Flashdance
Pittsburgh steel-mill dancer
Flashdance is a 1983 American film about a steel welder who dreams of becoming a professional dancer.
The title blends flash—suggesting something showy and brief—with dance.
The film popularized off-the-shoulder sweatshirts, leg warmers, and the notion of pursuing artistic dreams despite working-class origins: She had that whole Flashdance look going.
Acrobatic hip-hop dance form
- auditionTrial performance for selection
- leotardTight one-piece garment
- legwarmersKnitted calf coverings
- barreFixed studio rail
jazz · ballet · spinning · splits · routine · choreography · stage · pirouette
Calendar designation, mid-decade prior
- welderOne who fuses metals
- PittsburghWestern Pennsylvania industrial city
- auditionTrial performance for selection
- steelworkerFactory metal producer
Jennifer Beals · Paramount · bar · dream · ballet · conservatory · marine · body double
Knitted calf coverings
- cutoffPoint of termination
- leotardTight one-piece garment
- headbandForehead-worn fabric strip
- spandexElastic synthetic fiber
aerobics · eighties · dancewear · ripped · layered · athletic · streetwear · DIY
Years from eighty-nine backward
- zeitgeistEra's dominant mentality
- MTVYouth-oriented video network
- aspirationalStriving toward ideals
- underdogPresumed loser beforehand
working-class · American Dream · feminist · empowerment · iconic · nostalgia · pop culture · phenomenon
Music accompanying visual media
- synth-popSynthesizer-based pop music
- OscarAcademy's golden award
- GrammyRecording achievement trophy
- anthemOfficial song of praise
score · platinum · hit single · montage · power ballad
breakdancing
Acrobatic hip-hop dance form
- auditionTrial performance for selection
- leotardTight one-piece garment
- legwarmersKnitted calf coverings
barre · jazz · ballet · spinning · splits · routine · choreography · stage · pirouette · freestyle
1983
Calendar designation, mid-decade prior
- welderOne who fuses metals
- PittsburghWestern Pennsylvania industrial city
- auditionTrial performance for selection
Jennifer Beals · steelworker · Paramount · bar · dream · ballet · conservatory · marine · body double · cult classic
legwarmers
Knitted calf coverings
spandex · aerobics · eighties · dancewear · ripped · layered · athletic · streetwear · DIY · bodysuit
eighties
Years from eighty-nine backward
- zeitgeistEra's dominant mentality
- MTVYouth-oriented video network
- aspirationalStriving toward ideals
underdog · working-class · American Dream · feminist · empowerment · iconic · nostalgia · pop culture · phenomenon · blockbuster
soundtrack
Music accompanying visual media
anthem · score · platinum · hit single · montage · power ballad
- Dance HitsStayin Alive, Good Times, Le Freak, September, I Will Survive
- moviesblockbuster, film, Titanic, films, Jurassic Park
- 80s HitsBillie Jean, Beat It, Thriller, Like a Virgin, Don't Stop Believin
- 80s Pop CultureBack to the Future, E.T., Ghostbusters, Indiana Jones, The Breakfast Club
- Dance MediaSaturday Night Fever, Billy Elliot
- musicalsWicked, Les Miserables, Cats, Chicago, Grease
Flashdancestillness
Complete lack of motion
motionless · still · motionlessness · stasis · frozen
Flashdancedocumentary
Factual film about reality
cinema verité · neorealism · kitchen sink realism · Shoah · social realism
flash, dance, flashed, flashes, flashing, flasher, flashy, flashier, flashiest