There are teenage dramas and then there’s Center Stage. This movie is terrible in every notable category, but in 2000 it spoke to me on a personal level. A group of teenagers with decade-appropriate fashion move to New York to study ballet with high hopes of being hired by a top company. Their buns are flawless (hair buns… but yes, those buns too), their spaghetti straps never fail, and their diets are entirely cliché. That’s not even touching on the boys doing split jumps in the studio next door. On the surface, Center Stage looks like a basic teen drama made for bonus package TV stations, but don’t be fooled, this movie is a cult classic. And it’s now on Netflix. Think of the tone and flavour of your favourite holiday movie but take out everything holiday-related and substitute it with high-calibre dance moves. That’s Center Stage.
The American Ballet Company (not to be confused with real-life ABT™) is inarguably the biggest classical dance company in the USA, if not all of North America. Its in-house academy feeds top students directly into its ranks based on the results of the annual spring showcase. There are a few students like Maureen (Susan May Pratt) and Sergei (Ilia Kulik) who have been at the academy for years, honing their skills for this all-
important final season. Joining them in their senior year is fresh talent like hot-headed Eva (Zoe Saldana), obligatory gay friend Erik (Shakiem Evans), definitively not-gay Charlie (Sascha Radetsky), and the modestly talented Jody with that special something (Amanda Schull). Each dancer tries to shine in a sea of wannabes and grab the attention of the artistic director, Jonathan (Peter Gallagher), and ABC’s principal dancer/showboat, Cooper Nielson (Ethan Stiefel), who are casting this year’s spring show. Merciless training days blend into sweaty New York nights as these students fight physical and emotional hurtles to achieve their dreams.
Sounds pretty spectacular, doesn’t it? That’s because, as Jody discovers, nothing is easy in the ballet world: the cocky principals prey on inexperienced dancers, sleeping with the director has great results with casting, and teachers do nothing but badger and advise in riddles. Factories don’t even make ready-to-wear dance gear; you have to 
sew on the various attachments and beat the shit out of their beautiful satin shells just to make the shoes wearable for a few precious hours. These teenagers fight peer pressure, stereotypes, and gravity just for a shot at their dream career which may only last a decade. The struggle is real, and Jody’s journey shows us the best and worst. Her special spark makes her light up the stage, but her technique isn’t up to ABC’s standards. Even though Center Stage cuts a training montage into every other scene, Jody’s technique doesn’t seem to improve. That’s probably because for every teacher that tells her to point her feet there’s a Charlie telling her to ignore them and dance with heart. The question becomes: can the decision-makers at ABC see past her weak turnout and still appreciate an emotional performance?
In contrast, we have Eva. Where Jody overflows
with enthusiasm but lacks natural skill, Eva storms in with the opposite. As the cool kid who just doesn’t care, Eva shuffles into class with chewing gum (how dare she!) and flyaway bangs (girl, no she didn’t!), but her technique is incredible so who cares? Center Stage is a staple ballet movie because, for the most part, it doesn’t use dance doubles. Zoe Saldana trained in ballet before turning to acting, while Amanda Schull danced with San Francisco, and Sascha Radetsky and Ethan Stiefel were principals with Dutch National and ABT respectively. The story of a girl whose dreams are jeopardized by hot boys with feelings is just string that connects Center Stage’s incredible ballet talent. Arguably, the dancing in this movie is more… centre stage than the characters’ struggles.
I still see that as a positive. It’s hard to rally behind a ballet movie that prioritizes good acting over good technique. Consider its audience; young, impressionable dancers who 
know the difference between en-dedans and en-dehors and are going to care more about arabesques than they do about monologues. You can hide quite a lot with camera angles, but it makes a big difference when the director doesn’t have to. It’s obvious that Center Stage auditioned its dancers first and its actors second. This was one of Amanda Schull’s first gigs, and it kicked off her dance career before her acting career – let that speak for itself. Zoe Saldana, on the other hand, is overqualified in every scene, and steals the show with a careful blend of attitude, guilt, and grace. As for our ballet superstars; Sascha Radetsky and Ethan Stiefel give gobsmacking physical performances but the dialogue delivery is… let’s just say the silent world of ballet was a good career choice.
Center Stage plays out exactly how you 
imagine. The magic is in the iconic soundtrack and cheeky lines like, “Get ready to get down and contract.” It’s a super fun movie built around the ruthlessly competitive world of ballet. There are several highlights, like when Jody lets loose in that end routine, or when you catch the extras having the time of their lives, and it all ends in a hasty conclusion of rolling information bombs; “I’m in the company!”, “I’m quitting dance forever!”, “You suck as a person!”, etc. Center Stage is a feel-good movie about young relationships, jackasses with power, and stressed dancers who are addicted to their craft. It may not have the best acting on Netflix right now, but it’s a perfect movie for ballet-lovers everywhere. Center Stage is a gyrating 7/10.
Plenty of Popcorn 