Center Stage: Turn It Up

Year: 2008

Actors: Peter Gallagher, Harry Shum Jr., Crystal Lowe, Christopher Russell

Duration: 95 min

All self-taught dancer named Kate Parker (Rachele Brooke Smith) has ever wanted to do was perform with the American Academy of Ballet. She says goodbye to her friends in Detroit and her sister because she is leaving home to go to an audition for the greatest dance school in America, the American Ballet Academy in New York City.During the auditions, Kate doesn't make it. Instead of her, a certain Suzanne Von Stroh (Sarah Jayne Jensen) is chosen, because of an argument between the director of the school, Jonathan Reeves (Peter Gallagher) and one of the teachers, Cooper Nielson (Ethan Stiefel), who has returned to ABA after his ballet company lost its funding.A young dancer, Tommy Anderson (Kenny Wormald), is stunned by Kate and is sure that she passed and got into the academy, but soon he discovers that she was rejected and pairs up with Suzanne.Kate, homeless in New York City, goes to a nightclub called The Foundry where she finds Tommy and impresses both him and the owner of the club, Sal (Christopher Russell), who is Tommy's best friend, with her dance moves and energy. She is given a job at the club and sleeps in the upstairs office. Because she needs to find an apartment, she agrees to help Tommy with his dance practice if he pays her.Soon they start classes, she finds an apartment, Tommy becomes a great student and is given the opportunity to dance with Suzanne for the famous choreographer Monica Straus (Lucia Walters.Meanwhile, Tommy and Kate begin to have feelings for each other and become a couple. They break-up after a jealous Kate sees Tommy dance with Suzanne, for a gala, and at the end of the dance Suzanne kisses him. The next day, Tommy finds Kate's sister, Bella (Nicole Muñoz), waiting for her at ABA and takes her to Kate at the club. Kate then confesses to her sister that she was not accepted into the school and decides to leave New York and go with Bella back to Detroit.The next morning while waiting for the bus, Bella shows Kate a leaflet Tommy gave her, advertising an audition for "The Glass Slipper", a Broadway ballet version of Cinderella that Monica Strauss is casting. Kate decides to give her dancing dream one last shot. Bella and Kate go to the audition theater, and about seven blocks away is the end of the line. When Kate gets into a final audition with two other girls and three boys, including Tommy, they try finding the cast of Cinderella and the two stepsisters. Monica Straus asks Tommy to dance with Suzanne but he rejects her and offers the dance to Kate. Tommy gets the part of the prince and Kate gets the part of Cinderella, her dreams of dancing professionally having come true at last.

Genre: Drama   Music   Romance