Review of Center Stage (2000) by Jasmin W — 06 Nov 2010

One reason that sports movies do so well is that they portray people doing impressive athletic activities that we, the audience, largely can't do. (Or at least can't do anymore.) Though they fill a different niche, dance movies do much the same thing. Plot is almost irrelevant next to the pure performance spectacle. Even George Carlin admitted that "a whole lotta people dancing at once" is pretty awesome to see. So when you look at a film like Center Stage, you kind of know going into it that it will succeed or fail based on the caliber and energy of its performances.

The good news is, Center Stage has some pretty good ones. The energy level is high, the choreography is beautiful, and the actor/dancers are graceful and lovely to watch. And in addition to choreographing some excellent original work just for the film, Center Stage also included excerpts from actual ballets that an actual professional ballet company would perform. So there was an air of professionalISM to the film that I did not expect, and very much appreciated.

That said, almost every other element of Center Stage was pretty much a teen soap opera in a performance setting. Some of the issues and plot points are less typical because of that setting's unique factors, but the attitudes, character types, plot twists and interactions were highly predictable and more than a little campy. So in that respect, once the performance scenes are finished, I'd class Center Stage as largely forgettable.