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

Maureen's mother comments that Juliette's father managed a Walmart in New Jersey ("Perth Amboy"). However, the first Walmart in New Jersey didn't open until 1991.

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Quotes

Jody: Cooper, you're an amazing dancer, and you're a great choreographer, but as a boyfriend... you kinda suck.

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Connections

Spoofed in Dance Flick (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Adagio for a Ballet Class"
Music by Dmitry Polischuk

User Reviews

Guilty pleasure

Come on, I know it's not cool to admit to liking what is essentially a cheesy teen flick. But go ahead, say it aloud - this is a fun movie! Sappy, badly acted, full of exaggerated clichés and one-liner groaners, Center Stage nevertheless has a kind of charm to it. No, it's not an Oscar contender or a change-your-life kind of movie. This is pure escapism, plain and simple. But - say it together with me now - there's nothing wrong with that.

Amanda Schull plays Jody, a wannabe ballet dancer who gets accepted to the prestigious American Ballet Academy. The movie follows her life and that of her friends and fellow students, who fall into the predictable stereotypes. There's Eva (Zoe Saldana), the city kid with attitude. There's Maureen (Susan May Pratt), the teacher's pet. There's Erik (Shakiem Evans), the gay guy. There's Cooper (Ethan Stiefel), the bad-boy celebrity who's still in love with the director's wife ballerina. There's Charlie (Sascha Radetsky), the perfect good guy. One has the obnoxious stage mom. Another has the talent but not the drive. A third has the drive but not the talent. Etcetera. And the lives of the students take the typical high school romantic twists and turns, as the students compete for one of three spots in the company by the end of the year, and also in the various love triangles between the cast. There are few surprises here.

None of the cast is much of an actor - Schull is particularly uneven - and the plot has a sort of predictability to it that make eyes roll.

So why the 8/10? Well, because despite all this, Center Stage is a great amount of fun - mostly due to the dancing.

By casting real dancers in a lot of the roles, Center Stage lends an air of credibility to the lavishly filmed dance sequences, clearly done with love by such talents as world-leading dancers Julie Kent and Ethan Stiefel (widely considered to be one of the best ballet dancers in the world) as well as relatively new talents such as Amanda Schull. Some of the actors have body doubles dancing for them, such as Zoe Saldana - who had some dance training but not at the level required by the film. But overall, the dance scenes are the best part of the movie, especially Cooper's ballet at the end.

Some movies are great because they change your life or make you think. Center Stage is great because it's like candy - full of saccharine sugar and empty calories, but eminently watchable over and over again. Sometimes movies don't have to be socially relevant or intellectually stimulating to be good. Sometimes, escapism is OK too.