Dance-wise, this movie's mostly a bust

Rating: 5/10 (20 March 2006)

I can understand folks getting into this movie's story and characters (though even on those counts, I don't give this terribly high marks). Unfortunately, for anyone really interested in the serious dance aspects, it will be a disappointment. Ms. Stiles does not look like a talented, advanced dance student. There is clumsy, obvious use of a dance double, mixed in with shots of Ms. Stiles that should never have made it into the final cut (or they should have been kept to face only, not revealing her obviously non-dancer form); worse still is when they actually have her trying to carry a lot of the dance sequence, as during her audition for Juilliard. Actually, that whole sequence, including the lines and behavior of the teachers running the audition, is pretty ridiculous and unauthentic. And the dance that she performs for the audition is dreadful, although we're obviously supposed to view it as a triumph of rebellious artistry. In real life, that dancer would have pretty much no chance of being admitted to Juilliard's dance program. Hard to believe the movie-makers couldn't even manage to spell "Juilliard" correctly on the placard set up to indicate the location of the auditions.
Watch this movie for the story and some mildly interesting young actors; as far as the dance sequences go, be prepared to strenuously exercise your "suspension of disbelief" muscles.