Born to Dance

source: Born to Dance

The best appeal "Born to Dance" could offer is its New Zealand root, not its storyline. It virtually has the same plot from many other dance movies, even dating back to decades before. Fortunately, the dance choreography is smooth enough to get the momentum going and for several scenes, especially the later ones, it leaps above its cryptic narrative. Story is tediously bland, this might appeal with audience unfamiliar to dance movie, but if one is exposed to "Step it Up" franchise or even "Magic Mike", there's nothing fresh in term of narrative. It's a tale of Tu (Tia Maipi), an aspiring dancer who auditions for K-Crew, the winner of many competitions. He soon finds out that his dream isn't as easily achievable as he thought. It's filled with cliché such as the overly vilified antagonist, the love interest who is tied to said antagonist and the gathering of rejects in hope dethrone the defending champ led by the now motivated main character. This rigid formula follows things already done in almost exact screenplay and the magic wears off fast. The good parts come, like many other dance movies, when they leave the dialogue and communicate with body language. It has few of the uplifting choreography and it uses the culture aspect appropriately. There are some sketchy scenes where the visual feels drab, but when the music hits it holds up pretty nicely. "Born to Dance" won't revolutionize the dancing genre or take it by storm, but in its core it's a light fun movie saved by the distinct choreography.

Not a fan of hip-hop music or dancing, but I wanted to watch this film because of the Maori Auckland connection. With the "coming of age" billing and the family factor, a single dad taking care of his adolescent son with dreams of making it big if accepted into the K-Crew dance team, it appealed to me personally, too. Tu learns, however, that along with the "big time" comes betrayal and the reality of the "winning at all costs" method many "top" performers in whatever dance field consider SOP. The story is common, but the acting is believable. I'm still no fan of the music/dance genre but it was a fun film with a little romance, a little drama and a "feel good" message and ending: make new friends but stand with the loyal bros who always have your back.

Worst camera work ever!!!! Be prepared to be frustrated at not being able to see the actual dances properly... ... never mind the script - which definitely is not impressive at all... the filming is terrible. extremely disappointed, if only they had gotten a camera crew who knew how to capture dancers properly - most important part of the movie ruined ha. don't even bother watching it.