Julia Stiles Recreated Her ‘Save the Last Dance’ Routine, and Black Millennials Loved Every Step

We don’t know how Julia Stiles made it into Juilliard with the dance routine she did in “Save the Last Dance,” but it has lived rent-free in Black folks’ heads for over two decades. Just this week, we got to relive the moment from the 2000s cult classic all over again, and Black folks lost their minds.

Millennials went crazy on Tuesday (Oct. 13) when Julia Stiles took the stage during an episode of “Dancing With the Stars” and revived her dance moves from the 2001 film. Paired with professional dancer Ezra Sosa, she danced to Jennifer Lopez’s “Jenny From the Block,” bringing back the ballet-meets-hip-hop steps that had us living for the nostalgia while wondering how her character Sara Johnson secured her spot at the highly competitive private performing arts school whose list of notable alumni includes Viola Davis, Wendell Pierce and Audra McDonald.

The iconic chair prop made an appearance along with some stepping and the signature jazz choreography that made the original routine so memorable.

And just when we thought the whole thing couldn’t get any better, Sean Patrick Thomas — the Black actor who played Stiles’ love interest and helped coach her through her routine in the original film — added the icing on the cake. Thomas recreated the moment Derek silently cheered Sara on from the sidelines, a scene “Dancing With the Stars” clearly knew not to leave out – and we love them for that.

Related: Viral Clap-and-Swap Dance Fail Has TikTok in Stitches

Black folks had plenty to say about the trip down memory lane. From revisiting the choreography to celebrating a movie that has remained a staple for Black folks everywhere, social media users wasted no time sharing their reactions. And as one fan put it, “Miss Julia from the block” did not miss. 

“Julia Stiles doing her routine from Save The Last Dance on Dancing w the Stars just made me so f*ng happy ,” one user on X said.

“Ok Julia Stiles you did that,” a second praised. 

“Julia Stiles killed it!! This just took me back to my teen years,” a third penned with excitement. 

“MISS JULIA FROM BLOCK…………. CUT THE F*K UP WITH HER AMAZING JAZZ PERFORMANCE !!!! HONESTLY HER BEST DANCE YET….. AND THE SAVE LAST THE DANCE REFERENCE BABYYYY !!!!!” another fan wrote. 

More than two decades later, “Save the Last Dance” still has a chokehold on Black millennials, and apparently, all it takes is one Julia Stiles dance routine to send us right back to 2001. The choreography? The nostalgia? Immaculate.