Center Stage: Despite the fact that Jody lacks proper technique, a talent scout senses some innate quality and offers her a spot at the prestigious American Ballet Company. Jody soon learns however that if she wants to be a dancer she'll need to work long and hard, especially when she discovers that she has the wrong body type and bad feet. The question is, does she have enough heart?.
Let me preface my comments by saying that I know virtually nothing about dance and have never been to a ballet (I've watched Baryshnikov on TV a few times). I have however seen many movies and those that involve dancing - at least in the past decade or two - have been few and far between. Good ones are even scarcer. So, does this one make the cut?
Center Stage is a formulaic teen-angst-romance-flick with a dance spin thrown into the mix. It is not particularly fresh: it has the one dancer who has the heart but lacks the talent, the requisite prima donna with fatal character flaws (she's bulimic and everybody hates her), the overzealous stage mother determined to have fame at the cost of her daughter's happiness, failed romances and the token hyper gay character. But damn can they dance.
All the main characters in the ensemble cast are actually dancers with major companies in real life and it shows. It is obvious why they chose Amanda Schull for the role of Jody- she is the classic all-American beauty with perfectly coiffed hair and nice teeth and she can dance. The problem is that everybody else is a better dancer than she is and it shows. Ethan Stiefel who plays Cooper, is the current darling of the Ballet world and it is obvious why - whether he's doing classical ballet or improvising, he is astonishing, floating around the stage like a trained gazelle. You really get an opportunity to see their skills in the final dance numbers - they are well choreographed and a joy to watch even if you're not a ballet fan (Jody and Cooper perform a very nontraditional piece that dramatizes their trials and tribulations at the Academy).
If you can get past the saccharin elements, you will discover an enjoyable film.
Let me preface my comments by saying that I know virtually nothing about dance and have never been to a ballet (I've watched Baryshnikov on TV a few times). I have however seen many movies and those that involve dancing - at least in the past decade or two - have been few and far between. Good ones are even scarcer. So, does this one make the cut?
Center Stage is a formulaic teen-angst-romance-flick with a dance spin thrown into the mix. It is not particularly fresh: it has the one dancer who has the heart but lacks the talent, the requisite prima donna with fatal character flaws (she's bulimic and everybody hates her), the overzealous stage mother determined to have fame at the cost of her daughter's happiness, failed romances and the token hyper gay character. But damn can they dance.
All the main characters in the ensemble cast are actually dancers with major companies in real life and it shows. It is obvious why they chose Amanda Schull for the role of Jody- she is the classic all-American beauty with perfectly coiffed hair and nice teeth and she can dance. The problem is that everybody else is a better dancer than she is and it shows. Ethan Stiefel who plays Cooper, is the current darling of the Ballet world and it is obvious why - whether he's doing classical ballet or improvising, he is astonishing, floating around the stage like a trained gazelle. You really get an opportunity to see their skills in the final dance numbers - they are well choreographed and a joy to watch even if you're not a ballet fan (Jody and Cooper perform a very nontraditional piece that dramatizes their trials and tribulations at the Academy).
If you can get past the saccharin elements, you will discover an enjoyable film.