Story of movie Center Stage 2000 Film : Center Stage is a 2000 American teen drama film directed by Nicholas Hytner about a group of young dancers from various backgrounds who enroll at the fictitious American Ballet Academy in New York City. The film explores the issues and difficulties in the world of professional dance, and how each individual copes with the stresses. This movie was Zoe Saldana's and Amanda Schull's film debuts.
| Center Stage | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Nicholas Hytner |
| Produced by | Laurence Mark |
| Written by | Carol Heikkinen |
| Starring |
|
| Music by | George Fenton |
| Cinematography | Geoffrey Simpson |
| Edited by | Tariq Anwar |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date | May 12, 2000 |
Running time | 111 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $29 million |
| Box office | $26.3 million |
Screenplay
After a series of country-wide auditions, twelve 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 Reeves (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 Donahue (Julie Kent), Cooper's ex-girlfriend and fellow dancer, left him to wed 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 (Eion Bailey) who shows her the merits of a life without ballet, to the dismay of her controlling stage mother (Debra Monk), herself a failed ballet dancer and current ABC employee. Sweet Jody Sawyer (Amanda Schull), despite underdeveloped turn out, body type issues, and poor footwork, is determined to dance professionally, but it appears less and less likely as the movie progresses that she will be good enough. Jody's parents, Jonathan, Maureen, and ballet teacher Juliette Simone (Donna Murphy) try to convince Jody to move on from dance and attend college. Jody refuses to give up on her dream of being in a professional ballet company. Talented, but smart aleck Eva Rodriguez (Zoe Saldana; doubled by SAB alumna and former NYCB member Aesha Ash) from Boston loves to dance but seems destined to be stuck in the back of the corps because of her bad attitude. Tensions also arise between Charlie (Sascha Radetsky), a naturally gifted fellow advanced student from Seattle, and Cooper over Jody; 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 rock/pop music-based ballet for the workshop. Three ballets are presented; Jonathan and another choreographer create the other two respectively—the two more "traditional" ballets are not danced to actual ballet music, however. The first (not shown, beyond entrances of the corps and soloist from the wings) is to Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony, while Jonathan's ballet (choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon) is set to Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto. Cooper's ballet (choreographed by Susan Stroman) mirrors the relationship between himself, Jonathan, and Kathleen. Jody, Charlie, and their gay friend Erik (Shakiem Evans) are set to dance the three lead roles when Erik sprains his ankle in a final rehearsal. To Jonathan's protests and Jody's apprehension, Cooper steps in to fill the role, and the tensions between Jody, Charlie, and Cooper play out on the stage.
After the final workshop, Cooper starts his own dance company, much to Jonathan's chagrin, as Cooper's financial backer is a wealthy widow who Jonathan was hoping would donate to American Ballet Company. Cooper asks Jody to be a principal dancer, as her dancing style, though technically deficient, is perfect for his company. He also asks to date her, but Jody turns him down in favor of Charlie. Maureen decides to give up ballet because she finally realizes that ballet is just something she does well and not what she wants in life. She decides to attend regular university and also seek help for her eating disorder. Eva is picked by Jonathan to join ABC after proving her worth in the workshop, surprising everyone by dancing in place of Maureen as the lead in Jonathan's ballet. Charlie, and fellow advanced students and friends Anna (who was always favored by Jonathan and who danced "Gelsey Kirkland's part" as the lead in the Italian Symphony ballet; played by SAB alumna and former NYCB corps member Megan Pepin) and Erik are also asked to join the American Ballet Company, and Sergei (Ilia Kulik), Charlie and Erik's roommate and friend, joins his girlfriend Galina in the San Francisco Ballet Company.
There is a subplot in which Cooper attracts the financial support of a flirtatious wealthy female philanthropist (played by Elizabeth Hubbard). An August 15, 2004 New York Times article entitled "How Much Is That Dancer in the Program?" revealed that Stiefel has a very similar real-life sponsorship relationship with a philanthropist named Anka Palitz.
- Amanda Schull as Jody Sawyer
- Zoë Saldana as Evanna "Eva" Rodríguez
- Susan May Pratt as Maureen Cummings
- Peter Gallagher as Jonathan Reeves
- Debra Monk as Nancy Cummings
- Ethan Stiefel as Cooper Nielson
- Sascha Radetsky as Charles "Charlie" Sims
- Donna Murphy as Juliette Simone
- Julie Kent as Kathleen Donahue
- Ilia Kulik as Sergei
- Eion Bailey as James "Jim" Gordon
- Shakiem Evans as Erik "O. Jones" Jones
- Elizabeth Hubbard as Joan Miller
- Cody Green as Nicholas "Nick" Hoffman
- Mauricio Sanchez as Dancer at Salsa Club
- Julius Catalvas as Instructor
- Priscilla Lopez as Broadway Dance Teacher
Of the main characters who are dancers, four are professional ballet dancers (Amanda Schull, Ethan Stiefel, Sascha Radetsky, and Julie Kent), one is a professional figure skater (Ilia Kulik), one had ballet training (Zoe Saldana), and two were actors with no ballet training (Susan May Pratt and Shakiem Evans). Body doubles were used for many of the major dance sequences, and students from the School of American Ballet (including now-retired NYCB principal dancer Janie Taylor and current principal Jared Angle) filled the classrooms of ABA and corps in the workshop ballets.
Critical response
Center Stage received moderate to negative reviews.
The New York Times critic A. O. Scott wrote for the film:
| “ | The script, by Carol Heikkinen, has a lot of business to take care of before the Big Show, which is its mandatory climax, and it steamrolls through its expository scenes with more efficiency than grace, as though in a desperate hurry to reach the next commercial break. Cooper's climactic dance, Ms. Stroman's work, at first looks like a horrifying compilation of Dirty Dancing pelvic action and the kind of knee sliding and arm-waving that was mercifully quashed at this year's Oscars. | ” |
Contactmusic.com gave the film just two stars, commenting that:
| “ | Along the way misguided affairs (Jodie falls for the cocky, beloved star of the Company), eating disorders and injuries crop up, pushing the plot along. As do unfortunate lines like, 'I'm not dancing for them anymore; I'm dancing for me.' The only solace from such schlock is the fact that the film makes it clear from the start that it exists simply to showcase the dancing itself. As such, it's no shock when the choreography upstages the screenwriting. Ultimately the story line here is as stupid as the final "rock" ballet. The characters are one-dimensional, as are their "struggles." In fact, the territory is so familiar that it's almost excusable. With that said it's still hard to watch Center Stage and be able to get the familiar opening music to Fame out of your head; it's also hard to remember why you're not simply watching that film instead. | ” |
The film currently holds a 43% "Rotten" score, on Rotten Tomatoes.
Box office
The film opened at #6 at the box office making $4,604,621 USD in its opening weekend. The film has grossed a total of $26,385,941 worldwide.
A sequel film starring Rachele Brooke Smith was first released in cinemas in Australia on October 30, 2008, and debuted in the United States on November 1, 2008 on the Oxygen channel.
Another sequel film premiered on Lifetime on June 25, 2016. The film stars former Dance Moms star Chloe Lukasiak and features alumni from the first two films mentoring a younger generation of dancers.
.jpg)
