Dance in Film · 2016
Hail, Caesar! (2016)
Christopher Gattelli's six-minute “No Dames!” number turns Channing Tatum's Burt Gurney into a Golden Age sailor hoofer, using tap across the bar floor, stools, tables, and an all-male ensemble to make the film's Hollywood pastiche bodily rather than merely referential.
Hail, Caesar! is a 2016 dance feature film centred on ballroom and social dance. For dancers, it's a chance to see the style performed on screen — the phrasing, partnering, and musicality that the same dances carry onto a real floor.
Jump to the 2 indexed dance sequences ↓
Where to watch: U.S. digital rental or purchase through Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, and Fandango At Home was verified on 2026-08-09; availability and pricing may change.
Featured clip
An excerpt — one number from the full work.
The dance sequences in Hail, Caesar!
2 sequences — what is danced, by whom, and where to find it.
“Jonah’s Daughter” water ballet
Synchronized swimming / water balletDanced by Scarlett Johansson; Mary Jeanette Ramsey (swim double); Aqualillies · Choreography Mesha Kussman
Johansson rising in a green mermaid tail inside rings of red-and-yellow swimmers as the formation blooms overhead.
Thirty-two synchronized swimmers turn symmetry, circular spacing, and overhead kaleidoscopic patterns into an Esther Williams-era moving painting. The choreography treats the pool as a full cinematic stage while Johansson’s mermaid entrance anchors the large ensemble image.
Open the film at this point · Stream or rental only — the timestamp is for when you have it playing. No edition-specific timestamp asserted. LAist identifies 32 Aqualillies, Johansson, Ramsey’s swim-double role, and the synchronized kaleidoscope design; Kussman’s official portfolio credits her as swimming choreographer. Carter Burwell identifies the title “Jonah’s Daughter.” Synchronized swimming/water ballet is absent from the validated 381-style taxonomy. Google Play’s U.S. title page opened 2026-08-13.
“No Dames!” sailor tap number
Broadway TapDanced by Channing Tatum; Broadway dance ensemble · Choreography Christopher Gattelli
Burt Gurney and the sailors turning an all-male pub lament into a six-minute tap spectacle across the furniture.
Gattelli builds a complete Golden Age movie-musical number from crisp ensemble tapping, traveling formations, and increasingly precarious work on stools, tables, and the bar. Tatum’s feet function as audible percussion while the sailors’ unison keeps the comic double meanings theatrically precise.
Open the film at this point · Stream or rental only — the timestamp is for when you have it playing. No edition-specific timestamp asserted. Vulture identifies the six-minute pub, stool, table, and shipmate choreography and Gattelli’s credit; Carter Burwell confirms the tap-number construction. Universal’s official page names “Burt Performs No Dames,” lists a 1h46m edition, and offers digital rental/purchase. Google Play’s U.S. title page opened 2026-08-13.
Poster artwork from TMDB.
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