Caffeinated Clint
Sequel to the 2000 dance movie
I love “Centre Stage”. Yeah, go on, laugh. Laugh away funny boy. But you tell me one person who has seen the film that didn’t like it? You can’t, right? That’s because, for what it is, it’s darn well done.
Directed by Nicholas Hytner, the film tells of a group of 12 teenagers from various backgrounds who 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.
Just you try and stop your feet from tapping throughout that baby!
The choreography in it is ace, the women in it are hot (tell me the chick on the right, Amanda Schull, doesn’t float your raft?), the music is terrific, and the performances are great – and ironically, most of them aren’t even actors, they’re real dancers.
Sure, the storyline is a bit cheesy…. But I like cheese, especially on my sandwich.
Shitty analogies aside, “Centre Stage” (2000) has become quite a favourite on DVD over the years that Sony has greenlit a sequel.
The interesting thing about the film is that most of the dancers cum actors in it never acted again – they returned to either teaching dance, studying it, or the stage.
I was checking out the sides for “Centre Stage 2” today and interestingly enough a couple of characters from the original film return for the sequel – so will they re-cast the parts, or are the dancers aching to act again? I don’t know.
The main character returning is Cooper Nielsen (Ethan Stiefel played him in the original), he was that charismatic dancer extraordinaire who danced his away into a fellow dancer’s bed and later, at the end of the first film, announced he’d be starting his own studio – with that same girl.
In the sequel, he’s working at the American Ballet Company, once again alongside the big man, Jonathan Ross (Peter Gallagher played the part in the original; can’t image he’d be too hard to get back).
The focus this time is on a determined young dancer named Kate, whose begging for admission to the company, but has a hard time convincing the powers-that-be to let her in. She eventually gets her chance to dance – thanks to Tommy; her new dance partner (and much to the disgust of another dancer, Suzanne – who wants Tommy all to herself), a guy whose having trouble letting his pals know that he does ballet.
Anyway, it seems like a pretty solid script. And if they can convince a few of those original dancing dudes to return… should please fans of the original. The only thing I’m disappointed about is that Amanda Schull, who played Jody in the original, doesn’t seem to be in the script – as hot as she was, she was just as talented acting-wise; I think she could’ve had a flaming’ good acting career after the film (I hear she is a member of the corps de ballet with the San Francisco Ballet).. Maybe dancing pays more? Maybe dancers don’t go on strike when their unions tell them to?
