The "Flash" Behind the "Dance"

For a generation actress Jennifer Beals as Alex defined what it meant to be gritty and determined, athletic and sexy.  "Flashdance" came out in 1983, in the aftermath of John Travolta and the disco 1970s, and dance had a new face.  Apparently much of what Beals offered, though, was just that:  Her face.  We learned after the release that French dancer Marine Jahan was her body-double for several complicated dance segments and Jahan never received screen credit.

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Long before Natalie Portman's Black Swan controversy, Jennifer Beals was caught in a scandal about how much she had high-stepped it in 1983's "Flashdance." It turned out that the unknown Beals wasn't exactly a maniac on the floor—French dancer Marine Jahan had been used for the complicated choreography but hadn't received a credit at the end of the movie. In fact, as Entertainment Weekly reported when the collector's DVD of "Flashdance" was released, in addition to Jahan's moves, director Adrian Lyne used a female gymnast and a male breakdancer in a wig for Beals' "What a Feelin'" audition.

I imagine it is a tough casting call to find actors and actresses with the range of talent needed for music and dance productions.  So I imagine that if you do have that range, then you'd be in high demand for roles like that of Alex.

In any event, hats off to Jahan and others who stood-in for Beals:  What awesome dance sequences they performed!