Center Stage

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

• Director:Nicholas Hytner
• Genre:Drama / Music
• Runtime:116 minutes

Cast

Amanda Schull : Jody Sawyer
Zoe Saldana : Eva Rodriguez (as Zoë Saldana)
Susan May Pratt : Maureen Cummings
Peter Gallagher : Jonathan Reeves
Donna Murphy : Juliette Simone

After a series of country-wide auditions, 12 young dancers gain entry to the American Ballet Academy (which is loosely based on the School of American Ballet). They work hard, attending classes every day for weeks to make them the best dancers they can possibly be, and in preparations for a final dance workshop which will determine the three boys and three girls who will be asked to join the American Ballet Company (which appears to be based on either the American Ballet Theatre or the New York City Ballet). The workshop will also provide an opportunity for the students to showcase their talent to other ballet companies across the country. Gaining a leading part in the workshop is therefore essential.

Tensions mount between Jonathan (Peter Gallagher), the company’s aging choreographer and director, and Cooper Nielson (Ethan Stiefel), his best dancer, who also wants to choreograph. They also have issues because Kathleen, Cooper’s ex-wife and fellow ballet dancer, left him for Jonathan. Star student Maureen (Susan May Pratt), a closet bulimic who seems poised for success, discovers that life is passing her by when she meets a pre-med student who shows her life without ballet. Sweet Jody Sawyer (Amanda Schull), despite body type issues and bad feet, is determined to dance professionally but it appears less and less likely as the movie progresses that she will be good enough. The talented but smart-mouthed Eva (Zoë Saldaña) loves to dance but seems destined to be stuck in the back of the corps because of her attitude. Tensions also arise between Charlie (a naturally gifted fellow student) and Cooper. Charlie has a crush on Jody, who had a one-night stand with Cooper and remains infatuated with him.

Despite Jonathan’s objections, Cooper choreographs a ballet for the workshop (there are three ballets being presented, Jonathan and another choreographer create the other two respectively) which mirrors the relationship between himself, Jonathan, and Kathleen (and also, though done unconsciously, Jody, Charlie and Cooper). Jody, Charlie, and Erik (Charlie’s roommate) are set to dance the three lead roles when Erik sprains his ankle in a rehearsal. Cooper then steps in to fill the role, and the tensions between Jody, Charlie and Cooper play out on the stage. Read more

Watch full Center Stage online streaming for free