Original language(s) English Cinematography Pieter Stathis | Country of origin Canada Initial release 2016 (USA) Music director Patric Caird | |
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Starring Nicole MuñozKenny WormaldBarton CowperthwaiteChloe LukasiakRachele Brooke Smith Producers Vicki Sotheran, Greg Malcolm Cast Similar Ballet movies, Dance movies | ||
Center stage on pointe dance scene
Center Stage: On Pointe is a 2016 teen drama television film, directed by Director X. The film stars Nicole Muñoz, Kenny Wormald, Barton Cowperthwaite, Chloe Lukasiak and Rachele Brooke Smith. It premiered on Lifetime on June 25, 2016. The official DVD was released September 6, 2016.
Contents
- Center stage on pointe dance scene
- Center stage on pointe first look lifetime
- Plot
- Cast
- Production
- Reception
- References
It is the third installment in the Center Stage film series, following the 2000 film Center Stage and its sequel, Center Stage: Turn It Up.
Center stage on pointe first look lifetime
Plot
To solve its financial problems, the American Ballet Academy (ABA), headed by Jonathan Reeves (Peter Gallagher), seeks to expand its repertoire from ballet to add the more popular contemporary dance. Tommy (Kenny Wormald), Charlie (Sascha Radetsky) and Cooper (Ethan Stiefel) start a competitive camp to recruit new dancers for ABA.
Bella Parker (Nicole Muñoz), has always been in the shadow of her sister Kate (Rachele Brooke Smith), a famous ballet dancer. She changes her last name to avoid comparisons, and to her surprise, she is chosen for the camp. Bella has trouble fitting in, and instructor Lorenza (Sarah-Jane Redmond), a ballet snob, is brutally critical of Bella's dancing. When she is partnered with quiet Damon (Barton Cowperthwite), however, she gains confidence, as the two open up to each other.
Rumors surface about one of the dancers, Allegra (Maude Green), and the dancers take sides. Bella strives to remain focused as the day of final audition arrives. When Allegra loses her partner, Bella generously lends her Damon; but in a surprise twist, Bella joins the two on stage, and all three are accepted to ABA.
Cast
Production
The film was shot in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Principal photography started and finished in November 2015.
Reception
Variety critic Sonia Saraiya found Center Stage: On Pointe wholly inferior to the original Center Stage, complimenting only the direction of Director X noting "...though it is frustrating that the film feels like 15-odd low-budget music videos strung together, the dance in those segments, and the way it's filmed, are some of the best parts of the movie." Cara Kelly of USA Today agreed that, like Center Stage, On Pointe's strength "is still there: the nicely choreographed and heartfelt dance scenes performed by real dancers." The A.V. Club's Danette Chavez was more mixed in her review, giving the film a C+, and remarking that "Muñoz is a charming lead" but noting that "On Pointe gets too ambitious..." with the film's message. Keith Uhlich of The Hollywood Reporter was the most negative in his assessment of the film, criticizing all of the dance sequences in the film as "poorly staged and often inexplicably photographed in slow-motion", and surmising that, "By the time the climactic, Rihanna-scored musical number arrives, your attention will have long since waltzed off."