Center Stage

I don't know if anyone will actually read this considering how old the film is, but this was such a great movie that I wanted to encourage anyone else who happens to come upon it.I'm not really a fan of ballet... the only reason I found this movie in the first place is because I was looking up Mandy Moore videos and saw her 'I Wanna Be With You' song was featured for Center Stage, and after reading some other reviews, I thought I'd give it a shot. I'm always up for inspirational movies with a good ending (which, without spoiling anything, this movie has a great ending). If you're not into ballet, if you're totally disgusted by it, think it's a sissy's activity, then you probably won't like this movie at all. But if you don't really mind it and you're open to it, and you want a good story with a happy ending, then I recommend this.Center Stage is a pretty standard story - children enrolling in a school geared toward a specific talent, and only a handful will actually be able to succeed in the end. While the story is mostly about the three main girls, I was interested in the stories and contributions of everyone as it went on. I expected in a school mixed with new and veteran, intermediate and pro dancers competing for spots that there would be cliques, bullying, petty fights - lots of annoying, spiteful drama - but thankfully there was really none of that in the film.I think what I loved most about Center Stage was the way the characters change or the way you see them differently as it goes on. Within the first half hour, you'll probably think you know exactly what each one of them will do, and if you're like me, you might end up disliking most of them. But you'll be very surprised by the end when you actually wind up liking and cheering for all of them.The acting was pretty good and enjoyable. Most of it was realistic, nothing quite too over the top or unbelievable. A character might take a totally different shift, but it's actually nice to see them growing up. There's some romance in the story, not too much that it overshadows everything else, but enough.So the ballet... like I said, I'm not a ballet fan, I was not particularly interested in a couple of the scenes, but you have to give credit where it's due. Watching the dancers, as someone who does not do ballet, was awe inspiring for me at times. The dedication and grace of ballet itself, and not knowing if the scene was going to be end up being about a success or a flop for one of the characters (obviously it's not a real live performance, but you still never really know where the scene/story is going until it's over) made it very interesting to watch.My only comment about the packaging itself is that the current picture on Amazon shows it in a box with a pink border. Mine does not have that, just the same picture of the characters without any border, with a silver trim on top that says Special Edition, and a black case. Just putting that out there for anyone who didn't want a pink case on their shelves (although I can't guarantee there isn't another version that does have a pink case).In terms of extras, there were a couple of deleted scenes, a couple of extended dance scenes, some commentaries, and couple of other extras I didn't really care about, and the 'I Wanna Be With You' music video.Like I said before, if you want an inspirational movie of kids trying to find their place in the world, who grow up and make their own decisions and find out they can enjoy life, and you don't hate ballet, I would definitely recommend Center Stage.

In some ways, this is a "grade B" movie, with a predictable story and, for the most part, blandly attractive actors. However, for anyone who likes ballet,a Center Stage is a real treat, as there is wonderful dance in this movie from beginning to end. In some regards, the entire story is told through dancing.The plot follows a group of mostly 18-year-olds newly admitted to a ballet school that's clearly modeled on the School of American Ballet, the institution created by George Balanchine, and which is affiliated with the New York City Ballet. The characters are mainly stock characters, so you have the pretty one, the ambitious one, the gay, the straight, the rebellious one, and so on. But from the very beginning, you are plunged into the world of the dancer. The movie opens with auditions for new students, and many of its scenes portray ballet class, including barre work, stretches, and floor work, as well as teaching of parts and creation of new choreography. There is a lot of drama here, but Center Stage avoids the superheated fantasy of Black Swan, and also avoids the trivial personal stuff in Turning Point. The entire and genuine focus of the film is on the dancing, and it presents a real and realistic look at the sorts of pressure that dancers and dance students face every day in service to their art. Many of the actors and extras in the movie are actually ballet dancers, and their presence contributes greatly to Center Stage. Among the lead actors, Donna Murphy, who had a long career as a dancer in Broadway shows, is outstanding as the very demanding ballet mistress. Ethan Stiefel, one of the male leads, is a well-known dancer of the first rank. Aside from the many scenes of class, practice, and workout, the film contains some significant choreography. These include the Four Cygnets dance from Swan Lake, the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet, and an excerpt from Balanchine's Stars and Stripes. The film includes a complete, original ballet choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon. Interestingly enough, the director is so sensitive to dance that he presents the entire Wheeldon work, over ten minutes, straight through, with almost no reaction shots or quick cuts.Although you can watch Center Stage via streaming video services, I would like to recommend purchase of the "special edition" DVD (or Blu-ray) for its special features. These include a director's commentary, wherein the director (Nicholas Hytner) explains why he chose to film ballet and how he did so; extended movements from the Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Sousa ballets, and a couple of extra scenes, including one with a rehearsal of Stars and Stripes.In short, a fine movie for anyone who loves ballet.

I got this movie for my wife. It was one of her favorites. The disc was not scratched and worked perfectly.

you will love this one.let's face it, you watch a movie like this because you love to watch beautiful people moving in beautiful ways. Also you might be like me and have misplaced dreams of wishing you were a dancer. I never stuck with it, my parents didn't make me practice and they let me off the hook too easily when I didn't want to keep pushing to do it. You never get to the reward if you don't push through that phase. Oh well....the story in this movie is excellently done and it's never stupid or unbelievable. I've got enough dance background to know that they did their research when filming it. Also one of the male leads, Ethan Steifel, is a professional ballet dancer and you can really tell. His dancing is phenomenal.Character tensions are developed nicely without making you hate the bad girl.... issues like eating disorders, bloody toes from pointe shoes, frustration and sexual chemistry are present but not made into a soapbox. You'll really be rooting for them all at the end....My favorite part is the jazz class the ingenue character takes midway through the movie. The class is shown doing a warmup routine and then a dance routine that is actually very stimulating to watch and makes you feel really good. I have to admit I actually put this DVD in every morning and skip to that scene so I can use the warmup to help stretch myself out before I begin my day. I have a better day emotionally as well as physically when I do this. =)I can't believe how old this movie is, or that I only just discovered it. It's great though..... you'll love it if you love dance!

Parfait et respect de la description !

On me redemande maintes fois de faire les memes commentaires!? Ca suffit là.Une fois,deux fois ,trois fois le meme article.Feriez mieux de demander aux achetteurs amazon de commenter les vendeurs.Personne ne commente mes ventes.mais moi je dois commenter trois fois le meme dvd?! Bon bref.Le dvd est bien .Un peu lassé de me repeter.Achetter le.il est bien.

Enttäuscht von der Bestellung.

A behind the scenes look at a school for the performing arts. It shows how hard these dancers work with a little romance thrown in for interest. I would recommend this movie to anyone who is interested in the world of dance. It won't disappoint!

voici ce qu'était Zoe Saldana, avant d'être Neytiri dans Avatar: une vraie danseuse et déjà une belle nature rebelle - un régal!