Get ready to tap those toes and shake those hips! Join us as we count down the Broadway show tunes that make us want to jump into the ensemble and strut our stuff. Our list celebrates the most infectious, energetic, and dance-worthy numbers from the Great White Way that have audiences dancing in their seats. Which Broadway banger gets your body moving?
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Tonight's the night we're gonna fly. Let's kick this ship down in the high!
00:05Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:07And today, we're counting down our picks for the show tunes that make us want to jump into the ensemble and strut our stuff.
00:13What?
00:14Let's dance!
00:20Number 10. 96,000. In the Heights.
00:24One, two, three. What would you do with 96 G? I mean, if it's just between you and me.
00:31Esa pregunta es tricky. I know.
00:35The working-class neighborhood of Washington Heights is shocked to learn a local bodega has sold a winning lottery ticket.
00:4196,000 sees the cast of characters rapping and waxing poetic about what they would do if they won that much money.
00:48I cast my tiki in tiki, invest in protest. Never lose my focus to the city, didn't notice. And you know this, man.
00:55I never sleep because the ghetto has a million promises for me. See?
00:59Building to a percussive and joyous excitement, the neighbors come together in a shared dance about the power of dreams
01:05and investing resources back into the community.
01:08Explosive when it first appeared on Broadway, Lin-Manuel Miranda's mix of hip-hop music had New York audiences dancing in the aisles in a way they never had.
01:16One of the set pieces of this nostalgic 1950s set musical comedy is the dance contest in the second act.
01:44Danny, Rizzo, and the other Rydell students compete in an increasingly energetic and crude marathon of novelty dances and peak high school drama.
01:51Born to Hand Jive is a huge showcase for an entire ensemble of dancers, and we just want to join them.
01:59It's easy to get carried away by the craziness that's usually happening during the song. If you ever want to throw a wild retro dance party, this bop has to be on the playlist.
02:22Born to Hand Jive, Baby.
02:24Born to Hand Jive, Baby.
02:25Oh yeah.
02:27Oh yeah.
02:28Oh yeah.
02:29Oh yeah.
02:30Yeah.
02:31Born to Hand Jive, Oh yeah.
02:32Born to Hand Jive, Oh yeah.
02:33Number 8.
02:35Hot Honey Rag, Chicago.
02:36Are you even a musical theater fan if you haven't at least tried to replicate Bob Fosse's
02:49slinky, sharp arm choreography and failed miserably?
02:52The director choreographer's original production of this musical cemented it as a classic of
02:57music, murder, and movement.
02:59In its final sequence, Roxy Hart and Velma Kelly finally make their stage debut as a
03:04duo.
03:06Hot Honey Rag is an instrumental jazz track full of tinkling pianos, funky horns, and a
03:18thumping beat.
03:19It makes you feel as if you're in a Prohibition-era speakeasy.
03:22Don't be surprised if it makes you start hoofing it up like a true flapper.
03:26Reno Sweeney is not a role for the faint of heart.
03:38You have to sing, smile, and tap dance for your life.
03:42I know I'm not a great romancer, I know that you're bound to answer when I propose anything
03:50goes.
03:52In this Cole Porter show's title number, she leads an ensemble of fellow passengers on a
03:57cruise ship in a breathless extravaganza of old-fashioned musical comedy entertainment.
04:02This is a song that's not exactly entry-level dancing-wise, but it's hard not to want to
04:07give it a shot.
04:25They all look like they're having so much fun, even though in reality it's probably one of
04:30the hardest musical numbers to pull off.
04:31But that's why this show has been revived so many times.
04:35Whether it's the fast and furious tapping or the patter of the lyrics, the energy is off
04:39the charts.
04:55Number 6.
04:56America.
04:57West Side Story.
04:58I like the island Manhattan.
05:01I know you don't.
05:03Smoke on your pipe and put Latin.
05:09This number has looked pretty different over the years.
05:11In the stage show, Anita performs it as a duet with Rosalia, as they argue the virtues of
05:16America.
05:17The movies divide the argument by gender lines, seeing the sharks and their girlfriends engaging
05:22in the debate.
05:22Terrible time in America.
05:25You've got to get time in America.
05:26What remains the same is that it's a vehicle for great choreography.
05:31Inspired by the Latin music sounds of Puerto Rico, America is a fluid and rollicking song
05:36that builds to a stunning and sweeping climax of dance.
05:40When we hear composer Leonard Bernstein's toe-tapping, Wapongo-inspired rhythm, it's hard not to tap
05:46our feet.
05:56Number 5.
05:57House of Holbein.
05:586.
05:59Who turns its fear into a nine?
06:02So just say yeah and don't say nine.
06:05Tobey Marlowe and Lucy Moss' blockbusting historical musical is designed to be a crowd-pleaser.
06:12Reinterpreting the story of King Henry VIII and his ill-fated wives as a pop fantasia full
06:17of modern music and feminism, 6 takes some big sonic swings.
06:21House of Holbein could be its most up-tempo song.
06:24Cause now you're in the house, in the house of Holbein.
06:28Mixing German styles with house music beats, Henry's search for a fourth spouse becomes
06:32a techno-banger narrated by the company of wives.
06:35Some stagings even see the cast's costumes glowing in the dark and essentially turning
06:39the place into a club.
06:41Who knew a Broadway theater could sound like an underground European rave?
06:45Ooh-yah!
06:47That seems good!
06:48Ooh-yah!
06:49Number 4.
06:50Bend and Snap.
06:52Legally Blonde.
07:02How do you make an already iconic scene all the better?
07:06The Legally Blonde musical turned Elle Woods' famous secret for catching men's attention
07:10into a whole number that has her and her sorority sisters teaching us how to do this signature
07:15move.
07:20Elle and her Deltanoo crew essentially turn into a girl group as they try to give Paulette a
07:25little confidence.
07:26Bend and Snap is groovy, funky, and it delivers a whole lot of attitude.
07:31Because it's basically a series of instructions, it almost feels like you're being invited
07:35to join in on the lesson.
07:37Don't call it!
07:38I depend on my friend!
07:40Don't call it!
07:41I depend on my friend!
07:43Call the band!
07:45Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!
07:46Oh, and Snap!
07:48Number 3.
07:50Dancing Queen.
07:51Mamma Mia!
07:51Dancing Queen.
07:54Feel the beat from the dead, baby!
07:57If there's one thing you can say about the ABBA jukebox musical, it's that it's sure
08:02to put a smile on your face.
08:04Faced with three men she knew in her past, Donna is in need of a pick-me-up.
08:08Her pals remind her who she is, and the entire show basically stops.
08:12You can try having the time of your life.
08:17If you're an ABBA fan, you already know it's hard not to shake it to Dancing Queen.
08:21Once you add an ensemble of dancers and some absolutely stunning Broadway performers, it's
08:26impossible to sit still.
08:28Maybe the real Dancing Queen was the one in us all along.
08:31See that girl!
08:34Watch that scene!
08:36Dear Dancing Queen!
08:39Number 2.
08:40Dancing Through Life.
08:41Wicked.
08:42I see that once again the responsibility to corrupt my fellow students falls to me.
08:47Fierro's first act song isn't just an explanation of his life's philosophy.
08:50It's a rousing song that shakes up the entire show.
08:54Dancing Through Life introduces his worldview to the audience, and it's hard not to agree
08:58with him once he gets everyone twirling and flying across the stage.
09:02Wolves are pleading, flows are glancing, when you're dancing.
09:09Whether it's in the original Broadway production or the 2024 film, the number is a huge highlight
09:15because it's such a departure from the rest of the Wicked score.
09:18Like Fierro himself, Dancing Through Life has a contagious and almost hypnotic energy
09:23that compels us to join in the fun.
09:25Let's go fight!
09:28So keep dancing, please!
09:34Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified
09:39about our latest videos.
09:41You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
09:45If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
09:50Number 1.
09:51You Can't Stop the Beat.
09:53Hairspray.
09:53And you can try and stop my dancing feet, but I just cannot sit still.
09:59Like the title makes clear, this jam-packed, lengthy finale is a runaway train of exuberant
10:04joy, boundless optimism, and the feeling that something big you don't want to miss is happening.
10:09The song sees the pleasantly optimistic crusader for equality Tracy Turnblad hijacking the
10:14set of a dance show and ringing in a revolution of racial integration in mid-century Baltimore.
10:19Reminiscent of River Deep Mountain High, You Can't Stop the Beat is a boisterous pastiche
10:41that reflects the early to mid-60s pop sound.
10:43It's a tune that comes at you fast and dares you not to get up and join the movement.
10:49Did you make it through our list without dancing?
11:05Tell us in the comments.
11:06Everybody, everybody say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
11:16Do you agree with our picks?
11:18Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo, and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell
11:23to be notified about our latest videos.