Center Stage

Center Stage is a 2000 American teen drama film directed by Nicholas Hytner about a group of young ballet dancers from various backgrounds who enroll at the fictitious American Ballet Academy in New York City. The film explores the issues and difficulties in the world of professional dance, and how each individual copes with the stresses. This movie was Zoe Saldana's and Amanda Schull's film debut. The single from the film's soundtrack "I Wanna Be with You" is performed by Mandy Moore. The song became Moore's highest-charting song in the US at number 24, becoming her only top 40 song in the nation. It spent 16 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, and peaked during its 9th week on the chart. Plot After a series of countrywide auditions, twelve young dancers gain entry to the American Ballet Academy (which is loosely based on the School of American Ballet), the affiliate school of the fictional American Ballet Company. At the end of the year, there will be a final dance workshop which will determine the three boys and three girls who will be asked to join the company. The workshop will also provide an opportunity for the students to showcase their talent to other ballet companies across the country. A lead part in the workshop is therefore essential to secure a dancer's future. The film focuses primarily on star student Maureen, naïve newcomer Jody Sawyer, and smart aleck Eva Rodriguez, as well as Jonathan Reeves, the company's aging choreographer and director, and Cooper Nielson, the company's star dancer who also wants to choreograph. The two have a tense relationship due to the fact that Cooper's ex-girlfriend and fellow dancer, Kathleen, left him for Jonathan.