By the time Eliza enters the ballroom, Henry Higgins has spent months teaching her how to speak and behave according to the expectations of upper-class society. The ball therefore becomes much more than a glamorous set piece. Eliza must navigate an environment governed by rigid social rules—and dancing is part of the performance. The sequence also demonstrates why ballroom scenes have long been so useful to musical-theatre storytellers. Costume, movement, etiquette and class can all collide on the dance floor at once.

Beauty and the Beast

The ballroom sequence from Beauty and the Beast is one of the most famous images associated with the story, and the stage musical brought that romantic centerpiece to Broadway. As Mrs. Potts sings the title song, Belle and the Beast take the floor together. The waltz-like sequence marks an important shift in their relationship: the intimidating creature Belle first encountered has become someone with whom she can comfortably share an intimate dance. It's ballroom dancing being used in one of its most enduring theatrical roles—as visual shorthand for two people falling in love.

Grand Hotel

Few settings are better suited to formal dancing than the luxurious world of Grand Hotel. Tommy Tune's 1989 Broadway production was particularly celebrated for its movement, with choreography by Tune and additional choreography by Thommie Walsh. The musical's guests continually cross paths in the glamorous Berlin hotel, and dance becomes part of the production's portrait of a society desperately trying to keep moving. Waltzes and other social dances contribute to the elegant atmosphere while the characters' private lives unravel around them.

Contact

Susan Stroman's Contact approached partner dancing from an entirely different direction. The 2000 Tony Award winner for Best Musical was constructed as three largely dance-driven stories, including "Did You Move?," set in an Italian restaurant, and "Contact," which takes place around a pool table and centers on a mysterious woman in a yellow dress. Rather than presenting ballroom dancing in a traditional grand ballroom, Stroman explored the push and pull between partners—the invitation, pursuit, rejection and connection that can be expressed through social dance. The result demonstrated just how much narrative could be communicated through movement alone.

Tango Pasion

Broadway got another concentrated burst of tango in 1993 with Tango Pasion. The production played a brief engagement at the Longacre Theatre, opening on April 28 and closing May 2. Choreographed by Hector Zaraspe, the show featured tango duets based on choreography associated with its dancing couples and was set partly in the late 1940s and partly in the present. Along with Tango Argentino, it belongs to a fascinating subset of Broadway history in which ballroom and social dance weren't simply ingredients in a musical—they were the main event.

Whether it's Cinderella meeting her prince, Anna teaching the King a new step, Belle waltzing with the Beast or an entire company tearing through a tango, Broadway has repeatedly turned to partner dancing when words aren't quite enough.