Movies Like Dancing in the Light: The Janet Collins Story

If you liked Dancing in the Light: The Janet Collins Story (2015), a movie directed by Saxton Moore, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Frankie & Alice (2010)
★ 6/10
A drama centered on a go-go dancer with multiple personality disorder who struggles to remain her true self and begins working with a psychotherapist to uncover the mystery of the inner ghosts that haunt her.
2
All About Eve (1950)
★ 8.1/10
From the moment she glimpses her idol at the stage door, Eve Harrington is determined to take the reins of power away from the great actress Margo Channing. Eve maneuvers her way into Margo's Broadway role, becomes a…
3
Shadows (1960)
★ 6.9/10
The relationship between Lelia, a light-skinned black woman, and Tony, a white man is put in jeopardy when Tony meets Lelia’s darker-skinned jazz singer brother, Hugh, and discovers that her racial heritage is not what…
4
Limelight (1952)
★ 7.9/10
A fading music hall comedian tries to help a despondent ballet dancer learn to walk and to again feel confident about life.
5
Mao’s Last Dancer (2009)
★ 6.6/10
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…
6
Shall We Dance (1937)
★ 7.3/10
Ballet star Petrov arranges to cross the Atlantic aboard the same ship as the dancer and musical star he's fallen for but barely knows. By the time the ocean liner reaches New York, a little white lie has churned…
7
Passing (2021)
★ 6.3/10
In 1920s New York City, a Black woman finds her world upended when her life becomes intertwined with a former childhood friend who's passing as white.
8
Glory Road (2006)
★ 7.4/10
In 1966, Texas Western coach Don Haskins led the first all-black starting line-up for a college basketball team to the NCAA national championship.
9
Hairspray Live! (2016)
★ 7.4/10
A teenage girl living in Baltimore in the early 1960s dreams of appearing on a popular TV dance show.
10
Swing Time (1936)
★ 6.8/10
Lucky is tricked into missing his own wedding to Margaret and has to make $25,000 so her father will allow him to marry her. He and business partner Pop go to New York where they run into dancing instructor Penny. She…
11
Hairspray (2007)
★ 6.7/10
Pleasantly plump teenager Tracy Turnblad auditions to be on Baltimore's most popular dance show - The Corny Collins Show - and lands a prime spot. Through her newfound fame, she becomes determined to help her friends…
12
Black Swan (2010)
★ 7.7/10
A committed dancer struggles to maintain her sanity after winning the lead role in a production of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake."
13
42 (2013)
★ 7.2/10
In 1947, Jackie Robinson becomes the first Black man to play in Major League Baseball facing unabashed racism from the public, the press and other players.
14
The Most Hated Woman in America (2017)
★ 6.2/10
The true story of Madalyn Murray O'Hair -- iconoclast, opportunist, and outspoken atheist -- from her controversial rise to her untimely demise.
15
The Jazz Singer (1927)
★ 6.1/10
A young Jewish man is torn between tradition and individuality when his old-fashioned family objects to his career as a jazz singer. This is the first full length feature film to use synchronized sound, and is the…
16
Cabrini (2024)
★ 7.7/10
Italian immigrant Francesca Cabrini arrives in 1889 New York City and is greeted by disease, crime, and impoverished children. Cabrini sets off on a daring mission to convince the hostile mayor to secure housing and…
17
Hairspray (1988)
★ 6.8/10
'Pleasantly plump' teenager Tracy Turnblad achieves her dream of becoming a regular on the Corny Collins Dance Show. Now a teen hero, she starts using her fame to speak out for the causes she believes in, most of all…
18
Nightmare Alley (1947)
★ 7.2/10
A roustabout joins a traveling carny and schemes to figure out the mind-reading act of Mademoiselle Zeena and her alcoholic husband.
19
Hidden Figures (2016)
★ 8.1/10
The untold story of Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson – brilliant African-American women working at NASA and serving as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history – the launch of…
20
Origin (2023)
★ 6.2/10
While investigating the global phenomenon of caste and its dark influence on society, a journalist faces unfathomable personal loss and uncovers the beauty of human resilience.