Exclusive Interview : Tre Armstrong

Everything eventually comes back into style, so they say, and they’d be right, Once around, Always around – even if cloaked for a tad. The Record Player has made a comeback, Rambo is back on our screens, Leo Sayer is back in the charts, Strawberry Shortcake dolls are back on the shelves, edible chocolate undies are all the rage again, and now, the dance movie, something the 80s thrived on, has discoed back into theaters.

Thanks to films like ”Center Stage”, ”Save the Last Dance”, ”Step Up”, ”Honey” and ”Take the Lead ”, the dance movie is back and bigger than ever (and, if I do say so myself, the new catalog of hits are a little more proper and polished than some of those daggy 80s pics, like ”Breakin 2 : Electric Boogaloo”, ”Girls Just Want to Have Fun”, and – at the risk of being hurt – ”Footloose”) – further verification? As we speak, the No.1 film at the box office is ”Step Up 2 : The Streets”, a film that five years ago would’ve got squashed by Pie Rooters and Spider-Men.

Tre Armstrong, star of the new body-jiving feature ”How She Move”, thinks the dance-movie resurgence I back because, quite simply, “Dance is the best!” and everybody loves to watch people doing it. “Step Up 2 did similar business here [in America], it’s just amazing how well it has done. It’s the best”.

Armstrong discovered her love of dance when she was younger – to the merriment of her mother.

“I was a bit of a tomboy when I was little – riding around on BMX’s with the boys, and so on – and Mum didn’t want me to get too butchy, so she gave me the opportunity to attend dance classes. I just loved it, and have been dancing ever since. Twenty years now!”.

The dancer cum actress now gets to showcase her talent on the big screen – not that she ever expected ”How She Move” to do anywhere near the business it has.

“It was a little independent Canadian movie that MTV and Paramount Vantage picked up! We even took it to Sundance!”, says an enthused Armstrong, who has toured with Missy Elliot.

Opening in Australia on April 10, ”How She Move” tells the story of a high school student who is forced to leave her private school to return to her old, crime-filled neighborhood where she re-kindles an unlikely passion for the competitive world of step dancing.

Armstrong, who has danced everything from Ballet, Tap, Urban Dance, Ballroom and Salsa, had originally joined the production as a choreographer until the filmmakers encouraged her to audition for the vital role of the lead character’s rival, Michelle.

The role was tailor-made for Armstrong – and not just because both dance. ”The way [Michelle] wants to get something, and just does it, that’s the same as me. We’re both very self driven. As for her attitude and bitchiness? I’ll hold it in most of the time, but if you push me, I’ll show you that side of me”, she laughs.

Though she was originally on board to choreograph – she worked as a choreographer in the audition phase – Armstrong had to take orders from someone else this time around. Thankfully, that someone else knew what she was doing.

“I like choreographers who know what they’re doing. I also like choreographers that get inspiration from dancers. If someone says ‘Hey, that organ would like better there’, and the choreographer listens to that, that shows promise.”

Aside from Armstrong, the rest of the film’s cast were actors and found it a little difficult to grasp the dancing at first. “It was really hard for them – especially the guys. They were thrust into doing what I do five-days-a-week. They were great though – just a little sore”.

The budding actress made her entrance into film with a role as a dancer in the Jessica Alba movie ”Honey” (“I killed that audition!”, Armstrong recalls) and later, a speaking part in the direct-to-video sequel ”Save the Last Dance 2” (“That was my first acting job. It was a surprise attack. We weren’t sure how that one was going to turn out, since it was a new actress [in the lead role] and it was going direct-to-DVD, but it worked out well”) but is dead-keen to act in something that doesn’t require her to flip her body parts about. “Dance, I will never leave, but I wouldn’t mind playing a soft-hearted teacher or action-hero next”.

In the meantime, Armstrong, who says “dancing is the best form of exercise, besides walking”, is headed down under to teach Aussie kids how to dance.

“April 7th around the country I’ll be hosting dance classes called Step ‘n’ Move. Goggle Tre Armstrong Myspace Australia. Tickets are on sale now. Its a great event. I’ll be there two weeks only!”.

Starting in Sydney then heading to Melbourne, Adelaide and concluding in Perth, Tre’s workshops will teach dancers the art of Step and Hip Hop Choreography. You don’t have to be fluent in bop to register, either – the workshops will be open to dancers of all levels from beginners through to advanced.

And when she returns to home soil, maybe a ”How She Move” sequel?

“Not that I know of!”, laughs Armstrong, “But you’ll be the first person to know. I would love to be involved in it if they did it.”

– CLINT MORRIS