Jennifer Beals' trend-setting collarless sweatshirt came about by accident. The sweatshirt, which Beals brought from home, had shrunk in the wash and she had to cut the collar off in order to get it over her head. When director Adrian Lyne and costume designer Michael Kaplan saw it at the wardrobe fitting, they both loved it and Kaplan improved the overall look of the sweatshirt for the shoot.
Based on the life of construction worker/welder-turned-dancer Maureen Marder.
Marine Jahan was Jennifer Beals' body double for the dancing scenes. Jahan was kept hidden from the press because the filmmakers did not want to ruin the illusion. Alex's leap through the air in the audition scene was done by gymnast Sharon Shapiro and the break-dancing was done by Crazy Legs. Jahan appeared in the music video for "Maniac".
The traffic cop who Alex mimics to a tune from composer Georges Bizet's "Carmen" is famous in Pittsburgh. His name is Vic Cianca, and he was well known for his "choreography," directing traffic in Pittsburgh for over 30 years. He was known as the "Nureyev of the Intersection," a moniker bestowed on him by Phil Musick of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The movie is based on the life story of Maureen Marder, a construction worker by day and a stripper by night. She was from Toronto, not Pittsburgh.