Watch Jenna Dewan and Channing Tatum Awkwardly Flirt in Their ‘Step Up’ Audition Tape
The seminal 2006 teen dance drama known as Step Up will always hold a special place in our hearts, not only because, frankly, it’s a deeply entertaining film, but also because it basically a documentary about how Jenna Dewan Tatum and Channing Tatum, couple of the century, fell in love. And now, luckily for all of us, Jenna has provided the world with the ultimate video evidence of how her love story with her now-husband began: their Step Up audition tape.
In honor of the premiere of YouTube Red Web series Step Up: High Water, the latest in a long line of iterations of the original movie, Dewan Tatum posted clips from the tape, interspersed with her own commentary about that fateful audition, to her personal YouTube channel. “It’s really cute, and also embarrassing, and crazy, but of course, I want to share it with all of you, because why not? You guys should all see my most embarrassing moment, too. Please watch how many times I giggle and I laugh, and it’s very cute.”
What follows is footage of Jenna, in a very Nora-esque dance outfit, completely slaying a solo routine before Channing is brought in. And Jenna was right—her smile is wide and her giggle is infectious, and she and Channing go from simply posing next to each other into a full-on embrace. “It’s not a picture, you guys! It’s a moving camera!” an unknown person in the background shouts at the pair (Shhh!). “We’re like, posing for our prom!” Dewan Tatum replies. Then Channing swiftly takes her hand and spins her around the dance floor a bit. “Oh, stop it right now. You said, ‘I don’t know how to dance!’” she tells him. “That was actually pretty good.” The chemistry between them is totally apparent, but at the very least, it’s also nice to know that the embodiment of #couplegoals are both as awkwardly flirty with a new love interest as the rest of us.
Little did these two know that Channing would later ask out Jenna (while almost naked, no less) on the Step Up set, and they would go on to marry in 2009 (following a tearful proposal) before having daughter Everly in 2013.
Jenna, echoing all our feelings, says at the end of the video, “It’s very sentimental and amazing for me to watch, and I hope you guys all enjoy it.”
BRB, we’ll just be here, watching these two basically proposing to each other with their bodies in the final Step Up dance number. Check out the full audition tape, below: