Whether you prefer swaying around, grinding your hips, or mastering intricate routines, dancing along to a song—or even just watching someone dance along to a song—can reveal its true essence. In recent years, the accessible choreography of TikTok trends began usurping professional dance-based music videos, but those bite-sized steps lacked the intrigue to cement themselves in your mind the way so many classic music videos have done throughout history. In 2023, though, the pros showed out once again—it’s almost as if the stars and their choreographers gathered at a symposium and said, “OK, now let’s really show them how it’s done.”
Check out all of Pitchfork’s 2023 wrap-up coverage here, and here are the 10 music videos from 2023 with the best moves:
10. Janelle Monáe: “Water Slide”
If whining your hips were an Olympic sport, Janelle Monáe would be at the top of the podium. In their music video for “Water Slide,” you get a brief snapshot of what a pool party at Wondaland HQ might look like: The French 75s are flowing, the sun never goes down, and dancehall legend Sister Nancy is a patron saint. While the gleefully risqué video is anything but subtle, the partygoers’ dancing is demure and flirtatious as they body roll along to the reggae track. As Monáe shimmies through a swim dance move, they flash a giddy smile, winking at both the song’s provocative lyrics and the choreography’s silliness. Unlike their previous cyberpunk-influenced videos, which were marked by sharp, mechanical dancing, “Water Slide” moves at its own pace, only concerning itself with having a good time.
9. Kylie Minogue: “Padam Padam”
The “Padam Padam” music video raises many questions: How does Kylie toss herself around that motel bed so gracefully? Why are they dancing in an overgrown yard? And was Drag Race legend Katya Zamolodchikova on the moodboard for this scarlet-accented visual? The only reasonable answer is: padam. If there is one definitive idea you can take away from this video, it’s that Kylie’s dancers killed it. The choreography is deceptively simple, but when you hit it as hard as her backing crew does, the effect is mesmerizing. They bounce on their heels, cock their necks like ostriches, and swivel their shoulders as if their lives depend on it. That staccato approach only serves to emphasize the song’s thumping beat—and with Minogue commanding her charges from atop a wrecked car, it’s no wonder “Padam Padam” became this year’s Pride anthem.
8. Cardi B: “Bongos” [ft. Megan Thee Stallion]
Earlier this year, Megan Thee Stallion began documenting a downright tortuous workout routine that left the internet questioning exactly what she was preparing for. I like to believe it was “Bongos.” The video is a technicolor fantasy; the color palette alone (from a scene featuring swirling Emilio Pucci designs to a kaleidoscopic dance crew) is as vivid as Cardi and Megan’s lyrics. The over-the-top fashion emphasizes the video’s movement, as the superstars and and their backup dancers look like fabulous tropical birds in every shot. When Megan smirks at the “stiff hoes who can’t relate,” you can’t help but nod your head in agreement.
7. Yard Act: “The Trench Coat Museum”
“The Trench Coat Museum” video is less a dance piece than it is a staged play. Daisy J.T. Smith choreographs and stars as The Visitor, who tours the song’s namesake exhibition which—surprise!—comes to life, Night at the Museum-style, with a colorful cast of characters, including soldiers, an old fisherman, a goth, and the members of eclectic UK post-punk band Yard Act themselves. At first, their movements are rigid and robotic, dusting off old bones and tight muscles. But soon the stomping steps reinforce the song’s surf-rock guitar riff, and the flowing ripples match the drawn-out synths. Even when everyone forgoes choreography entirely to thrash around, it just feels right.
6. Tinashe: “Needs”
For many, the prospect of having free reign inside of a grocery store after hours is weirdly enticing, and Tinashe brings this fantasy to life in her endlessly fun music video for “Needs.” She sneaks into her local supermarket for some minor chaos, getting down on top of checkout counters, posing in the deli case, and committing a few health code violations along the way. In the opening chorus, Tinashe and her dancers utilize the cramped aisles efficiently and elegantly, creating depth with floorwork and making small movements flow clearly—all without knocking over a single bottle of vinegar.
5. Tate McRae: “greedy”
Originally trained in ballet and contemporary dance, Tate McRae first turned heads with her impeccable technique when she appeared on So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation in 2016. Back then, she also showcased a proficiency in hip-hop styles, so when you see her in “greedy,” it feels like a years-in-the-making triumph. Set in a hockey rink, her flexibility tastefully embellishes the video, as she contorts herself into splits and tangled silhouettes (including a leg extension atop a weight bench that is as flawless as it is wholly impractical). The clip brings to mind some of Britney Spears’ best music videos, while the Timbaland-esque beat adds another layer to the Y2K appeal.
4. Jungle: “Back on 74”
Highly choreographed music videos are second nature to the UK dance producers Jungle, so it’s no surprise that “Back on 74” became an overnight sensation. Inspired by Motown heavies like the Temptations and the Supremes, along with Bob Fosse’s “Rich Man’s Frug” dance craze from the 1960s, Shay Latukolan’s choreography starts off with dancers hitting imaginary bells and holding their hands in loose fists. Like Fosse’s best work, this reimagining is both punchy and precise—like when, right at the two-minute mark, the men cycle their arms like windmills, hoping for sequined dancer Mette Linturi to glance in their direction. The one-take video is so expertly executed, it’s almost as if the music is being generated by the dancers themselves.
3. Victoria Monét: “On My Mama”
Choreographers speak an absurd language when running practice: Most begin by firing off eight counts and singing off-key lyrics. Eventually, they’ll switch over to onomatopoeic noises and barking pantomimic orders that can be both logical (“low! LOW!”) and nonsensical (“Snatch that wig!”). For Sean Bankhead, these ad-libs drive his work, and you can see this lexicon come to life in Victoria Monét’s Atlanta family affair “On My Mama.” Several moments in the video are just pure genius: The move Bankhead calls the “fly the plane” (where Monét swipes her arms like a jet above intricate footwork); the final post-chorus where Monét’s dancers switch their letterman jackets without fully removing them; and the rapid heel-toes in the second chorus, where she dons a baggy T-shirt and jeans combo. Naturally, Monét’s mother makes an appearance, and in that short dancing cameo, you see exactly where the Grammy-nominated artist got all her swagger from.
2. Troye Sivan: “Rush”
Troye Sivan scored not one but two amazingly choreographed music videos this year, culminating with an absurd SNL skit starring boygenius and Timothée Chalamet dressing up like the Australian pop star (tight shirt, big pants, red undies) and trying out some of his moves. “Rush” is where it all began. The video’s choreography appears to be inspired by Old Way vogue from the 1980s, which itself was influenced by martial arts and Egyptian hieroglyphics—and you can imagine these dancers lining the circumference of an ancient pot, their arms interlocked. “Rush” also nods to pole dancing and acrobatics as it stages a modern-day bacchanal amid the bathrooms and rooftops of Berlin. It’s grimy. It’s sweaty. And yeah, it’s sexy too.
1. NewJeans: “Super Shy”
Amid the imperial bangers that make up most of today’s K-pop, “Super Shy” stands out for, you guessed it, its relative bashfulness. And NewJeans’ cheerleader-like approach to waacking—a spiraling, arms-based dance style that originated in 1970s queer spaces—perfectly mirrors their girl-next-door brand. Each line the group strikes is as sharp as the song’s Jersey club influence, which is especially impressive since waacking in unison is nearly impossible. If you tried to put in the work to take on this routine, your triceps would likely be sore for a week—but NewJeans make it all look elastic and effortless.
