Rita Moreno Demonstrates West Side Story Dance Stunt with Jimmy Fallon: 'Don't Get Excited'

NBC

Rita Moreno proved she still has impressive dance moves in an appearance on the Tonight Show with host Jimmy Fallon Tuesday.

The 89-year-old star of West Side Story showed off her skills while discussing Steven Spielberg's remake of the iconic film.

Moreno starred as Anita in the 1961 original version of the American classic. Spielberg, 74, cast Moreno as newly created character Valentina in the latest film adaptation.

While speaking with Fallon about mastering a dance stunt in the musical, Moreno decided to give him a hands on lesson.

"Let me show you how a girl has to hang on to a boy when you do that type of thing ... So what happens is the guy takes the girl and he swings her up onto her shoulder. And what she does in order to hang on to him, is literally, oh, I have to get in front of you. Don't get excited," Moreno said jokingly as Fallon stood behind her with his hands on her waist.

"I am. I am," replied Fallon while laughing.

She then asked Fallon, "Are you alright, sweetie?

Moreno continued, "She has to put her leg around the back of him and literally stick her toe into his buttock and it is the only way he can hold her up in to the air."

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Moreno, 89, won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 1962 for her portrayal of Anita.

In the film adaptation, The Prom's Ariana DeBose will star as the character.

Newcomer Zegler, 20, plays the lead role of Maria in West Side Story opposite Ansel Elgort as Tony, as the two star-crossed lovers fall on opposite sides of a forbidden romance in 1957 New York.

PEOPLE reported the film screened for the first time on Monday and critics were quick to share their reactions on social media afterward, including Entertainment Weekly's Leah Greenblatt, who tweeted, "Nobody needed to mess with #WestSideStory but Steven Spielberg went and did it and dammit it's really good, great looking & largely faithful to the text with a few smart respectful tweaks and a young cast I now want to to see in everything."

Film's awards editor Diego Andaluz called the movie "incredible," adding that Spielberg, 74, "delivers an award-worthy visual spectacle that expands on the original as a timely technical masterpiece. Every department fires on all cylinders, & Rachel Zegler steals the show with THE star-making debut performance of the year."

West Side Story will open in theaters nationwide on Dec. 10.