9 Disney Dance Sequences That Are Basically Perfect, And 9 That Are Very Bad

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Loretta Modern (Spencer Redford) and the Zetta Bytes must've been running on a 1995 dial-up modem because, for a hologram, her moves were low resolution, and she had a one-dimensional stage presence. Newsflash: Something was wrong with you. It's your dance moves, Loretta.

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Now, Proto Zoa (Phillip Rhys) and his band Microbe put on a stellar performance. Zenon Kar (Kirsten Storms) went to the ends of the Earth to catch this concert, and it made sense because although Proto wasn't bouncing around like an Atari pong ball, he commanded the space station crowd and held our attention. My heart is still zooming.

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Mitchie Torres (Demi Lovato) and Camp Rock really thought they ate this entrance, but nobody was intimidated. In fact, lots of crumbs were left over, including embarrassment, shame, and confusion. After everything they went through, you'd think they would serve it up to Camp Star — but this step routine and everything that came after was dry and crusty.

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See? I'm not putting too much on the Camp Rockers because when they really put their heart (and Just Dance choreography) into it, they know how to tear it up. In the history of Disney Channel cafeteria dance numbers — this is one of the best. Mitchie and the campers know the place to serve delicious dance moves is in the mess hall.

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Hear me out. This could've been one of the greatest dance numbers in Disney Channel history, but it's the World Series of gaslighting and queer-coded energy. Watching Chad (Corbin Bleu), who always dances, pretend he doesn't like to boogie while staring intensely into Ryan Evans's (Lucas Grabeel) eyes was iconic. But we were set up for disappointment, and this whole sequence was a waste of time. If anything, it belongs in the first film and not the sequel.

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East High's theater budget was reserved only for seniors because they gave us a total Baz Luhrmann production for their prom night. Everyone hit their mark and danced off their boutonnieres like they had rent due in the morning. The third installment wasn't made for television, but they could've dropped the ball. Luckily, gyrating Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) and the gang slam-dunked it. The East High Knights solidified their title as the only DCOM franchise worthy of a theatrical release.

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Cadet Kelly Collins (Hilary Duff) and Captain Jennifer Stone (Christy Carlson Romano) should've been dishonorably discharged for this disjointed and awkward step routine. The first time they discovered they had no rhythm or swag in common, they should've kept it to themselves. But no, Legally Blonde in military school thought it was a good idea for the main competition. And don't get me started on those cheap Party City ribbons and the preschool-level choreography.

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Imagine traveling across the world and falling in love with a fake Italian superstar while pretending to be another fake Italian superstar. Lizzie was living our dreams, and it's undeniable that all the time and preparation it took to pull off this "one-song concert" was worth more than any wish in the Trevi fountain. Until this day, I'm not sure if Lizzie performed an entire concert or only just half of "What Dreams Are Made Of," but I know we got our money's worth with that iconic, provocative shimmy.

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I'm not a fan. Our favorite villainous offspring built such a bad reputation, and they put it all on the line to teach the goody-two-shoes half-beast how to survive in the mean streets. It felt rushed compared to their other dance numbers, and the try-hard Ben (Mitchell Hope) was in the way. I will, however, toss a few brownie points his way for that weird gyration move. Jafar, Cruella, and the Evil Queen would disown their bad seeds if they saw this performance.

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The baddie babies do know how to eat a performance when the time is right. In their cinematic debut, the problematic posse delivered 2001 Britney Spears-level choreography that left me gasping for air and watching repeatedly. Michael Jackson's "Thriller" zombie shimmy is one of the silliest moves I love almost as much as these world-renowned TikTok dancers. They set the bar high with this one, leaving no room for improvement.

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What bothered me is how much they under-utilized Eddie Thomas (Orlando Brown). This was the same guy who pulled off the famous Major Payne dance scene, and now he gave a lackluster two-step on the basketball court. Disney doesn't have a shortage of basketball theme dance sequences (see: High School Musical), so I would've expected even a TV rendition to slam dunk the execution. This dance number was nothing but technical fouls.

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Ren Stevens (Christy Carlson Romano) and her classroom of awkward friends showed how to turn a little into a lot. The song literally has 1–2 sentences, but she still managed to serve up a true Broadway performance with Tony-worthy vocals. Sometimes, keeping it simple is the best option. Save all the flashy over-produced music numbers for a Ryan Murphy TV show. Take notes, That's So Raven. Class is in session.

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You would think a bigger budget would mean bigger moments, but this dance sequence fell completely flat. I will not blame Zac's frightened glances and lost puppy dog eyes for this one. I think the basketball-playing high-stepper wasn't utilized properly. He could've slam-dunked his final solo performance of the franchise, but instead, he was boxed in and benched. HSM3 owed Troy Bolton an apology.

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This is not a popular opinion, but Secondary School Fred Astaire ate this dance number. We can laugh and make jokes and memes, but there's no denying that Troy carried this film on his back. While Ryan and Chad were entangled in homoerotic passion, Troy was putting his way into Tony-award-winning territory with his classic deer-in-headlights stares and balled-up fists of fury. The flick of the water is iconic.

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I get physically upset when I see this performance. Will Browning's clone Twoie  (Andrew Lawrence) learned terrible dance moves from a random infomercial and brought it back to the school, where it became the hit craze. Everybody was initially shocked by his boldness, and then they all joined in and did this terrible 8-count repeatedly like an episode of the Twilight Zone. This was the most accurate cautionary tale of why cloning humans is dangerous. They're terrible dancers.

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It's hard to pick a single performance from the Cheetah Girls because the truth is almost every single song from the feline-forward trilogy was sheer perfection. If I had to choose, Galleria (Raven-Symoné), Chanel (Adrienne Bailon), Dorinda (Sabrina Bryan), and Aquanette (Kiely Williams) were at their best in Cheetah Girls 2. It was this movie that put the girl group on the map, and this song actually had a place on the Billboard Hot 100. The women might have dressed like middle-aged divorcees on the prowl in a dive bar, but they performed like pop stars.

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In the early days of DCOM, the kids really watched too much TV. It instilled false hopes in kids like Ben Cooper (Ryan Merriman) that they had killer dance moves. Instead, the adolescents bounced around their smart living rooms, looking like dumb dumbs. No offense to the choreographer of this dance number if said choreographer was a toddler. Otherwise, this whole routine should be slam-dunked into the trash can and never recycled. This is why the house went haywire in the movie. She was tired of them stomping around the house like zombies in the dark.

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I saved the best for last. Izzy Daniels (Cobrin Bleu) and Mary Thomas (Keke Palmer) shut it down with a double feature. It was a seamless transition between two classic DCOM songs with all the athleticism and flare you want from an original movie. They channeled their winning energy from spelling bees and Broadway-like basketball games to stomp out the competition. It's impossible to find a moment when Keke isn't a champion. The Red Hot Chili Steppers can't be beaten.