Amid Tom Cruise’s blockbusters endeavors and non-action film work , he manages to take a breather and enjoy himself. Said situation happened this weekend, during which he’s being celebrated with an honorary Academy Award. Before that, though, Cruise attended a party that was hosted by none other than the legendary Debbie Allen. Amid the festivities, she and Cruise even got out on the dance floor and had a good time. Someone captured a video of the two stars partying, and it’s the most wholesome thing I’ve seen all weekend.
Debbie Allen’s shindig was held at her eponymous Dance Academy in Los Angeles on Saturday, November 15. The event was attended by quite a few notable stars, including Jada Pinkett Smith, Jenifer Lewis, Jennifer Hudson and Allen’s sister and fellow actress, Phylicia Rashad. Project Food Angel CEO Richard Ayoub was also in attendance, and he shared the video of Allen and Tom Cruise’s dance to Instagram. Check out the clip, which is just so sweet:
No big deal, just two Hollywood legends getting down during a fun-looking party. Someone could argue that it’s rare the general public gets to see truly candid moments between stars though, when they do happen, they’re typically nothing short of delightful. Both Allen and Cruise were all smiles as they tore up the dance floor, and their cute interaction certainly brought a grin to my face. What I also love about this is that both stars have very specific relationships with the art of dance.
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Debbie Allen is, of course, a highly celebrated choreographer with a plethora of credits under her belt (as well as five Emmys and two Tony Awards). Also, Allen has mentored various students by way of her previously mentioned dance studio, which was founded in 2001. In short, the no-nonsense Grey’s Anatomy star is an icon. As for Cruise, he may not have formal dance training, but his Risky Business dance is still legendary. The same is also true of Cruise’s in-character dance as Les Grossman from Tropic Thunder.
I can’t say I ever imagined that I’d see Cruise and Allen dance together, but awards season just has a way of bringing people together. Like Cruise, Allen is also set to be awarded an honorary Oscar at the Governor’s Awards on Sunday, November 16. Also being honored that night are beloved singer and actress Dolly Parton as well as acclaimed production designer Wynn Thomas.
While Cruise has never won an Oscar (amid multiple nominations), this recent honor from the Academy is a great way to acknowledge the movie star’s contributions to film. As a whole, this has been a big year for Cruise, who also marked the release of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. Cruise has been adamant about the movie being his final outing as Ethan Hunt and, for now, I believe that.
Tom Cruise is still going to be busy amid the 2026 movie schedule and beyond, though. In the coming year, he’ll mark the release of his currently untitled movie from director Alejandro G. Iñárritu. Also, it’s already been confirmed that Top Gun 3 is in the works, with Cruise still involved. So it’s only a matter of time before the longtime leading man dives back into work but, for now, I love that he has some downtime to receive his flowers and dance the night away with Debbie Allen.