Center Stage (2000)

Director:

Nicholas Hytner

Writer (WGA):

Carol Heikkinen (written by)

Release Date:

12 May 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Music

Tagline:

Life doesn't hold tryouts.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Ballet | Dancer | Dancing | Love | Dance

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Amanda Schull	...	Jody Sawyer
Zoe Saldana	...	Eva Rodriguez (as Zoë Saldana)
Susan May Pratt	...	Maureen Cummings
Peter Gallagher	...	Jonathan Reeves
Donna Murphy	...	Juliette Simone
Debra Monk	...	Nancy Cummings
Ethan Stiefel	...	Cooper Nielson
Sascha Radetsky	...	Charlie Sims
Julie Kent	...	Kathleen Donahue
Ilia Kulik	...	Sergei
Eion Bailey	...	Jim Gordon
Shakiem Evans	...	Erik Jones
Elizabeth Hubbard	...	Joan Miller
Victor Anthony	...	Thomas
Christine Dunham	...	Audition Teacher

Also Known As:

Centre Stage (Australia)
City Ballet (USA) (working title)
The Dance Movie (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language and some sensuality.

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:L | Brazil:12 | Malaysia:U | Finland:S | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Denmark:A | France:U | Germany:12 (original rating) | Germany:o.Al. (video rating) | New Zealand:M | Norway:A | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #37228) | Philippines:G

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

After Jody tells her parents she has been accepted into the ABA, her mom suggests she could still go to college, and says, "Indiana has a great dance program." Amanda Schull, who plays Jody, actually attended the Indiana University for two years.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: During the last ballet sequence that has Jody dressed in red, in the beginning shot her point shoes are pink. In all shots afterward, they are red. This is because she is wearing pink shoes the entire performance leading up to this, and as the camera pans down her body and back up, she is in a new outfit with new hair and makeup. This is a transition to let the audience know without showing it, that there has been an intermission and Jody has changed.

Quotes:

Erik Jones: Where are you going?
Eva: We're going out for a smoke
Erik Jones: Come downstairs, it's Marlboro country!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Getaway: (#13.3)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

Moonglow

Girl gets guy, girl loses guy, girl finds another guy, girl dances.

Being of the male persuasion, this isn't a movie I would typically go to the theater to see. However, not being the stereotypical male, I decided to rent it on video and watch it together with my girlfriend.

This movie is your typical teenage gal film. All the elements are there... good girl, bad girl, holier-than-thou girl, homosexual friend, domineering mother, bad guy, good guy... the list goes on and on.

Jody Sawyer (played quite well by newcomer Amanda Schull) wants to be a ballet dancer. She is already good, but she wants to be the best. She joins on with a famous ballet school, and commences auditions for the all-out ballet blast at the end of the school year, where the dancers will be watched very closely, and some of them will be signed with major ballet companies.

Along the way, she runs into some problems with the other members of the school, as well as the company director. She finds that ballet schools aren't all they are cracked up to be. (Who knew?!) They are more about politics than they are about dancing.

She gets burned by one guy, encouraged by another, and tries to be the best she can. Eventually, she finds the way to her dreams, but not in the typical way, the one the viewer may expect.

Acting here is a tad hollow. However, for a cast of unknowns, it's pretty

fair. After all, this movie is about dancing, not about acting. As might be expected, everybody here is gorgeous. (Are they trying to tell us there are no visually unpleasant ballet dancers... anywhere?!) Aside from that, the storyline is rather unbelievable, and contrived. This leads to a loss of major points.

The best thing about this movie is the dancing. If you are a fan of ballet, be sure and rent this video. It has some of the best ballet dancing that can be seen in any other movie. In particular, the dance exhibition at the end is magnificent!

If you are male, watch this one with your female significant other. (It's good for points.) If you are a gay male, watch it with your male significant other. If you are female, just watch it, you'll love it, especially if you are into cotton candy type films. Overall, it it's no Oscar winner, but it isn't too bad, either. Did I mention the dancing was pretty good?

My Rating: 6/10