Step Up: A Spectacular Dance Movie

Guan Yu Liu 1/9/07

For breaking and entering the Maryland School of Arts, including trashing the theater, you are able to obtain 200 hours of community service. Ballet and hip-hop mix in this film, creating an awesome medley of dance moves. Whoever thought that when you mix these two completely different forms of dancing, you get an awesome dance.

Anne Fletcher, an acclaimed choreographer, has created a movie that is based on dancing at the Maryland School of Arts. In this film, Tatum plays Tyler Gage, a white gangster who is good at break-dancing, stealing cars and partying all night long. When Tyler and his friends Mac (Damaine Radcliff) & Skinny (De’ Shawn Washington) crash the theater at the Maryland School of Arts, Tyler is caught and the judge hands him 200 hours of community service. As Tyler gloomily changes the trash in a practice room during a class, he meets a girl named Nora Clark (Jenna Dewan).

Nora is a superior ballet dancer, who has a showcase in the fall. When her partner Andrew injures his foot, Nora is left frantically trying to find a partner to practice with until Andrew gets better. Nora holds an audition for some sophomores, but all of them don’t seem to have the talent to be her partner. Tyler just happens to be cleaning the windows while the auditions were going on. As Nora sits down, sighing, Tyler offers to help. Nora refuses his assistance at first, but gives in due to the fact that she has no partner.

As they practice day after day, a relationship develops between the two dancers. They have a lot in common, and they obviously get along well. But when Andrew returns with a healed foot, Tyler feels like he isn’t needed anymore, so he quits the showcase. Even though Andrew can practice, they know in their hearts that only one person can do the break-dancing bits of the dance. As Andrew sprains his foot again, it confirms Nora’s worst fears. With only a day or two before the showcase, Nora is forced to compose a dance without a partner.

Overall it’s a pretty good movie. Anne Fletcher does a good job with the choreography and the directing. The acting is really convincing, it’s as if the acting is actually happening in real life. If you like a decent dancing movie, this is the film you should pick for Friday night.