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Center Stage (2000)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
12 May 2000 (USA) moreTagline:
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. full summary | full synopsisAwards:
1 win moreNewsDesk:
(57 articles)
Wilde Time: The Importance of Being Earnest at Center Stage (From BroadwayWorld.com. 8 November 2009, 2:00 AM, PST)
InViolet Repertory Theater Presents World Premiere of Kiss Me On The Mouth, 11/3
(From BroadwayWorld.com. 5 November 2009, 12:30 AM, PST)
User Comments:
Guilty pleasure more (203 total)Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| 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 |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Centre Stage (Australia)City Ballet (USA) (working title)
The Dance Movie (USA) (working title)
more
MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for language and some sensuality.Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
115 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 moreCertification:
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:GFilming Locations:
Fordham University, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts - Columbus Avenue & 61st Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA moreFun Stuff
Trivia:
The elephant/mouse joke told at the bowling alley, and subsequently over lunch, is described in detail in the book "Rules of Attraction" by Bret Easton Ellis. moreGoofs:
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. moreQuotes:
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?
more
Soundtrack:
If I Was the One moreFAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (203 total)
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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.