Happy Indepen-DANCE Day!

July 2, 2012

Are you ready to party like it’s 1776? Here’s hoping your 4th of July celebrations tomorrow include dancing of some kind, whether you’ll be busting out your red-white-and-blue–sequined unitard (what, doesn’t everyone have one of those?) or just grooving by the grill.

To help you get in the spirit of things, here’s a roundup of patriotic dance moments:

George Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes. Sousa marches + baton twirling + tutus = one festive (and cutely tongue-in-cheek) ballet.

Reno Sweeney and the Anything Goes tap-dancing sailors. Does it get any more (S. S.) American than that?

The Rockettes, entertaining sailors during Fleet Week. Those costumes alone are worth a salute.

Kendra Wilkinson and Louis Van Amstel’s “Yankee Doodle Dandy” foxtrot on “Dancing with the Stars.” Don’t think too hard about this one—just enjoy the crazy.

And last but not least: American Girl Molly McIntire as Miss Victory at the “Hooray for the U.S.A.” show. Oh come on—you remember this! Her struggle to get her hair to curl perfectly? The suspense about whether her tap teacher, Miss LaVonda, would choose her for the role? (I miss being 8.)