The Best Dance Movies and TV Shows on Free Services

What it's about: From the moment she arrives in Freiberg, Germany, to attend the prestigious Tanz Academy, American ballet-dancer Suzy Bannion senses that something horribly evil lurks within the walls of the age-old institution.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi) & stream on a subscription service (Kanopy).

What it's about: Selma, a Czech immigrant on the verge of blindness, struggles to make ends meet for herself and her son, who has inherited the same genetic disorder and will suffer the same fate without an expensive operation. When life gets too difficult, Selma learns to cope through her love of musicals, escaping life's troubles - even if just for a moment - by dreaming up little numbers to the rhythmic beats of her surroundings.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Charlie's got a 'job' to do. Having just left prison he finds one his of friends has attempted a high risk job in Torino, Italy, right under the nose of the mafia. Charlie's friend doesn't get very far, so Charlie takes over the 'job'. Using three Mini Coopers, a couple of Jaguars and a bus, he hopes to bring Torino to a standstill, steal a fortune in gold and escape in the chaos.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle, PopcornFlix & Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, CBS All Access, The Criterion Channel & 1 other) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Billy is released after five years in prison. In the next moment, he kidnaps teenage student Layla and visits his parents with her, pretending she is his girlfriend and they will soon marry.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Tribeca Short List) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Set in 1879 Paris. An orphan girl dreams of becoming a ballerina and flees her rural Brittany for Paris, where she passes for someone else and accedes to the position of pupil at the Grand Opera house.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (IMDb TV) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: The true story of how the Parkes Radio Telescope was used to relay the live television of man's first steps on the moon, during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Michelle, a Las Vegas showgirl, impulsively marries a man, moves to his sleepy coastal town, and takes an uneasy role at her new mother-in-law's dance school.

Where to Watch: 18 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Freeform). 18 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 18 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Prime Video).

What it's about: After enjoying a holiday romance, high school students Danny and Sandy are unexpectedly reunited when she transfers to Rydell High, where she must contend with cynical Rizzo and the Pink Ladies.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (IMDb TV), stream on a subscription service (CBS All Access) & rent or buy from $9.99 on 4 services (Google Play, Prime Video & 2 others).

What it's about: An unusual explorer named Gum and his kindly niece adopt three orphans -- Pauline, Petrova and Posy -- and raise them as sisters in 1930s London. But the girls must fend for themselves when Gum doesn't return from one of his adventures. Together, they nurture their passions for acting, aviation and ballet in this charming TV adaptation of Noel Streatfield's novel.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: When three women living on the edge of the American frontier are driven mad by harsh pioneer life, the task of saving them falls to the pious, independent-minded Mary Bee Cuddy. Transporting the women by covered wagon to Iowa, she soon realizes just how daunting the journey will be, and employs a low-life drifter, George Briggs, to join her. The unlikely pair and the three women head east, where a waiting minister and his wife have offered to take the women in. But the group first must traverse the harsh Nebraska Territories marked by stark beauty, psychological peril and constant threat.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A group of 12 teenagers from various backgrounds enroll at the American Ballet Academy in New York to make it as ballet dancers and each one deals with the problems and stress of training and getting ahead in the world of dance.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (IMDb TV), stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A documentary film that highlights two street derived dance styles, Clowning and Krumping, that came out of the low income neighborhoods of L.A.. Director David LaChapelle interviews each dance crew about how their unique dances evolved. A new and positive activity away from the drugs, guns, and gangs that ruled their neighborhood. A raw film about a growing sub-culture movements in America.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & Vudu) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: An endearing light comedy about a woman who spontaneously becomes a resident of Venice after her family left her begin. While enjoying the wonderful people she meets she achieves a new life and the first time independent of her family.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & Vudu) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 2 services (Google Play & YouTube).

What it's about: Toni, a tomboyish boxer, lands a spot on an after-school drill team in the West End community of Cincinnati. She eagerly absorbs routines, masters drills, and even pierces her own ears to fit in. It’s the joy of her first friendships and her discovery of dance. Shortly after Toni joins the team, most of the girls on the team suffer from episodes of fainting, swooning, and shaking in a seemingly uncontrollable catharsis. Nobody can explain the mysterious outbreak. These fits soon transform into a rite of passage as the trauma draws the other girls closer together. Caught between her need for control and her desire for acceptance, Toni must decide how far she will go to embody her new ideals.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Sundance Now, The Criterion Channel & 1 other) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: Fred Astaire (Tom) and Jane Powell (Ellen) are asked to perform as a dance team in England at the time of Princess Elizabeth's wedding. As brother and sister, each develops a British love interest, Ellen with Lord John Brindale (Peter Lawford) and Tom with dancer Anne Ashmond (Sarah Churchill--Winston's daughter).

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (SnagFilms & Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Fandor, Epix & 2 others), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: The Mambo Kings tells the story of César and Nestor Castillo, brothers and aspiring musicians who flee from Cuba to America in search of the American Dream.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Janey is new in town, and soon meets Lynne, who shares her passion for dancing in general, and "Dance TV" in particular. When a competition is announced to find a new Dance TV regular couple, Janey and Lynne are determined to audition. The only problem is that Janey's father doesn't approve of that kind of thing.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Hulu) & rent or buy from $0.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Dancers battle in heats of artistry, precision and athleticism in this reality-competition show.

Where to Watch: 8 episodes (20%) are available to watch free online (NBC). 17 episodes (43%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu & fuboTV). 5 episodes (13%) are available to stream on a TV everywhere service (NBC).

What it's about: A man is obsessed with John Travolta's disco dancing character from "Saturday Night Fever".

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi) & stream on a subscription service (Kanopy).

What it's about: At Sydney's National Dance Academy, a few talented youngsters are recruited for the excruciatingly tough course. It follows Tara Webster, a sheepfarmgirl who's ambition is to be the next best ballerina. Jewish long line of doctors' heir Samuel 'Sammy' and minor juvenile offender Christian are the outsiders but gradually fit in, making new kinds of friends. Star ballerina's daughter Kat also introduces them in the circle of last-year brother Ethan, who already aspires a career as choreographer. Also Abigail, a smart young girl who'll walk over dead bodies to reach the stars tries to sabotage everything and everyone.

Where to Watch: 65 episodes (98%) are available to watch free online (Tubi & Vudu). 65 episodes (98%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video). 65 episodes (98%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: At the age of 11, Li was plucked from a poor Chinese village by Madame Mao's cultural delegates and taken to Beijing to study ballet. In 1979, during a cultural exchange to Texas, he fell in love with an American woman. Two years later, he managed to defect and went on to perform as a principal dancer for the Houston Ballet and as a principal artist with the Australian Ballet.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & Vudu), stream on a subscription service (Kanopy) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: Young Cuban Rafael just buried his mother, and comes to Houston to meet his father John for the first time. The difficult part is that John doesn't know he is Rafael's father. John runs a dance studio, and everyone prepares for the World Open Dance championship in Las Vegas. It soon becomes clear Rafael is a very good dancer, and Ruby is the biggest hope for the studio at the championship.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: With Prom only hours away, the usual suspects of Cosa High (Cheerleaders, geeks, bad boys and the happy-go-lucky student council alike) are preoccupied with the annual rituals of teendom. On the night of the big dance when the dead unexpectedly rise to eat the living, polar opposite groups will be forced to unite in their final chance to save the town from the zombies.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: The first part tells the story of Moses leading the Jews from Egypt to the Promised Land, his receipt of the tablets and the worship of the golden calf. The second part shows the efficacy of the commandments in modern life through a story set in San Francisco. Two brothers, rivals for the love of Mary, also come into conflict when John discovers Dan used shoddy materials to construct a cathedral.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: In this musical comedy, Valerie is dealing with her philandering fiancé, Ted, when she finds that a trio of aliens have crashed their spaceship into her swimming pool. Once the furry beings are shaved at her girlfriend's salon, the women discover three handsome men underneath. After absorbing the native culture via television, the spacemen are ready to hit the dating scene in 1980s Los Angeles.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & IMDb TV), stream on a subscription service (Tribeca Short List) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Dance Moms is an American dance reality series that debuted on Lifetime on July 13, 2011. Created by Collins Avenue Productions, it is set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at the Abby Lee Dance Company, and follows children's early careers in dance show business, and their mothers. A spinoff series, Dance Moms: Miami, set in Miami at Victor Smalley and Angel Armas' dance studio, Stars Dance Studio, premiered on April 3, 2012, and was cancelled in September 2012 after eight episodes. On October 10, 2012, Lifetime announced that they had picked up Dance Moms for a third season, consisting of 26 episodes, which debuted on January 1, 2013.

Where to Watch: 224 episodes (94%) are available to watch free online (Lifetime, Tubi & IMDb TV). 102 episodes (43%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 2 episodes (1%) are available to stream on a TV everywhere service (Lifetime). 234 episodes (98%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Leni takes Rafi to meet her family in Madrid. Leni's family is Jewish - mother, father, older sister and daughter, brother, and grandfather. Rafi is Palestinian, in Spain since age 12. Before her father returns from work, Leni reveals Rafi's origins. He accidentally drops a block of frozen soup out the flat window, probably killing a passerby. Leni initiates a cover-up and Rafi figures out the body is probably Leni's father. The body disappears and without telling the rest of the family what they know, Leni and Rafi organize a search for dad. Mom is sure he's having an affair. Leni's belly-dancing sister kisses Rafi. Her brother grabs a rifle to shoot the Arab. Can anything be put right?

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: After an accidental drug overdose, a talented teenage DJ goes to live with his estranged father in a small Army town, where he gets to the bottom of his own pain and learns empathy for others.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 5 services (Google Play, Prime Video & 3 others).

What it's about: The Tramp and his dog companion struggle to survive in the inner city.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (SnagFilms), stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX, The Criterion Channel & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $0.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: This slasher movie follows a relentless killer who is out to avenge the death of a young girl who died after being bullied and teased by four of her classmates. Now high-school students, the guilt-ridden kids have kept their involvement a secret, but when they start being murdered, one by one, it's clear that someone knows the truth. Also coping with the past are members of the dead girl's family, most notably her prom-queen sister, Kim Hammond (Jamie Lee Curtis).

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle, PopcornFlix, Tubi & 2 others), stream on a subscription service (Shudder) & rent or buy from $0.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: Seventeen-year-old Alexia Wheaton hasn't been herself lately. Neighter has her 15-year-old sister Hayley. In fact they've been each other. Alexia becomes fashion-challenged Hayley and she in turn becomes styling Alexia and the complications come fast furious and funny.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: A drama centered on a go-go dancer with multiple personality disorder who struggles to remain her true self and begins working with a psychotherapist to uncover the mystery of the inner ghosts that haunt her.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: The rise and fall of salsa singer, Héctor Lavoe (1946-1993), as told from the perspective of his wife Puchi, who looks back from 2002.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: The dance crew from "Breakin'" bands together to save a community center from a greedy developer bent on building a shopping center in its place.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu) & stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video).

What it's about: The year is 1949. A young Texan named John Grady finds himself without a home after his mother sells the ranch where he has spent his entire life. Lured south of the border by the romance of cowboy life and the promise of a fresh start, Cole and his pal embark on an adventure that will test their resilience, define their maturity, and change their lives forever.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (IMDb TV) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: On the gritty streets of LA, the destinies of four people desperate for connection and redemption are about to collide.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Urban Movie Channel) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: The new guy in a Los Angeles high school, Morgan, does some singing and fights hotshot Nick over disco dancer Frankie.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & ConTV) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: After her sister and brother-in-law's tragic death, an American woman who is the guardian for her young niece and nephew is invited to a royal European castle for Christmas by her late brother-in-law's father, the Duke of Castlebury. Feeling out of place as a commoner, she is determined to give her family a merry Christmas and surprises herself when she falls for a handsome prince.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (IMDb TV) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Documentary telling the compelling story of the 40th Irish Dancing World Championships.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (PopcornFlix), stream on a subscription service (Epix), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A child is born. We see underwater swimmers representing this. He is young, in a jungle setting, with two fanciful "instincts" guiding him as swooping bird-like acrobats initially menace, then delight. As an adolescent, he enters a desert, where a man spins a large cube of metal tubing. He leaves his instinct-guides behind, and enters a garden where two statues dance in a pond. As he watches their sensual acrobatics of love, he becomes a man. He is offered wealth (represented by a golden hat) by a devil figure. In a richly decorated room, a scruffy troupe of a dozen acrobats and a little girl reawaken the old man's youthful nature and love.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A typical morning. The usual music. Their normal lives. The peace these seven girls experience will suddenly be destroyed. By the living dead... zombies. A reality that they never wanted a part of, an amazing and terrifying zombie world. They all share one wish: "We want to live." These girls will struggle through this saga, in order to achieve a miracle.

Where to Watch: 11 episodes (92%) are available to watch free online (Crunchyroll). 12 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a subscription service (Crunchyroll & Funimation). 12 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 3 services (Google Play, Prime Video & YouTube).

What it's about: A new-wave extravaganza in which a young woman wants to become the next big singer with the help of her friends and despite the wishes of her working class family.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Shout Factory TV & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: As a child, Donald was tormented by his mother who used fire as a punishment. Now a deranged adult, Donald stalks women at clubs, then takes them home where he kills them with a flamethrower.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: Zoey is a talented dancer whose organized life is rudely disrupted when she moves in with her new step-dad and three step-brothers, until she discovers a dog-training app that can get boys to obey her every command. But she soon learns that it isn't the cure-all she had hoped for.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix, Hulu, Disney+ & 1 other) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A non-glamorous portrayal of the lives of people who make their living at a strip club.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi).

What it's about: It's five years later and Tony Manero's Saturday Night Fever is still burning. Now he's strutting toward his biggest challenger yet - making it as a dancer on the Broadway stage.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle & PopcornFlix), stream on a popular subscription service (Showtime, CBS All Access & fuboTV), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A psychological thriller about a senior at one of America's most prestigious universities. Under enormous pressure to complete her thesis and earn a top job at one of the world's most competitive consulting firms, Katie is still coping with the sudden unexplained disappearance of her first love two years prior. As the investigation continues, Katie is forced to choose between past passions and new possibilities, even as new facts are uncovered.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).