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Dance numbers have played a key role in movies since the early, silent days - see Rudolph Valentino’s sultry tango in 1921's The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse for proof. But add pop music to the mix and you get a pretty potent cinematic combination.

Here are eight weird, wonderful, toe-tapping times that pop has soundtracked dance sequences, from the romantic and sublime to the downright ridiculous...

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Tim Burton’s directorial debut follows pathologically cheerful man-child Pee-wee on a cross-country search for his stolen bicycle, in a sort of comedy take on Italian neorealist masterpiece The Bicycle Thieves. Pee-wee’s Big Adventure was adapted from comedian Paul Reubens’ Pee-wee Herman stage show, and the film’s success would lead to a long-running TV show for the character.

One of the strangest dance sequences that I can think of.

Mark

In one pivotal scene, the extraordinarily eccentric Herman attempts to win over a drinking den full of aggrieved biker dudes. Borrowing a pair of stacked heels, he jumps on the bar and begins to dance frenetically to The Champs’ ridiculously catchy rock ‘n’ roll instrumental Tequila. His unique moves earn him the gift of a motorcycle.

When it comes to Dirty Dancing, it’s pretty tough to pick a favourite pop moment. The romantic classic is packed full of musical gems from the likes of The Ronettes and Otis Redding, and even an effort penned and performed by star Patrick Swayze himself - She’s Like The Wind.

However, a definite highlight comes from a track written, under a pseudonym, by Bo Diddley, for US R&B duo Mickey & Sylvia. Love Is Strange had previously featured to stunning effect in Terrence Malick's 1973 directorial debut Badlands. In Dirty Dancing, it soundtracks a dance lesson, as Baby and Johnny lip-sync along to the song’s spoken word interlude. As Mark Kermode points out, the irony of Patrick Swayze teaching Jennifer Grey to dance is clear - “Considering the fact she was Joel Grey’s daughter, she probably knew already.”

The opening credits of Spike Lee’s revolutionary political drama see a 24-year-old Rosie Perez dancing and shadowboxing fearlessly for four minutes to New York firebrands Public Enemy’s 1989 hip hop anthem. Written specifically for the film at Lee’s request, the track is also heard throughout Do The Right Thing on the boombox of tragically doomed character Radio Raheem.

Perez played lead protagonist Mookie’s girlfriend Tina in Lee’s tale of racial tension coming to a head on a swelteringly hot day in Brooklyn. After dancing for eight hours for the scene, the actress allegedly developed tennis elbow from repeated air punches.

Portraying the post-college, pre-life travails of a group of Generation X-ers, first time director Ben Stiller’s hip romcom spawned contemporary pop chart hits for Lisa Loeb (Stay, I Missed You) and Big Mountain (Baby, I Love Your Way). But perhaps its most memorable musical moment comes when the film’s central slacker foursome (Winona Ryder, Janeane Garafalo, Steve Zahn and Ethan Hawke) kick up their heels in an all-night gas station to The Knack’s 70s power pop smash.

That same year, Quentin Tarantino had also wanted to use the track for Pulp Fiction’s notorious ‘Gimp’ scene. The copyright holders plumped for Stiller’s bittersweet comedy instead.

And while we’re on the subject of Pulp Fiction, it would be remiss to not include one of the coolest dance sequences in cinema here. The late Chuck Berry’s teen marriage anthem provides the soundtrack as hitman Vincent Vega and boss’ wife Mia take on the Twist Contest at retro theme restaurant Jack Rabbit Slims in Tarantino’s groundbreaking second film.

Nearly two decades on, John Travolta proves he’s still got the moves that made his name in the 1970s. In fact, it’s hard to imagine anyone else in the Grease star’s dancing shoes, although the role of Vega was originally intended for Reservoir Dogs’ Mr Blonde - Michael Madsen. His unavailability meant it went to Travolta, who earned an Oscar nomination and a career resuscitation for his efforts.

Director Richard Kelly’s apocalyptic cult classic is responsible for one of the creepiest dance scenes in living memory - and it takes place at a school talent competition. While emotionally disturbed teen Donnie is off burning down the house of show judge and self-help guru Jim Cunningham (played by Patrick Swayze), his 12-year-old sister Samantha performs an alarmingly age-inappropriate routine as part of her dance troupe Sparkle Motion.

Kelly originally wanted Pet Shop Boys’ West End Girls for the nightmarish sequence, but was unable to clear rights, so went with Duran Duran’s Nile Rodgers-produced hit. Samantha Darko’s dance group are also responsible for one of the most memorable lines in the film - “Sometimes I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion!”

US singer Ginuwine’s innuendo-filled, subtlety-free 90s R&B hit makes memorable appearances in both installments of male stripper franchise Magic Mike. Director Steven Soderbergh’s original film was partly based on star Channing Tatum’s own experiences as a male entertainer in Tampa, Florida. In the stand-out scene from the sequel, Magic Mike XXL, Tatum’s ‘retired’ stripper Mike gets the dance bug back when his old show tune Pony comes on the radio as he works in his furniture studio. Cue Flashdance-esque cavorting around his workshop, spiralling and cartwheeling off struts and shelves and making particularly good use of a metal grinder.

For me, recalls Donald O’Connor making them laugh in Singin’ In The Rain

Mark

The success of both films has led to an enormously successful live Magic Mike ‘experience’ in Las Vegas, conceived by Tatum himself.

And finally - Armie Hammer shows off some fairly unique moves in a scene that has already gone viral, from 2017’s critically-adored gay romance Call Me By Your Name. Hammer stars in director Luca Guadagnino’s captivating tale as American grad student Oliver, who comes to stay with a classics professor in northern Italy for the summer, only to fall for his 17-year-old son Elio.

Spectacularly bad dancing from Armie Hammer

Mark

In an early scene in the film, Oliver lets loose at an outdoor disco, geting his groove on to the Psychedelic Furs’ 1982 hit. Hammer’s moves are far from conventional - in fact some have pointed out (perhaps uncharitably) that he perfects the ‘white man’s overbite’. However, the actor just about gets away with it - showing that sometimes confidence is as important as innate dance ability.

Interestingly, the Psychedelic Furs’ song Pretty In Pink provided the title for the 1986 film of the same name - apparently because it was lead Molly Ringwald’s favourite tune.