Movies like Dancer with Death
The best movies like Dancer with Death are Mao’s Last Dancer (2009), Footloose (1984) and Barbie in the Pink Shoes (2013). If Dancer with Death hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLimelight (1952)7.9/10 from 626 votes
- NewestThe American (2023)Released 2023
Mao’s Last Dancer (2009)
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 falls 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.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFootloose (1984)
When teenager Ren and his family move from big-city Chicago to a small town in the West, he's in for a real case of culture shock after discovering he's living in a place where music and dancing are illegal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBarbie in the Pink Shoes (2013)
About a young girl who finds a pair of pink ballet shoes and is taken to a magical ballet land.There she learns how to help her friends and follow her instincts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe American (2023)
American ballet dancer Joy Womack is accepted into Moscow's infamously tough Bolshoi Ballet Academy, with the dream of becoming a great ballerina.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBarbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses (2006)
King Randolph sends for his cousin, Duchess Rowena, to help turn his daughters, Princess Genevieve and her eleven sisters, into royal material. But the Duchess strips the sisters of their fun, including their favorite pastime: dancing. When all hope may be lost, the sisters discover a secret passageway to a magical land where they can dance the night away.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlack Swan (2010)
A committed dancer struggles to maintain her sanity after winning the lead role in a production of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Nutcracker Christmas (2016)
When her niece is cast in The Philadelphia Ballet’s production of the Nutcracker, a jaded ex-ballerina is forced to come to terms with the life and love she left behind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Turning Point (1977)
As young dancers, they were best friends and fierce rivals. Deedee left the stage for marriage and motherhood, while Emma would become an international ballet icon. But when Deedee's teenage daughter is invited to join Emma's dance company and begins an affair with a young Russian star, the two women are forced to confront the choices they've made, the resentments they've hidden and the emotional truths they must face at the turning point.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBarbie in the Nutcracker (2001)
The Mouse King casts an evil spell over Clara that causes her to shrink. Clara and the Nutcracker set out on an adventurous journey to find Sugarplum Princess, who has the power to undo the spell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLimelight (1952)
A fading music hall comedian tries to help a despondent ballet dancer learn to walk and to again feel confident about life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Point (1971)
A father reads his son a bedtime story about young Oblio, who is banished from the fantastical kingdom of pointed heads and things for having no point.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPAW Patrol: Jet to the Rescue (2020)
A royal relative steals a gem with the power to make things fly, the Paw Patrol takes to the skies to stop him and save Barkingburg.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this1 Chance 2 Dance (2014)
When a 17-year old aspiring dancer is uprooted in her high school senior year, she finds herself divided between two boys, and she will have one last shot at making her dream a reality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Capture the Castle (2003)
In 1930s England, 17-year-old Cassandra Mortmain and her eccentric family struggle to survive in a decaying English castle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBarbie & Her Sisters in a Puppy Chase (2016)
Barbie and her sisters go to an island paradise for a dance competition, but they must work together as a team to find their pets after their furry friends go missing at a horse festival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBarbie in 'A Christmas Carol' (2008)
On Christmas Eve, Kelly is reluctant to go to a Christmas Eve ball, so Barbie tells her the story of Eden Starling, a glamorous singing diva in the Victorian England and the owner of a theatre house. However, Eden is self-centered and loves only herself. She is frequently accompanied by her snooty cat, Chuzzlewit. She does not believe in Christmas and orders all her employees to work on Christmas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBirds of Paradise (2021)
Two dancers at an elite ballet academy in Paris must compete for a contract to join the highly coveted Opéra National de Paris as they confront their competitive nature, sexual awakenings and how far they would go to win.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBallet Shoes (2008)
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.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBarbie Fairytopia: Magic of the Rainbow (2007)
Elina goes to a fairy school to learn dancing and fairy magic. The spring of the fairy land is soon threatened by evil Laverna who intends to prevent fairies from performing the annual vital rainbow dance. Elina must stop quarreling with her fellow students and unite them to save the first bud of the spring.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlashdance (1983)
Alex Owens, a young woman juggling between two odd jobs, aspires to become a successful ballet dancer. Nick, who is her boss and lover, supports and encourages her to fulfil her dream.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Dancer with Death?
The closest matches to Dancer with Death are Mao’s Last Dancer (2009), Footloose (1984) and Barbie in the Pink Shoes (2013). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Dancer with Death?
Start with Mao’s Last Dancer (2009), the closest match to Dancer with Death.
What is the highest-rated movie like Dancer with Death?
Limelight (1952), rated 7.9/10 by 626 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Dancer with Death?
The American (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Dancer with Death chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Dancer with Death, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.