Center Stage Special Edition

The primary appeal of dance movies is the dancing, with some added emphasis on the romance the art expresses. Center Stage wins on these counts, despite its reveling in overly familiar characters and formula plotting. Or maybe this reveling is responsible for what goofy fun this film is. The arduous task of becoming a professional ballet dancer is incarnated by many good-looking teens, all stock dance-film characters affectionately portrayed mostly by newcomers. But center stage holds Jody Sawyer (Amanda Schull), who may never be a great ballerina, but she's certainly one sexy jazz dancer. Then there's the arrogant genius (Ethan Stiefel), the dictatorial impresario (Peter Gallagher), the demanding instructor, the bulimic, the stage mother, etc. As we follow these characters, the message develops that one should let go and do what feels good. Jody may not be ballet material, but she scorches the stage when she's uninhibited. And that's really the fun of this movie, which is never seriously interested in ballet to begin with. One ludicrous scene depicts one of the dancers quitting because she realizes she never wanted to be a dancer to begin with but was pushed into it by her overbearing mother. She stands up to mom in the lobby of the auditorium where she's supposed to be performing, the music of her piece providing a syrupy backdrop to her little drama. When she's finished talking, she walks off to the audience's unwitting applause. The scene is so ham-handed you can't help but laugh at its audacity, if that's what it is. The rest of the film is not so overdone, but it's all fun. –Jim Gay

User Ratings and Reviews

3 Stars fun with pretty dance numbers, but don't expect a masterpiece
A lighthearted comedy about the pressures of the ballet scene. nothing new was explored in the film and the resolution is too hunky dory for all involved. Still, it was a well choreographed movie and the acting wasn't too awful for the genre. Also, be on the lookout for a part by Ilya Kulik, the men's Skating Olympic and World Champion and Ekaterina Gordeeva's husband.

5 Stars Amazing dance movie
What a great movie, very deep message, artistic dance without being boring at all! very well acted and good music, Zoe Saldana is fantastic in this movie.

4 Stars Awesome look into the world of Ballet!
This Movie is so good that you can watch it over and over.

The Characters are well acted and the Dancing is awesome!

5 Stars Best Dance Movie
Being a Dance Movie aficionado, I have seen them all and this one is the best. The dancing is great, the characters are believable and the plot isn't ridiculous. Most dance movies these days have some ridiculous plot about some person who "broke all the rules" with his/her love of dance and brought the people together. These plots are a bit clich?, but Center Stage has a real plot, about a group of new students at a highly selective ballet school.

These students then encounter average problems, like drinking and pushing back against authority. Their problem are believable, even when it comes to Maureen's bulimia. I always felt like this story could have actually happened in real life, and I like that. I always enjoy a dance movie, but many try to push an agenda and are a bit overdramatic.

In addition, the dancing is entertaining and very good. The actors are actually ballet dancers. The worst is a dance movie with bad dancing (see Save the Last Dance).

This is my favorite dance movie. It is watch-able many times over with its plausible storyline that discusses issues without shoving them down your through and dancing into your head.

5 Stars A must for any ballet enthusiast!
The best ballet movie, ever. I've watched it at least 20 times. I love it.

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