Center Stage — We Don’t Talk About This Movie Enough
Now, this isn’t a Screenwriters Breakdown, nor is it an In Industry post but it will have components of both so be sure to check out both of those segments while you’re here (click on the tags in the headers to see all post segments).
Center Stage is a year 2000 movie staring Zoe Saldana and Amanda Schull in what became their breakout roles. They both play two ballerinas from different walks of life who are trying to secure a coveted spot at The American Ballet Academy in beautiful New York City.
This movie is everything to ballerinas that Save The Last Dance was to whatever audience that movie was for. IM JUST KIDDING! We all thought that two-step and bop was amazing when we saw it. You know what I’m talking about.
Not only do the viewers get a crash course on what it takes to make it into a prestigious ballet academy, but viewers also get a look into some of the negatives that come with ballet.
The Movie is Giving “Character”
Within this movie, it’s hard not to find a character that you’ll love or can relate to.
And, if you by chance don’t, then there’s no way you won’t enjoy the dancing.
This movie was my full fledged introduction to the mixture of contemporary ballet with modern dance and the idea of it happening during a showcase for a prestigious ballet academy made it even sweeter!
The first Center Stage movie got it absolutely right, so I fully recommend you checking that out, but the others, feel free to skip those! The stories, the characters, the acting… it’s not where the first movie is. They certainly should’ve just made the first and left it on the floor.
Now, for the bad…
While ballet remains beautiful, it has a scary history…
The movie walks us through a number of dangers or scary situations as it pertains to the life and world of a ballet dancer, presented both overtly and subtly:
The dangers that come with needing to quickly break in your pointe shoes (the montage on the girls tapping their toes, slamming their shoes and stretching their feet)
The impact on your body (pulling a muscle, failing to stretch, etc.)
The dangers associated with the antiquated views on diet, health and nutrition for ballet dancers (both ballerinas and ballerinos — back in the day the expectation was that the ballerinas were stick thin with perfect feet)
The dangers that come with the pressures of pushing your body to it’s limits to be “better” before your next rehearsal — there is no short cut to flexibility, good turn out or beautiful feet.
This movie certainly stands the tests of time.
I recently gave it a watch and it’s still just as good as it was! That rarely happens with movies and especially movies before a certain time. I end up unable to watch older movies because the jokes no longer land, the characters seem robotic and immature or the plots are outdated, but this movie just works!
My favorite part
One of my favorite sections of growth within the movie came from Zoe’s character Eva Rodriguez.
Eva was a snappy and sarcastic character who fought against any and every authority figure presented in the movie. Coming into the ballet company, she didn’t act desperate for a spot like the other dancers did, but instead she entered with a huge chip on her shoulder which had to be broken down as the movie went on.
I love her character because we get to watch her fail and then beautifully rebuild on her own. Along the way, not only does she own up to her ego-driven ways and mistakes, but she also visibly changes! These are the characters that I love to see because not only does the plot grow and change but they do to!
In addition to this, there was a scene where the main character Jody goes to a dance class outside of the ABA (which is not allowed) and it focuses on how close-knit everyone was — they kissed, hugged each other, stretched each other and just weren’t afraid of being close. And then, they danced hard with each other. They danced a high-impact, high-energy, fun, expressive free-form dance with each other in sweaty close quarters and it was a good time. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to walk into a class like that, in New York in the early 2000’s. Ugh, that must’ve been amazing.
There’s a freedom that comes from dancing that you truly don’t get anywhere else.
While I’m not a fan of dancing at a club or a party, I do love being a ballerina (even on my worst days). Center Stage was one of those movies that kept me and ballet close. When I left ballet to wrestle, I knew that I’d end up right back. When I moved away and couldn’t find a studio, a day came where I was willing to start my search high and low again because ballet is and will always be a big part of me. While my knees may have other plans for me, I plan on dancing and passing the joy of this style of dancing along if/when I can.
Big thanks to Center Stage (really Zoe Saldana for being a beautiful dancer), and to my Aunty Kim who put me in my first ballet class, and even my current ballet teacher Heidi for sticking with me for years.
Best,
Bree 🩰