Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

bbewnylorac This movie isn't perfect. The acting and script are sometimes a little clunky, but considering dance movies are notoriously difficult to get right, I love this film and I think it gels together well. The casting of Ethan Stiefel as the lead male is a master stroke -- he plays the egotistical yet gifted star extremely well. Amanda Schull as the naive female lead is, to me, more of a natural dancer than actor, but overall, she really does well in quite a meaty role. I love the soundtrack, especially Jamiroquai's 'Canned Heat', and the dancing is fantastic. The locations are very impressive. The sub-plot of the pushy mom living her dreams through her anorexic daughter who doesn't want to be a dance star, is impressive. One flaw is how everything is neatly tied up at the end, and the love scene is terribly awkward, complete with over-wrought music. Also Schull's character stating to her ex-lover that "as a boyfriend, you kind of suck" doesn't ring true. I mean, he's her future employer, and she just wouldn't say that.

ecuabeatinezz Center Stage is a film in which one can see the troubles and the influence of "what looks good" can have on certain individuals. In this film, one can see the psychological effect that having a perfect body, and being pretty can have on the ballerinas in this film. Also, one can see how insecurity can drive you to do insane things. One can retreat themselves from the world, get away, get depressed, and have competition to be the best. For example in one scene, Jodi (one of the ballerinas) is told that she doesn't have the right body type, that her feet are not right. And she wished that she had her roommate's feet. She cried and despised the fact that she was told that she wasn't good. She practiced as hard as she could to be her best. She was ready to give up, because she saw herself as a failure. Later in the film she decides to practice dancing at another dance class. She met a man who saw talent in her and made her feel good. At the end of the film, she was given a main part in her original dance school. She than was offered to be partners with a private company. This shows the troubles that Jodi went through but yet found herself once again and gained her self esteem back. Another character that went through rough times was Maureen. Maureen was a ballerina because that is what her mom always wanted her to be. She always had to watch what she ate and at the long run she became bulimic. She was obsessed with looking thin and making her mother happy. Her boyfriend discovered that she was sick and made her realize what she was doing to herself. At the day of the audition, she gave her part to her friend who was also a dancer. Her mother went furious, Maureen told her mother that this was her dream not her owns. She told her that she was sick and that she didn't want to be this way any more. This film portrays the above and many more psychological effects that society "ideas" can have on an individual. These effects can minor and to another extreme can be very dangerous and even deadly.

Peter Swanson Having read most of the other comments on this film, I find I fall pretty-much in the middle of the range of opinions. The reviewers who think this is either The Best or The Worst movie they've ever seen are equally mistaken. The plot and characters certainly are trite, but the cast performs with such enthusiasm and talent that I don't care. I love dance, on film or on stage, and the dancing in Center Stage is great. This is the Turning Point for the end of the millennium, blended with elements of Fame and Flashdance...or almost any "gotta dance!" sort of story. There are also story elements which seem to have been lifted directly from the novel Ballerina, by Edward Stewart.I especially enjoy the sequence wherein Amanda Schull goes to an off-limits Jazz class, runs into her dance hero/crush, and has a complete ball just shaking' it loose without Ballet discipline. It's a really enjoyable sequence, in no small part because the other class members are FANTASTIC dancers (Real non-company classes rarely include more than 2 dancers of the caliber of this entire class. Many of the unnamed people in that class are current or former members of the American Ballet Theatre).If you enjoy dance movies, you'l like Center Stage; if you don't, you won't.

emily282975 Wow! that's all I have to say! This movie is truly great! Offcurse you have to truly appreciate dancing to like it, since the acting is at times quite poor. But if dancing is your passion you will have a passion for this movie! In my opinion it portrays the battles and hardships that all dancers face in a very true way. Have you ever had someone tell you your not good enough or that your body is not perfect enough this movie will give you a boost to keep fighting! Because no matter what dance-teachers or directors say, dancing comes from the heart and soul of the dancer, not from your feat or your posture but from your heart! Because that is where the fire is! Now see it!