Center Stage: On Pointe

I enjoyed this film very much, although I was surprised that it premiered on Lifetime instead of Hallmark as it's very much a classic Hallmark movie. From the moment they show up at the camp, these dancers are in competition for a few spots in a newly-reorganized dance company that has been tasked with modernizing itself. I have to agree with some of the other reviewers that I was less impressed with the lead actress's dancing than that of Maude Green, Chloe Lukasiak, and the male dancers. The setting was gorgeous, filmed mostly in an architecturally-intriguing building deep in the forest (Cheakamus Centre in British Columbia, Canada). Competitive rivalries heat up among the ballet dancers as they try to assimilate the contemporary dance style the others are so naturally good at; meanwhile, the contemporary dancers are brushing up their ballet skills. Not having watched the first two movies in this series, I admit I looked forward to it for months solely because Chloe Lukasiak had been cast.

Lukasiak, as most know, was a featured lead dancer on "Dance Moms." On the show, she was often referred to as naturally gifted in ballet, with beautiful lines, legs and feet, as well as excellent technique that she had developed by training since the age of two years old. Her real-life training and experience were quite different from her character, Gwen, who is referred to as a "dance prodigy" yet is almost exclusively a contemporary dancer with not much training in other genres. At the same time she was asked to play Gwen as relatively new to ballet, she was also learning partner work in contemporary and ballet for the first time - in real life as well as in the script. I was pleased that Lukasiak did not disappoint in her dance ability and has been complimented often in reviews of this movie - even by people panning the movie itself - as a dancer who was talented and enjoyable to watch.

From its logical plot sequence to its beautiful setting, this was such an enjoyable movie. Everything was believable: the couples, the improvement as the dancers learned, and even the surprising conclusion of Gwen's company audition - written perfectly in case they want her as the lead in a fourth movie. Although I had prepared myself for her to have few scenes and lines, I was happily surprised when that wasn't the case and she was in so many scenes & danced so much. I was disappointed that she was not in the finale dance, though. Seeing her in ballet class en pointe made up for all that, though, as we fans have been waiting and longing to see that for years. What a treat this movie was for her fans! One thing that Lukasiak seems to bring everywhere she goes is a quiet glow, a sparkling light - and this was no exception. Visually and in contrast to the older, more serious dancers, Gwen added joy and enthusiasm to her scenes, and I found myself interested in the character herself, eager to see what she would do with her dance career, quite separate from the real-life Chloe I have come to respect and admire so much.

Oh, how sad. The Step Up franchise continued to wow audiences with flashy camerawork and dirty dancing, and the original dance movie, Center Stage, got demoted to television. Two years after Step Up made a splash, Center Stage made a sequel and pretty much copied their formula, focusing more on modern and street dancing than ballet. Sixteen years after the original, Center Stage: On Pointe was the third in the trilogy. Peter Gallagher, Ethan Stiefel, and Sascha Radetsky, were sixteen years older, and the latter two transitioned from principal dancers to teachers at the American Ballet Company. Die-hard fans like me will appreciate seeing the three from the original film, but it is a little sad to face the fact that we all get old, and dancers get old faster than the rest of us.

Since appreciation for classical ballet has dwindled in the past sixteen years, Peter, as company director, has agreed to expand the academy with a modern dance branch. Ethan, Sascha, and the star of the second Center Stage (and the remake of Footloose), Kenny Wormald, have "dance boot camp" in a fun cabin in the woods to recruit the best of the best to join the academy. You'll also see Kenny's costar from the earlier film, Rachele Brooke Smith, since it's her younger sister (See, we all get old), Nicole Munoz, who is the lead in this one.

While I'll watch any Center Stage film, my loyalty lies with the 2000 original. I love seeing classically trained ballet dancers, since their dedication to their craft starts practically as soon as they can walk, as they alter their bone structure while their bones are still soft and pliable. Modern dancers have to learn techniques and possess great muscular control, but they don't permanently alter their bodies for the chance of a few successful years of dancing before injury or "age" (at thirty) cuts their careers short. It's just not the same thing. Ballet is danced to classical compositions; modern dance is set to rap and hip hop, and frequently relies on sexuality to attract fans and viewers. I'd rather watch a ballet performance than an MTV video, even though the dancers in the latter have practiced and worked very hard.

Jesus, what a horrible film. The script, the story-line, the directing, the casting and the performance were all bad. This is perhaps the VERY WORST and the WEAKEST film in the contemporary dancing genre. But the worst part of the film is signing Nicole Muñoz to play the center role. I've never seen anything worse than her dancing. I didn't see how she could be cast as a talented contemporary dancer. There's nothing you could call her DANCE as dance. Besides, her legs are too thick, too short, and even worse in her shorts; not a bit helpful to make me believe she got even basic training. Contempo dance is not just moving her legs or turning, or with a smiling face....there are so many elements in that genre. I was so uncomfortable to see her in all the dancing scenes in this film and couldn't help murmuring 'Jesus...what a joke....", so awkward and so weak, albeit laughable.

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.

Man, I loved the first Center Stage. This one was just awful. The main character actress choice is all wrong. She is so flat. She plays it safe, there is nothing charismatic about her. Which is the downfall for so much of the film when she is in so much of it. The chirography is dull, flat, utterly lifeless. They almost seem to know this which is why they dont focus on the dancing but put in pointless slow-motions and close ups of faces. Poorly written, so cheesy, its actually embarrassing to watch. Of all the dance movies I have seen, this is sadly the worst. Just too many bad choices here...