Film Review: Center Stage (2000)

(NOTE: Capsule version of the review is available here.)

The 2000 dance film Center Stage is one of the very rare Hollywood works dedicated to the world of classical ballet. The protagonist, played by Amanda Schull, is Jody Sawyer (Amanda Schull), a young woman who has always dreamed of becoming a top ballerina. Her admission to the American Ballet Academy is only the first step in fulfilling her dreams. In fact, she aspires to join the elite American Ballet Company, which accepts only the twelve finest Academy students annually. However, the strict faculty, led by Jonathan Reeves (Peter Gallagher), does everything to narrow the selection. Jody lacks the proper body proportions and dance style required by the Academy’s criteria, leaving her chances rather slim. Her classmates Maureen Cummings (Susan May Pratt) and Eve Rodriguez (Zoe Saldana) face different struggles. Meanwhile, Jody witnesses the growing tension between Jonathan’s colleague and star dancer Copper Nielsen (Ethan Stiefel), who begins to take an interest in her.

Most American critics received Center Stage with little enthusiasm, largely due to British director Nicholas Hytner’s slightly inflated reputation. Seven years earlier, he had helmed the acclaimed historical drama The Madness of King George. Many critics were disappointed, with most criticism targeting Carol Heikkinen’s surprisingly weak script, which injected every possible cliché of American sports dramas into the ballet world. The predictability of the plot was worsened by poorly developed characters resembling cardboard cutouts instead of flesh-and-blood individuals. Still, Hytner can be forgiven for choosing such a script. He insisted that top-dancer roles be played by actors capable of performing actual dance on camera (unlike Jennifer Beals in Flashdance, who had used a body double), making casting one of the production’s toughest and longest challenges. In the end, he settled for compromises: professional actors like Peter Gallagher only appear in minor roles, while most dancer roles are filled by professionals like Ethan Stiefel, one of the leading ballet stars of his time, and even found a role for Russian figure skater Ilya Kulik.

As for the lead, Amanda Schull—a young, likable actress—dances well, but her acting prowess is hard to gauge, as the script forces her to bumble through most “normal” scenes like a cow through a china shop. Hytner compensates for the script’s shortcomings with excellent, spectacularly choreographed dance sequences. Beneath the one-dimensional narrative, there are glimpses of intriguing ballet-world details, such as the widespread smoking and bulimia among young ballerinas obsessed with maintaining minimal body weight. Though not a landmark film, Hytner competently executes his vision, making this modest effort interesting—and occasionally entertaining—even for viewers uninterested in ballet. Center Stage is one of the relatively rare examples of the genre dedicated to the world of classical ballet.

RATING: 5/10 (++)

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