One
of the central motifs of story telling involves tales of young people
coming into adulthood. In our modern era, such a story often features a
young woman with superior athletic talent. With great effort, she trains
her body, overcomes her doubts, and rises to a crowning achievement
while learning how to wield her erotic power, curb her susceptibility to
the charms of the lothario, and become a woman.
The telling of this kind of tale focuses
on both the human dimensions and the struggle for mastery of a physical
skill. When the character is a woman, the endeavor is often ice skating,
singing, or dancing. In Center Stage, the action is
centered around ballet at the American Ballet Company in New York City.
Jody (Amanda Schull), about as white bread blonde as one can imagine,
has a stage charisma with her physical presence as a dancer, but lacks
the perfect body type and ease in twisting it into the positions ballet
requires.
All of the students at ABC are from the
best of the best aspiring talent. They come to train for a year. If they
perform well enough, they either have a chance of being hired by dance
companies from around the world, or if they are among the three best
women and men, they will be offered a coveted spot in the American
Ballet Company.
The dance training and performance
sequences are wonderful. We feel the pain of the creaking muscles, the
bleeding feet, the missed steps, the injuries, the dashed hopes. We are
treated to an amalgam of both classical ballet and modern experimental
performances. We are whisked away into the off hours and
extra-curricular forays of Salsa and freer forms of more overtly erotic
expression.
Though Center Stage portrays
three interesting male dancers, a black gay who is using his talent to
live in a world of artistic and male erotic potential, a straight white
student of exceptional talent who has the personality of a friend and
confidant, and the lead dancer in the regular troop who serves as the
wild idol and seducer, the main character explorations are among the
women.
Maureen, technically the best dancer,
must cast aside her enslavement to bulimia and the wishes of a
domineering mother, even at the risk of a career in dance. Eva, the
rebellious, tough minded iconoclast, must retain her independence and
yet find a way to accept the advice of mentors who may be strict and
demanding but are not her enemies and will do all they can to help if
they are given a chance.
Then, there is Jody. We need not spoil
the details of her journey and there are really no big surprises in the
film. Our delight came at the end when she asserted herself as a dancer.
Even more important was the way she dealt with the man who is bad for
her as a lover but important to her as a dance partner and collaborator.
What a joy to see a young woman say "no" to sexual advances,
even from a former lover, while maintaining a sense of power and
purpose.
