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.
The single from the movie I Wanna Be with You is performed by Mandy Moore. The song became Moore's highest charting song in the US at number 24, becoming her only top 40 song in the nation. It spent 16 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, and peaked during its 9th week on the chart.
Plot[]
After a series of countrywide auditions, 12 young dancers gain entry to the American Ballet Academy (which is loosely based on the School of American Ballet), the affiliate school of the fictional American Ballet Company. At the end of the year, a final dance workshop will determine the three boys and three girls who will be asked to join the company. The workshop will also allow the students to showcase their talent to other ballet companies nationwide. Therefore, a lead part in the workshop is essential to secure a dancer's future.
The film focuses primarily on star student Maureen, naïve newcomer Jody Sawyer, and smart-aleck Eva Rodriguez, as well as Jonathan Reeves, the company's aging choreographer and director, and Cooper Nielson, the company's star dancer who also wants to choreograph. The two have a tense relationship since Cooper's ex-girlfriend and fellow dancer, Kathleen, left him for Jonathan.
Maureen is a closet bulimic who is miserable despite her success at the ABC until she meets handsome pre-med student Jim, who shows Maureen what a life without ballet could look like, much to the dismay of Maureen's controlling stage mother, Nancy. Eva is naturally talented, but her bad attitude and clashes with instructors mean she will be doomed to the corps. Despite her passion and energy, Jody struggles in class due to poor footwork. Jody's parents and teachers attempt to convince her to leave the program, but she refuses to give up on her dream. While attending a modern dance class, Jody runs into Cooper, who encourages her love for dance. The two have a one-night stand, and Jody becomes infatuated with him despite his indifference to her afterward.
For the end of the year workshop, Maureen is given the lead role in the performance directed by Jonathan, while Eva is relegated to the corps. Cooper choreographs a rock/pop music-based ballet based on his failed relationship with Kathleen and selects Jody to lead, along with dancers Charlie and Erik. Charlie has a crush on Jody and encourages her to forget about Cooper when Cooper berates her during rehearsals. When Erik is injured during the final rehearsal, Cooper decides to dance the role himself, further inflaming the tensions between him, Jody, and Charlie. Shaken by Erik's injury, Maureen goes to Jim and admits she no longer wants to dance. Meanwhile, Jody and Eva rehearse after hours, and Eva finally takes direction from dance instructor Juliette Simone.
Maureen doesn't show up at the workshop performance, and her lead part is given to Eva, who impresses the company and the audience. Maureen's mother is furious, but Maureen insists that dancing is no longer her dream and that she will live on her own terms. Cooper's pop/rock ballet is also well-received, and after the performance, Cooper tells Jody that he has found a financial backer to start his own company. He invites Jody to be his principal dancer, and she accepts. He tries to rekindle their relationship, but Jody rebuffs him in favor of Charlie. Jonathan invites Eva to join the ABC based on her workshop performance and improved attitude. Charlie and Erik are also accepted into the ABC, and Sergei, Charlie, and Erik's roommate and friend join his girlfriend Galina at the San Francisco Ballet Company.
In the closing credits, the dancers are seen rehearsing at their respective dance companies while Maureen begins university classes with Jim and finally makes friends.
Cast[]
- Amanda Schull as Jody Sawyer
- Zoe Saldana as 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