Center Stage (2000)

A group of 12 teenagers from various backgrounds enroll at the American Ballet Academy in New York to make it as ballet dancers and each one deals with the problems and stress of training and getting ahead in the world of dance.

Director:

Nicholas Hytner

Writer:

Carol Heikkinen

Stars:

Amanda Schull, Christine Dunham, Ethan Stiefel

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Amanda Schull	...	Jody
Christine Dunham	...	Audition Teacher
Stephen Stout	...	Mr. Sawyer
Maryann Plunkett	...	Mrs. Sawyer
Laura Hicks	...	Nervous Mother
Barbara Caruso	...	ABA Scout
Jeff Hayenga	...	ABA Scout (as Jeffrey Hayenga)
Zoe Saldana	...	Eva (as Zoë Saldana)
Victor Anthony	...	Thomas
Karen Shallo	...	Mother at Audition
Carlo Alban	...	Eva's Friend
Giselle Daly	...	Eva's Friend
Ethan Stiefel	...	Cooper
Susan May Pratt	...	Maureen
Shakiem Evans	...	Erik (as Shakiem Evens)

Storyline

The education of three young students, Jodie, Eva and Maureen, as they study at the American Ballet Academy. Life isn't what they expected at the esteemed ABA, and all three face problems along the road. Jodie doesn't have the "ideal" body for dancing, Eva doesn't have the right attitude, and Maureen doesn't have the heart. Along the way, they learn that love can be found in unlikely places, and dancing should be a passion, not a duty.

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Plot Keywords:

ballet | dancer | dance | love | dancing | 

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Taglines:

Life doesn't hold tryouts.

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language and some sensuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 May 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

City Ballet

Filming Locations:

Fordham University, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts - Columbus Avenue & 61st Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$4,604,621 (USA) (12 May 2000)

Gross:

ESP 14,363,416 (Spain) (29 June 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Laurence Mark Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Cooper blows Jody off after the performance and walks off with another girl ( leaving Jody standing alone by the door) the "other girl" is played by Ethan Stiefel's real-life fiancée, ballerina Gillian Murphy.

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Goofs

When Charlie and Jody are looking in the paper, Charlie has his arm behind Jody's head. When Jonathan gets onto them for talking, he moves it down, but when Cooper comes over and pulls the paper down, Charlie's arm is behind Jody's head again.

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Quotes

Maureen Cummings: Erik got injured today. And do you know the first thing I thought when I saw him go down?
Jim Gordon: What?
Maureen Cummings: "I wish that was me." So that made me think, you know, 'cause that's not a normal reaction. How much of what you liked about me was because I was a ballet dancer, and how much because I was me?

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Connections

References Jules and Jim (1962)

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Soundtracks

"Granada, Opus 47, Nr. 1"
Music by Isaac Albéniz

User Reviews

Cliché city, but I LOVED it!

Let's see--you've got a bunch of young hopefuls in a tough ballet school in NYC--you have the tough, but lovable, black girl; the token gay man; the sweet virginal heroine; the arrogant Russian guy; the sweet lovable guy who's perfect for the sweet heroine, but she doesn't know it; the b**** who's starving herself to death; the guy who loves her and wants to help her; the tyrannical (but lovable) ballet teachers--yep, they're all here! The script is utterly predictable, you know how it's going to end 10 minutes into the movie, but I loved it! The acting is surprisingly good, it's beautifully filmed, the whole cast is attractive and the dancing is simply superb. I wasn't bored once during the entire 2 hours. Well worth seeing.