The Top 9 'Step Up' Dance Battles
The Step Up movies take place in a universe where every problem can be solved through the magic of dance. Over the course of four films, the ever-shifting cast of street dancers has quelled corporate greed, mended broken relationships, saved homes from foreclosure, and settled countless disputes through the power of popping and locking. With the fifth movie in the series, Step Up: All In, opening today, we wanted to take a look at the most inspired dance scenes from Step Up, Step Up 2: The Streets, Step Up 3D, and Step Up Revolution. Here’s are ranking of the best battles:
No. 9:
Step Up: Tyler (Channing Tatum) vs. Camille (Alyson Stoner)
Most of the Step Up dance battles are dead serious, but this one is seriously adorable. Channing Tatum’s character Tyler, a street dancer turned Maryland School of the Arts candidate, challenges his foster sister Camille to a dance-off in their tiny Baltimore backyard.
No. 8:
Step Up 3D: House of Samurai vs. Moose (Adam G. Sevani)
No embed, but see the showdown here.
In the world of Step Up, it’s always a good idea to be prepared for a dance battle, even when you’re just going to the bathroom. After showing up a member of the House of Samurai dance crew, lovable nerd Moose is challenged to a rematch — and ambushed by an all-out dance assault in the boy’s room.
No. 7:
Step Up 2: The Streets: The 410 vs. The Maryland Transportation Authority
At the start of Step Up 2: The Streets, our heroine Andie (Briana Evigan) is running with a rogue dance crew called the 410, named after the Baltimore area code. They’re known for staging masked flash mobs like this subway dance, which ends with the dancers running from police.
No. 6:
Step Up Revolution: The Mob vs. The Man
The dancers in the fourth Step Up movie interpret the term “revolution” loosely: After convincing a developer not to destroy their Miami neighborhood, they celebrate by signing a promotional contract with Nike. That said, Ryan Guzman’s crew (a.k.a. “The Mob”) make inventive use of riot gear and shipping containers in their 7-minute climactic dance scene, which features Step Up 3-D dance crew The Pirates in an extended cameo.
No. 5:
Step Up: Classical Dancers vs. Street Dancers
Jenna Dewan and Channing Tatum’s Step Up finale is less of a dance battle than a performance styled after a dance battle. Yet it pretty much nails the equation that makes the franchise work: the dedication of professionals plus the soul of street dancers equals true love.
No. 4:
Step Up 2: The Streets: Tyler (Channing Tatum) vs. Andie (Briana Evigan)
Returning in triumph to his old ‘hood, Tyler challenges the younger Andie to a dance battle — making her promise to apply to the Maryland School of the Arts if she loses. Unusual stakes, sure. But Channing Tatum’s dancing in this scene, buoyed by trampolines, is better than anything he did in the first movie.
No. 3:
Step Up 3D: Moose (Adam G. Sevani) vs. Kid Darkness (Daniel Campos)
No embed, but watch the showdown here.
Gawky MSA graduate Moose arrives in New York City to study engineering, but immediately gets pulled back into street dancing. In this opening sequence, Moose tears up Washington Square Park as he battles Kid Darkness from the Samurai Crew.
No. 2:
Step Up 2: The MSA Crew vs. The 410
The end of Step Up 2: The Streets is a final club showdown between Andie’s old crew and her new friends from Maryland School of the Arts. The 410 dazzles with acrobatic breakdancing, but the MSA triumphs with a rain-drenched street dance in the actual street. This one also features a cameo from America’s Best Dance Crew winners Jabbawockeez.
No. 1:
Step Up 3D: The Pirates vs. The Samurai (World Jam Finals)
The climax of Step up 3D is the Stefon sketch of dance battles. It has everything: pirates, samurai, identical twins from Argentina, Jennifer Lopez’s ex-boyfriend with his shirt off, breakdancing children, robot dancers, light-up costumes, and so on. At ten minutes, it’s the longest continuous dance sequence in the franchise, but Jon M. Chu’s expert direction makes it exhilarating from start to finish.
Related Link: 6 Ways ‘Step Up’ Danced its Way to Franchise Fame
Want to see Step Up: All In? Visit our Showtimes page to get tickets.
