Dance in Film · 1936
Born to Dance (1936)
Eleanor Powell's star-making MGM musical, in which a Broadway hopeful's dancing is both the subject of the plot and the engine of it. Powell's precision tap carries three major numbers, from her first hoofer entrance to the battleship-scale "Swingin' the Jinx Away" finale, against a Cole Porter score and a young James Stewart singing "Easy to Love".
Born to Dance is a 1936 dance feature film centred on Tap Dance, Musical Theatre Dance. For dancers, it's a chance to see these styles performed on screen — the phrasing, partnering, and musicality that the same dances carry onto a real floor.
Jump to the 3 indexed dance sequences ↓
Dance styles featured
The dance sequences in Born to Dance
3 sequences — what is danced, by whom, and where to find it.
“Easy to Love” park dance
Screen-musical soloDanced by Eleanor Powell; James Stewart · Choreography Eleanor Powell
The unlikely charm of James Stewart singing while Powell dances their falling-in-love number.
The park setting lets Stewart’s sung courtship and Powell’s movement carry the romance without interrupting the musical flow.
Open the film at this point · Stream or rental only — the timestamp is for when you have it playing. No edition-specific timestamp used. TCM explicitly identifies the park-set falling-in-love number but does not name a codified dance style, so the style remains outside the supplied taxonomy. Current-access conflict noted as in the first row.
“Swingin’ the Jinx Away” battleship finale
Screen-musical production danceDanced by Eleanor Powell · Choreography Eleanor Powell; Dave Gould
Powell dancing her way to stardom across a naval spectacle built as the film’s huge finale.
The enormous battleship staging scales Nora’s individual virtuosity into a career-making production climax.
Open the film at this point · Stream or rental only — the timestamp is for when you have it playing. No edition-specific timestamp used. TCM says Powell choreographed her own numbers; AFI separately credits Dave Gould for dance ensembles and notes the battleship choreography’s later reuse. Current-access conflict noted as in the first row.
First Lonely Hearts Club hoofer number
Tap danceDanced by Eleanor Powell · Choreography Eleanor Powell
The dazzlingly precise hoofer entrance that announces Nora as the film’s star dancer.
Powell’s first number turns virtuoso footwork into instant character exposition: Nora’s skill is visible before Broadway discovers her.
Open the film at this point · Stream or rental only — the timestamp is for when you have it playing. No edition-specific timestamp used. TCM identifies Powell as a tap dancer who choreographed her own numbers. Roku listed Apple and Prime rentals on 2026-08-13, while Prime’s direct page said unavailable; Apple’s 1h45 title page was opened.
More dance films
Poster artwork and title data from TMDB. This site uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.