Center Stage: On Pointe

en français s'il vous plait

en français s'il vous plait

When the ABC Company, who's been focused only on classic ballet for many years, gets on the verge of bankruptcy, they decide to mix it with modern dance in order to attract more people to their shows but also investors. A dance contest is organized and the selected ones are sent for six weeks into a camp for training and final selection. The story focuses on a girl who specializes in modern dance but must now adapt to a new world of rules and obedience which ballet requires. Together with her partner and new friends, they must help each other in order to pursue their dreams. Although it sounds pretty cliché, the idea is good enough. Unfortunately, the plot isn't good enough, being very linear, superficial and predictable most of the time. The characters are likable and although not very complex, they manage to create and maintain a good dancing atmosphere which is pleasant to the eye. You'll also find some pretty enjoyable music, making it a pleasure to see the actors dance. As said before, it's a shame that the plot is not helping much, leaving much room to improve, especially in terms of depth. It has a tendency of simplifying things way too much, making the predictable finale even less satisfying than it would have been. Let me put it this way, if you like music and dancing, you'll find a good movie to watch in this one. If you expect to see a good story and well defined characters which can provide suspense, drama and emotion, you're going to be disappointed by it.

I wanted to like the Bella character, but was not that great of dancer and it was just super cheese fest.

I wonder how many of the other reviewers have *actually* danced or been in a Ballet company/auditions. I may be a hetero guy but I did 8 years of Ballet. While the main actress Nicole may have lacked in *enough* ballet training, she did a pretty good job considering. I am so tired of people judging body type or shape to judge if or if not they can or can not be a dancer... wake up people, we are in 2016, the world is not a cage made of perfect ballerinas... we are all different and all allowed to express who we are through dance. This is no different than a movie like High Strung where the main actor does NOT play the Violin well (been playing that since I was 5) and yet people don't get nearly as bent out of shape and yet for me, it's somewhat painful to watch... One aspect of the movie that I find quite accurate and well played out is the competition, gossiping, even some would say backstabbing that happens in the Ballet world.. The plot is interesting while not entirely original if you spend enough time in and around Ballet Companies..... The Ballet Instructor, Lorenza was quite hard, harsh, bitter and that is quite common and realistic. For most people who have no idea what the Ballet world or even dance world is really about this is a nice introductory glimpse into the discipline, amount of work, difficulty that it is... All in all, I'd probably be willing to give it a 6 out of 10 but settled on 5 for the lack of authenticity of the main actress' dancing even though I am sure she tried very hard. Plus we don't know who was there to coach the quality of dancing during production so it's a little too easy to give 1-2 reviews and give out very harsh comments. I found it entertaining enough and didn't find myself wanting to fast forward once or quit watching. Even though there are better movies in the genre, it was still a nice way to spend time while stuck in bed with a leg injury.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. I wasn't expecting a masterpiece in dance but it is a feel good underdog movie about different styles of dance coming together for the greater good. It seems many people missed the plot and immediately zoomed in on technical issues as if they expected to watch a real ballet. Its a movie people, its a threequel. Just relax & enjoy it from that perspective. There were some really funny moments by the actor's and I was particularly watching for the first timer, Chloe Lukasiak. Honestly Chloe could have carried this movie. I was very impressed with her emotion & delivery. I was a little annoyed that she didn't get to dance in the final number but I get it, you had to show someone get cut so why not the youngster. A Gwen movie spin off is almost a must for as good as she was. Nice job everyone. I agree it lacked some character development and I didn't particularly like the slo mo dance moments but still, I thoroughly enjoyed it. We need a Gwen follow up next.

This movie would have been better left as an un-shelved idea. I'm a huge fan of the first Center Stage and tolerated the previous sequels but this sequel did no justice to the good name. The actors were horrid, the script was cringe worthy and the story line was beyond ridiculous. It's time to put this horse out of its misery.

Good plot. Intrigue. A little bit of romance. Dance. Kenny Wormald in the role of the choreographer. It's a yes from me.

The lead actress Nicole Munoz does not have the body of a dancer of any type modern or classical. She is just too stocky. This isn't a skinny or fat thing - it's a body shape thing. So the whole movie kind of falls apart because she is so wrongly cast. The premise is weak and the little side stories feel contrived. But things are better when the actors with some proper dance training actually dance. There are so many interesting stories they could have done about a ballet company. This one doesn't come close in any way to the original Center Stage. Even the returning cast like Peter Gallagher and Sasha Radetsky look like they would rather be else where.

The original film was a knockout about how hopefuls for professional ballet companies are selected to train for possible future job placement. Some of its top performers, among them Peter Gallagher as the impresario of both companies and Ethan Stiefel as well as Mr. "Divine Stella Abrera" - Saha Radetsky as former star dancers now ballet troupe faculty/artistic masters. They of course shine in both films. The cast works and the photography/editing works to a great extent. Many of the concepts would not be valid in 2000 when the first film was made because this film is about people not used to the culture or the work ethic of the profession primarily complaining about it. In the original film the talented Zoe Saldana did an award winning job of her fictitious character at first the only angry rebel in the group and later its greatest traditional route achiever. Some photography has ghetto language and snobbish rivalry among the students not unlike that behind the scenes in the original but more open and more at the center of the film. Many good points and in some ways compelling all the way through yet not a traditional ballet film for example the pas de deux competition which is the highlight of the film shows the male partners dancing for only seconds barefoot in what seems to be on for television camera work undershirt and underpants but not as traditionally in ballet attire performing a whole sequence.