Strictly Ballroom

Synopsis

This wildly off-beat comedy is about a male dancer who refuses to follow the accepted rules of ballroom dancing and creates his own style of choreography, which infuriates the ballroom dancing establishment. Before he's scheduled to compete in the Pan-Pacific ballroom championships, he's forced to take up a new partner, a beginner who initially seems without promise. With his help, she turns into an assured and wonderful dancer.

Scott Hastings is a champion caliber ballroom dancer, but much to the chagrin of the Australian ballroom dance community, Scott believes in dancing "his own steps". Fran is a beginning dancer and a bit of an ugly duckly who has the audacity to ask to be Scott's partner after his unorthodox style causes his regular partner to dance out of his life. Together, these two misfits try to win the Australian Pan Pacific Championships and show the Ballroom Confederation that they are wrong when they say, "there are no new steps!"

An Australian Cinema Icon

The quirky, low-budget Aussie film that became a global smash. Strictly Ballroom, released in August 1992, set Baz Luhrmann on a path to worldwide success, and launched the careers of Paul Mercurio and Tara Morice.

Consistently ranked in the top ten among Australia films at the all-time box office, the film is now considered an Australian classic. 

Proudly Supported by Southern Tablelands Arts

Movie Information

Release Date

20 August 1992

Duration

94 MIN

Rating

PG

Director

Baz Luhrmann

Cast

Paul Mercurio, Tara Morice, Bill Hunter

Genre

Australian Film, Comedy, Drama, Romance