Veteran actress Rekha left everyone mesmerised as she took to the stage at IIFA awards recently and performed on multiple songs including ‘Piya Tose Naina Lage Re’ from ‘Guide’ and ‘Lag Jaa Gale’. The performance was a testament to her eternal beauty and her craft of dancing that has stood the test of time.

Rekha’s work in cinema has always been a blend of good acting chops, grace and her excellence in dance. The senior actress finds her name in the league of rare actresses of cinema who juggle great dance with solid acting performances. But, who are the other members of this league?

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Let’s take a look at the actresses who were not just amazing with their acting but also their dance.

1. Sridevi: Her performance in ‘Sadma’ will leave you numb, her performance in ‘Chaalbaaz’ will leave you rolling on the floor laughing, and her dance in ‘Mere Haathon Mein’ and in the instrumental dance tack of ‘Chandni’ will induce a strong current and the urge to dance with your heart. Such was the range of Sridevi. The actress effortlessly swung between her acting abilities and her skill in dance.

2. Jayalalithaa: The late politician and actress Jayalalithaa was considered the ‘Queen of Tamil’ cinema prior to her long stint in the corridors of politics. While she had a short acting career owing to her political aspirations, she managed to leave a lasting impact with her craft of dancing, and her grace on screen.

3. Hema Malini: After ruling the roost with her acting sting, the actress still performs Bharatanatyam in cultural events. The actress studied Kuchipudi with Vempati Chinna Satyam and Mohiniattam with Kalamandalam Guru Gopalakrishnan. She has played a number of dance roles including Narasimha and Rama in Tulasidas’s ‘Ramcharitmanas’. She also performed in Mysuru on the eve of Dussehra in 2007, where she played the roles of Sati, Parvati and Durga.

4. Waheeda Rehman: The younger generation would have seen her gut-wrenching portrayal of a distraught mother in the song ‘Luka Chuppi’ from ‘Rang De Basanti’ but the veteran actress has a million arrows in her quiver when it comes to emoting for the screen, and when you rub the concoction of her dance performances on these arrows, they become a lethal weapon for the celluloid. Her performances in songs like ‘Piya Tose Naina’ and ‘Mose Chhal Kiye Jaaye’ are for the ages.

5. Madhuri Dixit: The greatest of all times in this league. Madhuri not just delivered a string of terrific performances across genres (who could forget her performance in ‘Anjaam’?) but also excelled at the artform of dance. If songs like ‘Ek Do Teen’ and ‘Channe Ke Khet Mein’ have gone on to become iconic songs, it’s because of Madhuri’s dancing prowess.