High Strung (2016)

When a hip hop violinist busking in the New York subway encounters a classical dancer on scholarship at the Manhattan Conservatory of the Arts, sparks fly. With the help of a hip hop dance ... See full summary »

Director:

Michael Damian

Writers:

Janeen Damian, Michael Damian

Stars:

Keenan Kampa, Nicholas Galitzine, Jane Seymour

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Keenan Kampa	...	Ruby
Nicholas Galitzine	...	Johnnie
Jane Seymour	...	Oksana
Sonoya Mizuno	...	Jazzy
Richard Southgate	...	Kyle
Paul Freeman	...	Kramrovsky
Maia Morgenstern	...	Markova
Ian Eastwood	...	Rik
Anabel Kutay	...	April
Marcus Emanuel Mitchell	...	Hayward Jones III
Comfort Fedoke	...	PopTart
Simon A. Mendoza	...	Ollie
Miranda Wilson	...	Mary
Dave Scott	...	Macki
Andrew Pleavin	...	Slater

Storyline

When a hip hop violinist busking in the New York subway encounters a classical dancer on scholarship at the Manhattan Conservatory of the Arts, sparks fly. With the help of a hip hop dance crew they must find a common ground while preparing for a competition that could change their lives forever.

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Plot Keywords:

dance | leotard | ballet | violin | 

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Taglines:

See the music. Hear the dance.

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Genres:

Drama | Music | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some thematic elements and mild language

Details

Official Sites:

official website

Country:

USA Romania

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 April 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

StreetDance: New York

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$45,255 (USA) (8 April 2016)

Gross:

$45,255 (USA) (8 April 2016)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Riviera Films, Sforzando Productions, Castel Film Studio

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

Movin'
by MOHOMBI

User Reviews

Not bad at all once you get pass the fact that all the kids are annoying stereotypes

High Strung was not the movie I planed to see, but the projector was broken on the movie I paid money for and I had limited options, so I gave it a try thinking the movie was this generation's version of Fame, but it looks and feels more like a spin-off of the Step-Up Franchise.

First off, I really need to vent on how ticked I was that they thought Romania was a good replacement for Manhattan. This vent is actually important to the film's content cause as unrealistic as it is to see young and poor college students living in a Loft that looks like it cost 500 dollars a minute to live in, it really annoys me that this is suppose to be the poor rough section of Manhattan. I would not want any upcoming dancers to see this movie filled with stock footage of New York Landscapes inter cut with Eastern European streets and be inspired to come to the city and find the same thing.

One of the lead characters named Johnny Blackwell is a Brit who was inspired to come to New York to be a violinist. This character was kind of lame. He was a pretty white boy with a chip on his soldier who wanted to bring the Violin into contemporary times, as if though no one has ever done that before, His Edgy attitude made no sense for a dude living in such a seller loft in Manhattan.

Maybe it was the Multi ethic dance troop he live above that ticked him off. These cats were living and breathing dance. The only character that did not annoy me when she first came on the screen was Johnny's love interest, a good girl ballerina similar to Julia Styles in Save the Last Dance, who is at an art school in Manhattan on a dance scholarship. They were smart to keep whatever background on the character short, because the little I knew the more I like.

Then came the point in the film when a "dangerous" street gang got into a break dance battle with a group of New York city Construction workers, and that's when I realized, I'm taking this movie far too seriously.

I realized that all I'm doing is watching a large dance recital being composed with string instruments, just like the recital at the end of the movie, which Johnny enters at the end of the film to use the cash money to stay in the country. Once I got that into my head I began to enjoy the movie for what it was.

It was fun to watch the dance numbers, this combination of ballet and modern dance, once again the concept is not original, but they had some cool dance routines going on.

I wish I could say that I loved the sting instrument part as much as I loved the dancing, but more so, I really respect that High Strung seemed to use more original composing than contemporary radio hits, which is far better.

So in the end, I could not help but to laugh out loud in my seat at the Archetype characters (They even had the spoiled little rich girl with dark hair who hated the blonde good girl and the preppy White dude who thought he was better than "street hood" white boy because he had money (did I mention Johnny has a cute little beauty mark on top of his puffy lips?), but the main focus is on the dancing mixed with the music, and that was enjoyable