Street Dance, ¡a bailar!

I am not a big dance movie fan, but I have to admit this mix of the somewhat raw energy of streetdance and the controlled grace of ballet is enjoyable.

First and foremost the brilliant streetdance choreographies are what make the movie worth seeing. The story on the other hand is mostly very predictable and does not offer anything new. I also have to say, that I think you can just as well see this film in the normal version as there were only two scenes with motion directly towards the camera. To me that is the only big difference the relatively new 3D technology makes. I always enjoy when objects or people seem to leave the screen and fly directly towards me.

In a movie where most of the time a lot of people are in motion, I would have expected more of that and think it could have been achieved easily by using more different camera positions. Of course that is much easier in the animated movies, such as Avatar or How to train your dragon. A few mouse clicks did the trick in those cases. But I guess as filmmakers are learning to adjusts to this, we might see more true 3D shots in the sequel.

Although the 3D elements did not add much of a dimension to the proceedings.... I found Streetdance... Energetic, Pulsating and a terrificly choreographed piece of cinematic entertainment - which will appeal to the "more mature audience" as well as its teen target market.

The storyline revolves around Carly (Nichola Burley) and her Streetdance crew, who have to contend with the loss of their Dance leader and also discover they have nowhere to rehearse. With time running out, Carly must win the respect of her dancing troupe and find a suitable place to train for the final of the UK Street Dance Competition. While delivering sandwiches to a local Ballet school, salvation and a glimmer of hope comes to Carly in the guise of the Ballet schoolmistress, Helena (played by Charlotte Rampling). She offers Carly the use of the school's facilities provided Carly agrees to instill some of the Streetdance intensity and passion into her lacklustre and classicly trained Ballet students. The result is a glorious clash of cultures, egos and temperaments.

The dance routines from Diversity & Flawless etc were perfectly executed and a joy to watch. And while it is not in the class of "Dirty Dancing", Streetdance's energetic footwork and the "ballet" cross-over storyline makes it standout from many of its contemporaries.

Yes, there are relationship issues (Love and Distrust) between the dancers, but it's the StreetDancing - which covers every style of dancing - that wins out in the end.

A cross-over section of the"young and not so young" preview audience were already asking when is Streetdance 2 being released. (need I say more?)

The plot was predictable with very few surprises, 'Step up style.' The acting was not particularly special and it occasionally reached quite low standards. Yet the movie as a whole still managed to be thoroughly enjoyable. The second half was much better than the first.The Dancing was fantastic from every aspect. All the characters were very skilled. Each dance was different and better than the previous one. This of course made the movie what it was.and the 3D effects were good fun. I was always a step up fan and thought nothing could compete with it but street dance managed to. It was much better than I expected and is definitely worth seeing.

Let's be honest, here. Nobody expects any real movie quality from a dance movie, except for beautiful and entertaining dance moves and a director who's skilled enough to shoot them adequately. Anybody complaining about the cheesiness of dialog or the non-existent plot is missing the point. Dance movies are cheesy by definition ("Dirty Dancing", anyone?), so the viewers must adopt a kind of "suspension of belief" and embrace what is being offered. Does anybody enjoy ballet or operas for their plot? Compared to an opera libretto, an episode of "Gossip Girl" is "Citizen Kane". "Streetdance" has the merit of presenting nice choreographies (especially the very interesting finale) accompanied by an enjoyable soundtrack, with also a bit of professional acting courtesy of Charlotte Rampling. The 3D effects offer a pleasant support to the dancers' efforts. It's an honest movie. It doesn't promise anything more than what it is.

For a minute this looks like another American film that just can't wait to jump onto the 3D bandwagon, and taking along the teenage dance film fan demographic with them. But surprise, it's a British film, and the Brits can street dance just as well, going heads up with yet another upcoming American dance film continuing the Step Up franchise, also presented in 3D.

So is this new three dimensional format any good for this genre? There are a few moments and scenes here specifically crafted with 3D in mind, such as the tossing of items toward the screen, from hats to a busy food fight in a school canteen. There's also some jarringly added bullet-time choreography during one of the street dance battles in a club, but the real treat here is for that depth of field when we sit around and admire the precision-timed and energetic dance choreography from procedural balletic moves to raw, improvisational street dancing.

But this film does go the distance to explain and show the basics 101 of street dance, since it has characters from different camps put together to try and influence one another, and from their initial adversity come craft something unique from its diversity. All these thanks to Charlotte Rampling's Helena, a ballet teacher looking to infuse some spunk, energy and drive into her lethargic ballet students who are looking to impress some judges for entry into the prestigious Royal Academy of Dance.

At the opposite corner, we have a crew looking forward to their participation in the UL Street Dance Competition finals, only for their leader Jay (Ukwell Roach) handover the reins to his girlfriend Carly (Nichola Burley) who has to step up to the plate and assert her own leadership style in the crew's final lap to glory. To make matters worse, she has a lack of EQ with her teammates save for a few core supporters, and has to gather logistics from scratch, hence a marriage of strange bedfellows when she takes up Helena's offer.

Simply put, the story's very typical of dance films, with the usual themes of clashing of cultures, and to learn from each other's differences. Much like a Zero to Hero story with the usual cliché trappings involving romance, betrayal and friendship, with that dash of comedy, eye candy cast and of course, authentic street dancing moves unseen (at least to me) put on the big screen, made to come alive through 3D technology properly done. You'll come to expect that usual big bang finale where the fruits of the characters labour become the money making showpiece that the teenage crowd will line up for, and probably emulate, and it's not hard to see how this cannot go down that path of glory.

It's something that street dance enthusiasts, and they're growing by the numbers everyday, will embrace and flock to the cinemas for, and hey, the fusion of ballet and street dancing elements does pose an intriguing proposition. But after all, it's not about the techniques and styles used, but that of the human spirit of expression and perseverance, practice and camaraderie that ultimately soars above all. Recommended!